Back at the start of 2023, the acronym ‘CALF HEALTH’ was chosen by the calf and youngstock team to base their newsletter articles on. Each letter represented a topic that contributed towards improving calf health.
Colostrum
The first topic that was explored back in February was ‘Colostrum’. Colostrum management is a major element in the very early stages of a calf’s life. The main points to take away from this newsletter could be classed into the ‘5 Q’s’:
- Quality – contain at least 50g/L of IgG antibodies
- Quantity - 4 Litres or 10% of body weight
- Quickness – first feed within first 4 hours followed by another 2L within 12 hours of birth
- sQueaky Clean – at room temperature bacteria will double every 20 minutes – store in fridge
- Quantify – measure colostrum quality using a refractometer (use colostrum with brix measurement above 22)
By ensuring colostrum feeding protocols are completed correctly, a calf gains immunity to diseases. They show stronger resistance to bacteria and viruses, in turn reducing mortality rates.
Age Of
March’s topic was ‘Age Of’ where turnout of young calves was discussed. The key point from this newsletter is to gradually introduce any changes to a calf's routine. This is vital when it comes to nutrition or environmental changes. Allowing a calf to slowly adapt minimises stress which minimises the effect on daily live weight gain.
Lifetime Performance
In April, the newsletter topic was based around ‘Lifetime Performance’ in regards to insemination of heifers. The key points focused on in this newsletter was the aim to inseminate heifers at 14-15 months of age. This enables calving down at 24 months.
This results in higher lifetime performance and more sustainability within the herd. This highlights the importance of setting growth targets and minimising health risks in order to stay on track.
Feed
The next element to calf health that was explored in May was ‘Feed’. This newsletter highlighted the benefits of milk feeding in increased volumes as early as possible. Sometimes this requires supplemental feeding of milk replacer to calves that are pre weaning.
This newsletter covered how feeding more milk resulted in higher daily liveweight gain and improved organ development in calves. This also results in higher production of milk in the heifers’ first lactation.
Hygiene
June’s topic was ‘Hygiene’. With most farms experiencing scour outbreaks at some point during the each year, we discussed the best protocols for dealing with sick calves. We covered isolation, disinfecting protocols and housing changes. All these can help the calf overcome the disease, and prevent it spreading throughout the calf shed.
Environment
Another element to calf health that was explored was ‘Environment’. There are 3 considerations when it comes to assessing a calf's environment. They are physical comfort, hygiene, and shelter (like calf pens and hutches).
By creating a good balance between these factors allows a calf to thrive in terms of growth. Adequate ventilation reduces respiratory disease risk and provides a cleaner air space for the calf to grow.
Average Daily Gain
In August, we discussed ‘Average Daily Gain’ and again, the importance of setting targets throughout the animals lifetime. By getting the first stage of the newborn calves’ life right, improved the chances of getting everything that follows right with calf management. Meeting targets from a young age results in earlier insemination. The heifer then enters the herd sooner and starts producing a return on investment.
Lighting
September’s topic was ‘Lighting’. This topic followed nicely after the environment newsletter. Having adequate lighting in the calf shed benefits both the calves and the staff.
It promotes the growth and the animal’s health. Good lighting allows staff to identify sick calves earlier and provide prompt treatment. This, in turn, reduces the mortality rate of the calves.
Testing
Moving onto October, the next element discussed was ‘Testing’. In this newsletter, testing for passive transfer was explored. This follows from our first topic ‘Colostrum’.
Testing for passive transfer allows us to evaluate colostrum feeding protocols in order to potentially improve immunity and decrease disease susceptibility. Improved immunoglobulin absorption can lead to better growth rates, improved feed efficiency and better fertility long term.
Housing
Finally, the last element to calf health was ‘Housing’. We evaluated different housing designs and systems for their pros and cons. Choosing a calf housing system isn’t always straightforward due to every system having their place.
By adapting a system to best suit the farm, calves have a better environment. More comfort results in improved performance.
Balance is everything
From evaluating all the different elements that make up ‘CALF HEALTH’ it stands out that they all link extremely closely. If the shed ventilation is poor, it doesn’t matter how good your colostrum protocols are. The calf is at high risk of getting pneumonia, and it’s going to be the same vice-versa.
Therefore, creating the balance between everything that a calf requires leads to healthy calves. This list of benefits go on; higher growth rates, better organ and mammary development, better fertility, higher yield potential, better longevity, and lower mortality.
In the end, it’s not only the calf or cow that benefits. Investing in the early life stages when a calf is born brings a much higher financial return later in life. Leading to a more efficient, sustainable and profitable farm business that can produce replacements to the highest quality.
