CAL F HEALTH
WINTER 2014/2015 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
16
Colostrum care
The quality of colostrum will vary between
cows; it will be diluted in high yielders due to
the high milk volumes, whilst heifer colostrum
may give lower levels of immunity because
they won’t have been exposed to as much
bacteria or infection.
The quality of a cow’s colostrum also starts to
fall within the first 12 hours, so fresh calvers
need to be milked as soon as possible.
Similarly, the ability of calves to absorb the
antibodies also diminishes as time goes on,
so it is important they receive early feeds
of colostrum.
Colostrum quality is also affected by bacteria
which soon start denaturing the proteins (and
destroying the antibodies) unless milk is chilled
promptly. When being frozen, colostrum is
best stored in flat packs so it can be thawed
easily and slowly with warm water to avoid
risk of denaturing.
Farmers can check whether their calves are
acquiring adequate levels of immunity from
colostrum by asking their vet to take blood
samples for analysis in the first week of
their lives.
Weaning tactics
Kat explains: ‘Calves need to be functioning
ruminants before they are weaned. So they
need to be eating at least 1.5kg/day of
starter feed.
‘They also need to be provided with water,
from day one. Cattle have four stomachs; milk
goes straight through to the fourth stomach, the
abomasum. Water is needed for the first
stomach which is the rumen. Calves will drink
4-6 litres of water per kilogramme of feed eaten.
‘Calves fed on ad-lib milk systems won’t be
eating as much concentrate, so weaning
needs to be managed over a longer period,
ideally, ten days.’
Cold weather care
In cold weather, calves will need extra energy
to maintain their body temperature. When the
temperature drops below 16°C, some of the
milk they drink will be used to keep them
warm rather than for growth. Calf rearers
should either feed more milk and/or fit
calf jackets.
Kat explains: ‘By monitoring calf weights
through the rearing period, it is possible
to identify animals that have fallen behind
target at an early stage. Investigation can
then be made as to why performance is
failing and get growth rates back on track.
‘Calves should have doubled their birth
weight by the time they are weaned - so a
Holstein calf should be 80kg at 60 days of
age. If heifer growth is below targets at 3-4
months of age then they will never catch up.’
Synergy Farm Health has been providing a
calf and heifer monitoring service for the
past six years, and has recently launched
their Calf Club which helps farmers focus
on optimum rearing of dairy heifers in the
crucial first six months of life.
Similar calf clubs are being run by other
practices. Farmers should talk to their
XLVets vet for more information and
opportunities to learn about best practice
in calf rearing.
Setting targets for growth
Research has shown that dairy heifers which calve down at 24 months of age
tend to have higher milk yields in the first two lactations and better longevity.
So by setting targets for growth, heifers can be monitored and managed
accordingly so that they achieve the required bulling weight by 14 months of
age, and can calve down at the optimum age.
Bridget Tayor,
Wright & Morten
Case Study
At Cheshire-based XLVets practice
Wright & Morten, veterinary technician
Vicky Mellor is helping farmers monitor
youngstock performance by using
weigh tape measurements to track calf
weights from birth to around four
months of age.
On other farms, a single visit to weigh
calves provides a ‘snapshot’ of performance
to check up on growth rates. Where
changes in rearing are made, a follow-up
visit can be arranged to assess progress.
Wright & Morten’s vet Bridget Taylor adds:
‘We’ve identified one farm where young
calves had been growing well and were
all on target, but by around 100 days of
age, there was a wide spread of weights.
On investigation, this was due to cases
of pneumonia, stemming from inconsistent
vaccine use. So Vicky is now making
fortnightly visits to help ensure the data sheet
recommendations for treatment timing are
followed, and also lend a hand with
vaccination itself.
Wright & Morten is setting up a youngstock
discussion group, and in 2015 will be
holding meetings on aspects of calf rearing.
Farmers can contact the practice on
0845 8330034 for more information.
On-farm performance monitoring
Vicky Mellor measuring calf
Veterinary surgeon
Bridget Taylor
Calf jackets
