Calf management from birth to weaning

According to a 1995 survey of swine management practices in the united states, the average number of preweaning piglet deaths per litter on farms was. Raising heifer calves is the second largest annual expense of a dairy businesss production costs, after feed, with no income until the first lactation and no profit until the second lactation. Frank wardynski, michigan state university extension june 6, 2011. The birth code column is for reporting any irregular calving situation, including death loss or the sale of calves pre weaning. Learn more about what you can do to manage nutritional and environmental. Disease prevention and management with particular reference to calf pneumonia. Feeding dairy calves from weaning through maturation. Feeding and managing baby calves from birth to 3 months of age. Calf health, growth, and productivity rely heavily on nutrition and management practices. Diluted or fermented colostrum should not be fed to calves less than.

Feeding a calf from birth to weaning time daily nation. Feeding dairy steers from birth to weaning can result in highly variable profits. Weaning is a stressful time for suckled calves, particularly those born in the spring. During weaning, gradually reduce the liquid diet over a period of 10days and by the end of weaning period feed the calves on one liquid meal per day. Trainees will be able to plan and prepare for successful heifer production, conduct basic first aid in the neonatal calf and provide appropriate management to ensure maximum survival rates. Mar, 2018 calves to be weaned should have increased its weight by 2 1 2 times the birth weight e. A calf s rumen development is the most important factor to consider when making the weaning decision. Managing calf rearing from birth to weaning phileo uk and. Its important to remember that the data reflect management practices for heifer calves and cannot be applied to management of bull calves, or of farms that raise their bull calves. After weaning, calves should receive freechoice calf starter until 3 mo old. The target is for calves to double their birth weight by weaning at eightto10 weeks. Jul 10, 2015 feeding a calf from birth to weaning time.

Despite more recent recommendations to increase milk. Minimising stress is critical at this stage of the calfs life. Focusing on the birthtoweaning period for successful. The birth code column is for reporting any irregular calving situation, including death loss or. Levyinaction 2015015 calf rearing birth to weaning. Dairy calf management practices impact future production. Calf rearing birth to weaning trainees will be able to plan and prepare for successful heifer production, conduct basic first aid in the neonatal calf and provide appropriate management to ensure maximum survival rates. Focusing on the birthtoweaning period for successful calf. Further nutritional management and calf weaning you should restrict feed supplementation to about 10% of the calfs body weight to encourage the calf to transition quickly into conventional feeding.

Being able to efficiently raise replacement dairy heifers or create an effective working relationship with a contracted dairy heifer grower is crucial to raising replacements that improve the performance of the dairy herd for years to come. Feeding management is directed more at addressing nutrient requirements and encouraging rumen development, rather than to achieve a particular rate of gain. Even when a calf survives a disease, negative economic impacts may occur, and the calf may never reach her full genetic potential. From birth to weaning the period from birth to weaning is critical in the life of growing dairy heifers. Through proper feeding and management, you can minimize mortality rates and feed costs while maintaining good growth and performance. Best management practices for raising dairy calves from birth. Making sure a heifer is fully prepared before weaning reduces the chance she will need preferential treatment postweaning. Complete guide to feeding newborn heifers farmers weekly. For a 45kg calf at birth, this requires a growth of 0. Calving effective calf management actually begins late in pregnancy, because the dams health and nutritional status can clearly influence the calfs health at birth. Every heifer calf born on a dairy farm represents an opportunity to maintain or increase herd size, to improve the herd genetically, or to improve economic returns to the farm.

Some calf raisers are hesitant to place slowgrowing calves into group housing after weaning commingling. Given the high stakes they hold for the farm, it is important for every farmer to implement best calf management practices to bring up a healthy replacement stock. An emphasis on prevention is critical, limiting the need for subsequent intervention, particularly with the management of diseases of the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. Raising calves on any dairy farm is a challenging job. Calf management management and nutrition veterinary manual. Aug 31, 2019 as you practice best calf management practices in your farm, your vet should be your best friend to advice you on critical issues such as this one. It includes feeding colostrum, milkmilk replacer, concentrates, fibre and water, housing, general husbandry and health management of calves from the moment they are born up to four weeks post weaning. Feeding and managing baby calves from birth to 3 months of age donna m. Estimated birth weights from other methods are not accepted e.

If hay is fed during this period, it should be of excellent quality and fed in limited amounts. Focusing on the birthtoweaning period for successful calf rearing. Project sponsored by hartville feed and milk specialties global animal nutrition. A few days before the probable date of calving, cow should be transferred to individual calving pens.

Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take in calf management to optimize calf health from birth to weaning on your operation and increase your weaning weights. Best management practices for raising dairy calves from. Stress, immunity, and the management of calves sciencedirect. Management of the calving season is critical to optimize the weaned calf crop. The lower milk intakes encourage the consumption of dry feed.

Best calf management practices from birth to weaning. As your calves are born, it is important to consistently weigh within 24 hours. Under this system, targeted rates of gain for calves of the large dairy breeds are 400600 gday for the first 34 wk of life. Jan 18, 2018 preweaning management growth rates are essential. Feeding young dairy calves management and nutrition. During this time, calves are highly susceptible to infectious disease as their immune systems are not fully developed. However, starting calves off well is essential to minimizing death loss and improving health outcomes. The goals of this paper are to provide an overview of calf management from birth to weaning and to identify strategies for maximizing overall profitability. The only way this can be assessed is by measuring the amount of concentrate or pasture they are readily eating, which should be at least 1 kgday of meal or 2 kgday of pasture. In an analysis where many studies were evaluated, gelsinger and others at penn state university concluded that preweaned calves with average daily gains greater than 1. In intensive rearing of calves when day old weaning is practiced following.

Management of calf hygiene have a separate area for sick calves. Research indicates that 57% of mortality is seen in the first 24 hr and 75% within 7 days of birth. Feeding young dairy calves management and nutrition merck. Calf management tamil nadu agricultural university.

However, calf management begins way before parturition. Dairy farming in kenya calf management practices from birth. Johns, and sharon franklin as the future productive units of a dairy herd, heifers represent a substantial financial investment in feed and labor. Jan 19, 2017 tips on managing calf rearing from james ambrose, commercial and technical manager for phileo lesaffre animal care gb and ireland. Calf weaning weight differed by weaning age within calving system p 0. Correct management now will improve calf health and welfare at weaning and consequently improve the lifetime performance of the animal and overall profitability. As you practice best calf management practices in your farm, your vet should be your best friend to advice you on critical issues such as this one. These vaccines unfortunately only provide short term protection, usually less than 30 days. Good care and management in the farrowing quarters has a major influence on the number of liveborn piglets that are weaned and on how well they perform in later stages of production. Successful weaning based on calf weight and meal intake will help calves develop into healthy heifers. Weaning and weaning management are the most effective tools to manipulate important factors in beef cattle management. Appropriate dairy calf feeding from birth to weaning. Preferentially managing small groups of animals to try and catch them up to the group is timeconsuming and can. Calving effective calf management actually begins late in pregnancy, because the dams health and nutritional status can.

Calf management starts even before she is born to the time she is weaned. In addition, the risk of enteric disease after weaning is less than during the liquid feeding period, making early weaning beneficial in the management of enteric disease. The objectives of raising the newborn calf to weaning age are optimizing growth and minimizing health problems. Dairy farming in kenya calf management practices from. The primary goal of beef producers is to produce one live calf per cow each year. This publication is intended to summarize best management practices for dairy producers to successfully develop productive replacement animals. Mar 18, 2015 milk feeding is restricted to 6 to 7% of birth mass or to that amount required for maintenance. Wellgrown dairy calves and heifers play an important role in the future success of all dairy farms. Calf starter meal highly palatable, fed fresh daily to ensure a good consumption, hay and water must be on offer by the time the calf is one week of age. Intranasal vaccines elicit a local immune response within the mucosa of the calfs nose and provide for a quick immune response, thus providing disease protection for the calf.

From birth to weaning raising calves on any dairy farm is a challenging job. Nationally, the average annual calf crop is approximately 75 percent. Figure 1, and calves can spend up to 90 d of age in. Data were collected on a total of 2,545 heifer calves. Beef cowcalf management guide oregon state university. Traditional restricted milk feeding practices suppress growth, contribute to negative welfare states and may result in malnutrition and immunosuppression. However, starting calves off well is essential to minimizing.

As mentioned previously, calf raisers were encouraged set a double birth weight by weaning benchmark for calves figures 1 and 3 and the current average weaning age is 8. Sufficient surplus colostrum is produced in most dairy herds to feed all heifer calves from birth to weaning at 5 weeks of age. Calves to be weaned should have increased its weight by 2 1 2 times the birth weight e. If day old weaning is not practiced the calf can be allowed to remain with the mother in the calving pen for 7 to 10 days. Ask your vet to take samples from at least twelve calves within one week of their birth. Feed management from birth to weaning the primary concern in rearing the newborn calf is to ensure it remains healthy. Samples can be tested for either the actual antibody igg level or the total protein tp in the blood. Critical to longterm calf health feeding colostrum to dairy steer calves is extremely important in ensuring profitability. Every farmer should start implementing calf management practices before parturition because the mother will pass on the health benefits to the.

The calf rearing period covers the time from birth to 12 weeks of age. The title of this article suggests that the practices well talk about cover the period between birth and weaning. A veterinarian or cooperative extension specialist can visit your farm about one month before calving season and make recommendations on improving your calving setup. In addition, there are significant risk factors for increased calf morbidity at the time of calving that can lead to increased mortality and decreased calf performance. Energy requirements for adequate growth in calves 315 mo old may be derived largely from good quality forage. Managing calf rearing from birth to weaning youtube. Calves are weaned after they are older than 30 days of age and are eating 1. Weaning beef calves department of primary industries. However, by utilizing sound management of fertility, a 90 to 95 percent annual calf crop is attainable. The first few weeks of the calfs life, from birth to weaning, are critical for health. Pmc free article lorenz i, earley b, fallon r, gilmore j, hogan i, kennedy e, more sj. As a result, the value of dairy steer calves can be highly variable. There are a broad range of preventive measures that are fundamental to optimal calf health during the period from birth to weaning.

Dairy calves must be fed appropriately to meet their nutritional needs, supporting optimal growth and development to achieve the recommended target age at first calving afc of 24 months. These factors include the breeding efficiency and fertility of the cow herd, feed utilisation, animal behaviour, future carcase merits of steers and. Baby pig management birth to weaning pork information. Below, we summarise the guidance on how heifer calves should be fed in the first few hours, weeks and months of life, up until weaning, to ensure they hit vital targets. Monitoring blood testing your calves can tell you how good your colostrum management is. Minimising stress through improved hygiene, and providing clean, dry. Calfhood diseases have a major impact on the economic viability of cattle operations. Tips on managing calf rearing from james ambrose, commercial and technical manager for phileo lesaffre animal care gb and ireland. Baby pig management birth to weaning pork information gateway. A positive profit margin becomes increasingly difficult to attain as feed prices increase.

Following the determination of the best management practices for raising dairy calves, a series of case studies were conducted to determine how farms in california raise their calves. From birth to weaning mississippi state university extension service. They suggested that calves should double their birth weight by 56 days of life in order to achieve milk production responses from early life nutrition. Aug 20, 2018 intranasal vaccines elicit a local immune response within the mucosa of the calfs nose and provide for a quick immune response, thus providing disease protection for the calf.