As we get closer to the start of calving for the autumn calving herds, farmers need to ensure that calves are getting the best possible start to life.
Being prepared for the arrival of calves is crucial in ensuring a successful calf rearing season, and this involves making sure calf houses, gates and pens are properly washed and disinfected.
All facilities must be completely free of any dirt or faeces as they can be harbours for diseases.
Likewise with any feeding equipment – teat feeders, buckets and milk trolleys, must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
Minimising bacteria transfer from one season to the next is important in order to break the disease cycle in calf houses.
Autumn calving
College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) dairying adviser, Anna Truesdale, investigates calf health and maximising calf growth for calves this autumn and for the upcoming spring.
Truesdale advised farmers to “ensure that drinkers are clean and free from debris, ideally situated outside of the calf pens to minimise contamination risk” and said that they should be “checked and drained daily to maximise water quality and encourage water intakes”.
Results from the AFBI OptiHouse study indicated water quality to be a limiting factor in a number of calf houses. Access to clean fresh water is a key driver in aiding concentrate intake and resulting rumen development.
Consistency is essential when it comes to calf health, and farmers need to create standard operating procedures (SOPs), particularly when there are numerous people helping out during the calving season.
Calf health
Optimising calf health from birth to weaning is the first step in achieving the target age of 24 months for calving replacement heifers.
Numerous research projects have proven that any set back in calf development pre-weaning can have a significant impact on the animals’ ability to achieve this 24-month target.
The AFBI OptiHouse study detailed findings of conditions within calf houses throughout Northern Ireland.
The study found that ventilation and stocking density were potential limiting factors on calf health and performance alongside poor drainage.
A clean, dry bed is essential and regular removal of dirty bedding material is necessary throughout the calving season to mitigate the risk of disease and sickness spreading.
If possible, the feed preparation or equipment cleaning should be a moderate distance from calves to reduce the likelihood of damp air, and minimise any run-off into calf pens.
Treating sick calves can add a significant amount of time onto the daily workload during the calving season.
This increased time cost coupled with the cost of treating the illness, as well as the knock-on effects on subsequent growth and lifetime production.
Pneumonia, for example, has an average treatment cost of between £30-£80/head (AHDB) and the Royal Veterinary College in the UK estimates that more than 40% of calves on commercial farms will suffer from the disease.
Quality colostrum and feeding
Colostrum intakes are essential in the health and growth of calves, as sufficient intakes of good quality colostrum will help minimise the risk of diseases commonly found in a calf house.
Colostrum quality is defined by its immunoglobulin concentration (IgG) and this can be measured on-farm using a colostrometer, which should read higher than 50 g/L of IgG), or through using a brix-refractometer (which should read higher than 22%).
Colostrum quality declines after six hours so should be harvested and fed as soon as possible. It should also be stored in a fridge, or frozen if it is not all used at the initial feed.
Quantity of colostrum is important, and the rule is to feed 10% of bodyweight, meaning a 40kg calf should be receiving 4L of colostrum.
Colostrum should ideally be fed using a teat bottle as this will promote transit of the colostrum to the stomach.
A stomach-tube is also a useful piece of kit, as it ensures that the full volume of colostrum is received by the calf.
Calf milk replacers will have feeding instructions, as well as a list of ingredients. It is important that ingredients are discussed with a vet or nutritionist to ensure the milk replacer is sufficient to meet the needs of growing calves.
Invest in a set of scales and either measure each feed or use the scales to calibrate the scoops regularly to ensure the correct mixing ratio.
To achieve a minimum growth of 0.8kg/day pre-weaning, calves should receive at least 900g of calf milk replacer/day.
A whole-herd health plan should be in place and should be discussed regularly with your vet.
This plan will include a treatment and vaccination plan for calves, and a yearly review should include discussion on disease pressures experienced in the previous year and a plan to minimise the pressure this season.
Truesdale added that “calf rearing can be a difficult, but it is an extremely rewarding task. Taking time pre-calving to give calves the best possible start will pay dividends in the long run”.
