CALVES & HEIFERS

Houses. Relationships. Businesses. What do all three have in common? They all are built from a solid foundation, and calf hutches are no different.

Let’s take everything you know about feeding pasteurized waste milk and set it aside for a moment. There’s a lot of information out there, and I think we can all agree, it’s good to take a step back sometimes and reevaluate.

You have made a considerable investment in the calf auto-feeder system. But was it worth it? To determine this, focus on these two areas: calf performance and health and labour.

Colostrum, milk and milk replacers are all excellent sources of nutrients for calves, but also for bacteria.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in both pre- and post-weaned calves can be a major challenge. The latest National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) study conducted in 2014 found 11.3% of enrolled pre-weaned dairy calves showed clinical signs of BRD, of which 88% were treated with an antibiotic.

Drafts and pre-weaned calves – rarely is a topic so misunderstood. Many calf raisers are uncomfortable with the topic of drafts on calves, regardless of the outside temperature. Most people believe drafts are to be avoided at all costs.