Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Cassie Stillman, Vita Plus Loyal dairy specialist
Summer has finally arrived in central Wisconsin, but we had to first go through some unpleasant weather in May. Heavy rainfall and cool temperatures made it difficult on calves. Discussions with our team and on-farm observations point to respiratory problems as one of producers’ main concerns. In addition, keeping calves hydrated and stress-free with the recent warm weather has become a priority. Adjusting from one season to another can be very stressful on youngstock if the transition period is not smooth.

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
Organic matter in milk will significantly compromise a pasteurizer's effectiveness. If your pasteurizer does not have an inline filtering system, use a screen to filter the milk going into the pasteurizer tank.

Schilling Farms LLC Achieves Performance Goals with Calves Back Home

Developing and sticking to calf care protocols is the name of the game for Schilling Farms LLC in Darlington, Wisconsin.

For 10 years, the farm sent all nursery calves to a custom grower before bringing them all back home within a two-week span in 2011. The team established as many protocols as possible to “get it right from the start” and modified those protocols as they rebuilt the calf program.

By Dr. Kevin Ratka, Vita Plus dairy specialist
Vaccination protocols are very important to maintain the health and productivity of each herd. A considerable amount of time is spent discussing and analyzing which vaccines should be used and when is the optimal time to use each vaccine to achieve maximal immunity. However, sometimes the basics of vaccine handling and storage get overlooked, leading to poor response to the vaccine and putting herds at risk for disease. Here are some of the basic guidelines to ensure optimal results.

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
Before you decide to turn that old dairy barn into a calf barn, you should do some research. An old barn may provide more warmth and protection from the elements for calves and caretakers. But consider calf flow, ventilation, sanitation, ease of feeding, and the overall health benefits and risks before you begin renovations.

By Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist

Question: How can I slope hutches to increase drainage?

Quick answer: Creating a 2-percent slope by placing a small mound at the junction of the calf hutch and outside pen increases drainage away from the calf.

A bit more...

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Estimating starter grain needs for your calf operation can be challenging. For most farms, starter intake averages around 1.2 to 1.8 pounds per day for the 60-day nursery phase. Starter intake increases as calves get older and typically peaks at 5 to 7 pounds at 60 days for Holstein calves. Additional factors – such as surges in calving intensity, amount of starter grain shrink during rainy periods if calves are fed in pails outside, and the amount of starter grain fed to transition calves – all increase the complexity of estimating calf starter grain usage and inventory.

We developed a simple Calf Starter Usage Calculator to help take some of the guesswork out of estimating the amount of calf starter needed.