Animal handling

Everyone knows water is one of six essential nutrients.  However, the magnitude of its importance is often unrealized and, in some situations, downplayed.

Maternity has a direct impact on both the present and future state of the herd.  A properly executed maternity game plan promotes successful transition into lactation for the dam, and establishes the start of the nursery phase for the daughter. Progressive dairy farmers realize the economic impact of maternity and commit staff and resources to consistently achieve success.

The Peterson family has farmed in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, since the land was homesteaded nearly 150 years ago.  The family and farm team are proud of the farm’s rich legacy and its role in the community, and they’re focused on innovation to support the farm’s future.

The owners of McAllister Family Dairy in New Vienna, Iowa, wanted to build a new calf care facility that could provide the best environment possible for raising healthy calves. When designing the facility, they focused on excellent ventilation and labor efficiency. In early 2022, calves moved into the new barn, which has space for 98 pre- and post-weaned calves. The farm managers are pleased with how the facility has met their goals in the last 18 months.

By Ann Hoskins | The options for calf hutches endless. The following considerations can help you research and choose hutches that best fit your farm and calf program.

Between 20 and 40 calves are born each day at Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, LLC in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. With exceptional animal care as a top priority on the farm, the team continually looks for opportunities to learn, evolve, and adopt new strategies to minimize stress – both for the animals and the employees – during each calving.

By Noah Litherland, Ph.D. | When building or updating heifer facilities, producers must choose what feed barrier(s) to incorporate into the heifer pens. Consider these questions to help you identify the best option for your heifers and management system.

In this edition, Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf program manager, discusses the factors that affect passive transfer beyond how much IgG is fed to the calf.

By Ann Hoskins, calf program manager Weighing calves is important in benchmarking and evaluating calf performance. In addition to growth rates, weighing calves can help you determine your cost of gain, which is key information for your calf nutrition and management program. Here are some examples of scales that can be used at various points in an animal's life to bechmark its growth.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, dairy technical services specialist
Heat stress can have significant impacts on dairy calf health and growth.  Here are eight action items to reduce the negative impacts of summer heat.

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products manager
The earlier the better when it comes to catching dehydration in calves.  Identifying mild dehydration and fixing the problem in the early stages will save you a lot of headaches in the coming days.  Here are common signs of dehydration at different levels of severity.

This past winter, the team at Jauquet's Hillview Dairy LLC in Luxemburg, Wisconsin, completed an addition on its cross-ventilated barn.  The addition, which is next to the maternity pens, includes two heated newborn calf warming rooms.

By Dr. Sara Barber and Dan Bakker, Foundation Livestock Service
The secret to a best-cost calf program is simple, repeatable systems with timely feedback to frontline staff performing the work. Every problem is the result of a broken process. Fix the process and the problem will go away – every time.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Ideally, the weaning process results in minimal disruptions in nutrient supply to the calf and, in turn, accelerates grain intake.  Weaning age, starter intake at the onset of weaning, and weaning strategy are all components of a smooth transition into to the grower phase.

By Dr. Jenn Rowntree, Vita Plus calf and heifer specialist
The past two years have both been wet years, which is often associated with an increased risk for bovine respiratory disease in cattle of all ages. Consider these strategies to improve gut health and overall immune function.

In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Heidi Fischer of Fischer-Clark Dairy Farm Inc. discusses the tools her team uses to communicate with each other.