Calf and heifer nutrition

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock specialist
Feed cost per pound of gain is an important metric to know how to calculate and manipulate to optimize the value of your nursery calf feeding program.  Luckily, it is easy to calculate, if you know the right numbers.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock specialist
By understanding a calf's plumbing, specifically the abomasum, we can design feeding and management programs that fit the calf's abilities to digest milk, grow, and decrease opportunities for pathogens. 

By Dr. Jenn Rowntree, Vita Plus dairy calf and heifer specialist
Setting goals in specific areas for your farm's calf and heifer health, and regularly comparing health events to those goals, can help determine if they are being met.

Rachelle Krienke has two major goals for her calves:  She wants them to be as healthy as possible and she wants to see good body condition at weaning.  She has designed a system that allows her to consistently reach both goals for her farm’s replacement heifers.

By Dr. Jeremy Schefers, University of Minnesota, and Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Quality and hygiene are important considerations when feeding waste milk to nursery calves.  Benefits of on-farm pasteurization include reduced diarrhea and respiratory disease.  Proper pasteurization also kills Mycobacterium paratuberculosis (responsible for Johne’s disease), Salmonella and Mycoplasma, if present in milk. 

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Heifer weight at calving is an important determinant of first lactation performance.  Our goal is to achieve 82 percent of mature size to achieve 80 percent of mature cow milk yield.  Having a plan and setting benchmarks for heifer growth and development is key to successful replacement heifer development.  The list below summarizes phases of growth and target weight at the end of each growth phase, as well as important highlights and factors that affect growth in each phase.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Less is known about lactose digestion than protein or fat digestion in calves.  We do know that, in all mammalian species studied, lactose alters the function of both the large and small intestine.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
The goal is to allow the calf to nurse comfortably with its nose below its eyes.  The angles, heights, and depths of your pails and grain troughs can also impact intakes.

By Greg Wiener, Vita Plus dairy specialist
This fall's terrible swings in weather have led to many challenges in calves less than two weeks old, and most of those challenges revolve around cleanliness.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Have you ever found yourself reading a milk replacer tag and trying to understand what additives are included, what those additives do and whether or not they are right for your calf program?

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
Using 5-hour ENERGY® for a calf can be the quick-pick-me-up a calf needs.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Automated calf feeding systems continue to increase in popularity throughout the upper Midwest despite little uniformity in facility design, feeding method, and performance across farms and no industry-wide accepted model to balance facility performance and cost. 

My opinion is that the technology in automated calf feeders is quite good, however, many farms still struggle to manage calves in groups.  We have identified 10 common factors limiting group feeding systems, and suggest some strategies to correct these shortcomings and monitor success. 

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
Colostrum management is a detailed process and management protocols lead to great success.  Whether you adhere to these protocols determines whether this is a make-it-or-break-it event in a calf’s life.

For example, what do you do if you don’t have the high-quality colostrum your calves need?  You need a back-up plan, and colostrum replacers and supplements can be a useful tool to give calves the best start possible. 

By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
It’s easy to get lost in the details of ration formulation and calving protocols when preparing dairy heifers for their first lactation, but these are not the only important aspects of a successful heifer transition program.