Colostrum management

Maria Poock with Fischer-Clark Dairy Farm Inc. walks us through the calf team's colostrum management protocols, including harvesting, testing, storing and tube-feeding colostrum.

With Sara Schilling, Schilling Farms LLC
Sara Schilling of Schilling Farms LLC talks to us about her colostrum management protocols and describes her goals for giving calves the best start to life.

By Brittany Olson, contributing writer
Colostrum is concentrated with important nutrients, antibodies and growth hormones to help give a calf a healthy start to life. Steele explained how providing quality colostrum early in a calf's life can help it take in nutrition and repel pathogens.

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 Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
The first days of a calf’s life set the stage for its health and performance as it grows.

Day 1
Colostrum is a loaded first meal for the young calf. Calves require fat and protein for energy and muscle development in the first days of life, as well as growth factors and many other nutrients that are concentrated in colostrum. Feed 4 quarts of high-quality colostrum to...

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 Kayla Oxendale, Vita Plus dairy specialist
As we embark on 2017, we find our industry under new regulations that influence the decision-making and day-to-day operations on many farms. The Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) requires additional traceability to use some common medications.