Starting Strong – Calf Care

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.

By Chad Howlett, Vita Plus beef program manager
The Holstein steer feed and marketing world has experienced quite a bit of angst in the past couple months.  Basis on cash Holstein steers at the auction houses has widened to as much as -$45 per hundredweight (cwt) under colored cattle.  Typically, basis runs -$5 to -$7 under beef breed animals.  When you factor in the difference, you could be taking a hit of about $550 per head.

This Calf Care Quick Tip comes from MarBec Dairy in Mondovi, Wisconsin.  Clipboards with record sheets hang on the wall just outside of the maternity pen.  These forms are used to collect information, such as dam and calf identification, calving ease, colostrum collection and more.  A big digital clock makes it easy for employees to note the time of calving.

No more avoiding it...winter is here!  In this edition of Calf Chat, Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator, discusses a few of the things you can do to keep calves warm, comfortable and healthy as you work through the winter months.

Focus on Calf Care Leads to Show Ring Success
Watch a cattle fitter work at a national show and you’d swear he focuses on each hair on that heifer’s body.  Every detail counts.

But, according to Jason Luttropp of Lost Elm Jerseys, raising those animals – from birth to show day – is really a matter of sticking to the basics.  He said cleanliness, good bedding and a nutrition program to match his Jerseys’ needs are the keys to his success.

In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Stacy Jauquet of Jauquet's Hillview Dairy LLC shows us her superhutches for weaned heifers and walks us through her nutrition program for these animals.

By Lauryn Krentz, Vita Plus dairy specialist
It was an unseasonably warm fall with a fair amount of wet weather here in eastern Wisconsin.  Many producers struggled in November because of varying temperatures and rain.  Calves housed outside in hutches frequently had wet bedding and feed while those housed indoors experienced respiratory issues from the humidity and fluctuating temperatures.  In calf and heifer barns with curtains, it was hard to know when to raise and lower the curtains to adjust for the rapidly changing weather.  On top of this odd weather, farms without a dedicated calf team had limited time to focus on calves while they finished field work in the small windows of opportunity available to them.

By Dr. Max Thornsberry, Milk Specialties Global dairy technical specialist

Question:  Should I feed my calves milk with bottles or pails?

Answer:  Calf raisers should weigh the potential benefits and disadvantages of feeding milk via a bottle, nipple bucket or open-top bucket.

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist

Question:  How much water does a calf excrete?

Quick answer:  Calves between 35 and 42 days of age excrete between 4.6 and 9.8 pounds of urine per day, depending on the plane of nutrition fed.

A bit more...

By Floyd Sutton, Zinpro Corporation account manager
One of the biggest challenges in heifers is controlling digital dermatitis (DD).  This infectious skin disease is often seen in heifers starting around puberty.  Heifers that develop DD in the growing period are often given a “life sentence” because of the nature of the disease and the difficulty to treat chronic lesions once they establish in the animal. 

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
The success of a nursery calf program can be measured by achieving optimal health and growth in the first half of the nursery phase, and developing a fully functional rumen in the second half.  One of the many reasons these goals aren’t always achieved is insufficient starter grain intake.

The legs of the Maria Stein Grain feed mill have been a landmark in Maria Stein, Ohio for many years.  The business began as a grain elevator in 1896 and, like many mills, expanded to include feed manufacturing along the way.  In 1975, a group of shareholders purchased the business and, one year later, Chuck Kremer, general manager, began his career there. 

Do you wear out a pair of latex gloves before you finish all of your calf chores?  Here’s a timesaver:  Start your chores wearing a couple layers of gloves.

Many calf raisers have been battling Salmonella challenges during the warm and wet autumn.  In this edition of Calf Chat, Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist, discusses the factors that lead to Salmonella as well as some ways to help calves fight back.

A different strategy to raise beef calves
Imagine two newborn Holstein calves on a farm:  a heifer that will be raised as a replacement and a bull that will be raised for beef.  Their care is similar in the first couple days, but the strategies used to raise them will quickly diverge as the animals grow.  Most notably, a focus on efficient growth tightens the curve for feeding and weaning dairy beef calves.

In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Stacy Jauquet of Jauquet's Hillview Dairy LLC explains how she communicates with the other members of the calf care team.  She also explains how they care for calves during dark mornings and nights.