Veterinarian’s Corner: Benchmarking – Start Playing Offense for Your Calves

Posted on September 18, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Dr. Kendra Wells, Valley Veterinary Clinic
In basketball, offense is when you try to score on your opponents, and defense is reacting to them. When raising calves, monitoring certain benchmarks can help us play offense against pathogens that can negatively affect calf health.

Calf Care Checklist: 5 Steps to Ensure a Smooth Transition at Weaning

Posted on September 18, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Dr. Lucas Mitchell, Vita Plus calf and heifer specialist
The transition period when a calf is weaned from milk or milk replacer is a stressful time in its life. Follow these five steps to minimize the stress and keep them growing through this period.

This Makes my Life Easier: Water Temperature Valve

Posted on September 18, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

It is critical to have water at the right temperature to clean equipment, mix milk or colostrum replacers, and feed calves. To assist with this task, Mark Buning of Buning Dairy LLC installed a water temperature valve on his water system.

Virtual Farm Tour: Cam-Cal-Kar Dairy Farm

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

If protocols are simple, they are more likely to be done correctly. That’s the philosophy the calf program at Cam-Cal-Kar Dairy Farm in Browntown, Wisconsin, has followed to raise bigger, healthier calves.

VIDEO: Calf Chat with Noah – Dry Cow Heat Stress and the Calves

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

In this edition of Calf Chat, Dr. Noah Litherland discusses the effects dry cow heat stress has on calf health and performance.

VIDEO: A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser – Summer Calf Management Protocols

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Jill Houin walks through Homestead Dairy's summer calf management protocols and how the farm combats heat stress.

Maintain Performance from Weaning to Breeding

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Dr. Lucas Mitchell, Vita Plus calf and heifer specialist
Many calf growers do a great job tracking preweaned calf growth, however, this tends to go by the wayside after weaning. These "forgotten months" could potentially lead to some disappointing heifers when it comes time for breeding.

Veterinarian’s Corners: How to Prevent and Treat Pink Eye in Cattle

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Brandon Scharping, Lena Veterinary Clinic
Pink eye is a painful disease for livestock and a frustrating disease for cattle producers. Although prevention can be difficult, various preventative health and management factors can reduce the risk of pink eye in your herd.

5 Steps to Check if Your Pasteurizer is Doing the Job it Needs to Do

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator
When a pasteurizer is working properly, it will destroy 98% to 99% of bacteria. Follow these five steps to make sure your pasteurizer is doing the job you need it to do.

This Makes my Life Easier: Calf Treatment Cart

Posted on July 28, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

With Gar-Lin Dairy Farm’s group calf feeders, it was difficult to find a place to treat sick calves. As a result, they designed this calf treatment cart to make it easier to move and treat sick calves.

Virtual Farm Tour: Finger Family Farm, LLC

Posted on May 27, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

The team at Finger Family Farm, LLC in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is focused on using practical strategies to raise strong and healthy calves, which has allowed them to raise only the heifers they need and control heifer-raising costs.

VIDEO: Calf Chat with Ann – Mixing Colostrum Replacer

Posted on May 27, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

In this edition of Calf Chat, Ann Hoskins demonstrates how to properly mix colostrum replacer and introduces the new Vita Plus SerPass 150 and 200 colostrum replacers.

VIDEO: A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser – Autofeeder Cleaning Protocols

Posted on May 27, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

In this edition of A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Jill Houin discusses the automatic and manual cleaning protocols for Homestead Dairy’s autofeeders.

7 Considerations for Choosing a Colostrum Replacer

Posted on May 27, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Many calf colostrum replacers are available on the market. Keep these seven considerations in mind when choosing the right colostrum replacer for your program. 

Veterinarian’s Corner: Colostrum Hygiene

Posted on May 27, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

By Dr. Kevin Ratka, Vita Plus dairy specialist
When it comes to colostrum quality, it is not only the amount of antibodies present in the colostrum that matters, but also the hygiene of the colostrum being fed. Colostrum needs to be clean to achieve healthy calves.

Build Your Own Colostrum Thawing and Heating Unit

Posted on May 27, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care

Refrigerated or frozen colostrum must be carefully thawed and warmed before it is fed to a calf to preserve immunoglobulins. Producers can easily build their own colostrum thawing and heating unit to accomplish this task.