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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Posted on March 26, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
The team at Homeland Dairy LLP in Brandon, Wisconsin, operates by the KISS principle: Keep It Simple and Straightforward. That philosophy has led to outstanding calf health and performance.
Posted on March 26, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
We're pleased to introduce Jill Houin and the Homestead Dairy team in Plymouth, Indiana. Throughout 2020, Jill will share her calf program and experiences with us.
Posted on March 25, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
Dr. Noah Litherland, Vita Plus dairy youngstock technical specialist
Knowing your feed cost of gain is an important consideration when selecting and evaluating a nursery calf feeding program. This cost of gain calculator can be used to estimate the cost of gain for a nursery calf program.
Posted on March 25, 2020 in Starting Strong - Calf Care
By Dr. Jenn Rowntree, Alta Genetics associate veterinarian
Failure to provide a clean, well-managed maternity area can lead to calves ingesting manure laden with E. coli, which can then travel to and infect the bloodstream. This is can lead to infection in one or multiple joints.