Introducing dry starter feed in small amounts to calves in the first week of life is important for multiple reasons, not least aiding rumen development. Dry feed is dense in energy.

Calves are often housed in less than adequate conditions with draughts, cold temperature stress and poor air quality. Calf rearers often get so accustomed to their own farm and situation that they can easily overlook issues that need addressing. However, existing housing can often be improved with just small changes and minimal workload. In this article we consider some of those improvements.

Changes in weather can create the perfect storm for disease, even when rearers pay good attention to detail in their rearing practices. This article discusses how you can help protect calf health.

Farmer Charles Goadby, Calf Nutritionist Selina Field, & Tom Warren from Bonanza Calf Nutrition answer questions from the farming community.

Dive into the comprehensive guide to dairy beef enterprise. Join Farmer Charles Goadby of D Goadby & Sons, Bonanza Calf Nutritionist Selina Field, and Tom Warren from Bonanza Calf Nutrition as they impart their extensive knowledge and experience. This webinar is a goldmine for farmers seeking practical solutions for calf nutrition, streamlined management, and ways to boost profitability in a dairy beef enterprise.

A new calf feeding regime introduced on a Lancashire dairy farm has eliminated incidence of pneumonia in heifer replacements.John and Graham Robson produce milk from 220 cows on a robot milking system at Roe Farm, Preston.Newborn calves receive four litres of colostrum as soon as possible after birth and are initially reared in hutches.They are on a twice-a-day feeding system and gradually transition from colostrum to Transformula on the fourth bucket feed.

A colleague told me earlier this year that he had been asked several times to explain how feed could be assessed from the details on its declaration label.

A good calf that gets the best start in life will mostly produce a good cow. It all starts with birthweight. As the digestive system is the last part of the calf to develop, size may be an indicator of when the gut is ready to begin digesting food. This digestion and the calf immune system also need a vital feed – colostrum – and they also benefit hugely from transition milk for a number of days post-birth.

Things you need to consider when housing calves this autumn: performance on grass, winter health requirements, nutrition and birth weight.

There are multiple and important reasons why calves need fat in their diet. Fat is a source of essential fatty acids, which form important membrane structures in the calf, and have a key association with vitamins. Fat is also a store of energy and can be converted to sugar when the calf most needs it. Calf rearing is about keeping the calf healthy and, as importantly, developing into a ruminant so it can be weaned successfully and grow.