Father and son team Kenny and Kyle McIlwaine run a crossbred dairy herd of Fleckvieh x Holsteins and Montbeliard x Holsteins on the outskirts of Newtownstewart, producing milk at an annual average yield of 9,000 litres/cow from twice- a-day milking system. Calf morbidity and mortality is at an all-time low. [...]

Providing baby beef calves with the same colostrum and transition milk feeding as replacement heifers can have a positive effect on both the health and development of those calves and less risk of disease for the other animals on the farm as well.

From July onwards, we will be getting into pre-calving season and now is the time to start preparing. We asked one of our dairy farmers who runs an autumn block calving herd consisting of 120 Holstein-Friesians (80/120 cows due September), how they prepare for calving [...]

Calf mortality rate from birth to weaning has fallen to just 1.5% at a Dorset dairy farm since a new milk replacer made from low heat skim and buttermilk was introduced.

Performance and weight gain can be set back if a calf suffers bloat and, as the condition is more common in automatic feeding than conventional, it is important in these systems to get everything right from hygiene to feed concentration to prevent cases

There is good reason why farmers are keen to improve calf rearing, to ensure heifers produce their first calf at 24 months and remain in the milking herd for as long as possible. In the Netherlands a recent survey found that most farmers use age as the main determinant for serving maiden heifers, targeting 25-26 months as age at first calving.

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.

As we learn more about nutrition and health, the value of natural flora, the prebiotic components and the enzymes in colostrum and milk are key to calf health and development. Low-heat fresh buttermilk is a key link between colostrum and milk as it contains many of the key health components of both and helps to protect the calf’s gut and improve digestion.

This article discusses the complex gut morphology and intestinal development of the new born calf.

Dr Amanda Dunn of Bonanza Calf Nutrition discussing the benefits of transition milk and gradual weaning.