Health & Welfare Archives - Page 3 of 5

Get storm ready and protect your calves.

The first big storm of the autumn ‘Storm Ashley’ is predicted to hit the UK and Wales this Sunday with winds of up to 80mph and flooding risks. However, there are some things you can do now to help reduce stress on your calves during the stormy weather. Create a nesting area in pens Calves […]

Calves: How do you house yours?

Rearing of calves can come in many shapes and sizes and varies widely from farm to farm. It can often depend on several factors such as: • Labour• Resources• Feeding method• Space• Personal preference Regardless of choice, their accommodation must provide for the calf’s most basic needs if animal performance is to be maximised, and […]

Lungworm control in calves at grass

Be one step ahead when it comes to calf health during the grazing season. The first thing to do is reflect on last year and plan how to best prevent any likely issues that might flare up again. Are there pneumonia or respiratory problems in your calves at grass? [...]

Once-a-day feeding proves very successful for rearing healthy dairy replacement heifers in County Tyrone

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. [...]

Transition milk and its role in baby beef calf performance

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.

Pre-calving preparation

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 [...]

Preventing heat stress in calves will protect growth rates

Calves are increasingly vulnerable to heat stress as hot summers become more common in the UK. Still, there are steps rearers can take to mitigate the impact on their youngstock, such as including additives in calf milk replacers [...]

Top tips for preventing summer scour syndrome in calves

Early life nutrition is a key player in protecting the health status of young calves. Although turnout is largely dictated by weather and ground conditions, for calves it mostly happens in late spring. While grass is a cheap source of feed, it must be managed well if calves are to reap the benefits from it and avoid issues such as summer scour syndrome.

Tips for preventing calf bloat in automatic milk feeding systems

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

Reducing the effects of weather stress in calves

Changes in weather conditions can have an effect on calf health and performance, it is common to see a rise in pneumonia and rotavirus cases after a sudden change in weather conditions.