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Options for housing calves in groups
The decision to ban the housing of calves in single pen by some supermarket chains will lead to increased disease problems and cost for farmers forced to make changes now.
Work from Liverpool University and others, has highlighted the benefit of keeping calves in small groups or in single pens for the first few weeks of life especially when calves share the one feeding teat. ( Table 1)
Professional calf rearers in Holland, when forced to move from veal crates found housing calves in pens of 6 to be ideal for calf health and performance and this is in a situation when calves are housed in purpose-built houses with now older animals in the same airspace. (Table 2)
In block calving situations calves can be housed in bigger groups at the start of the calving season but even in this situation as the season progresses problems arise.
Farmers invested in single pens crates and hutches to stay in control of their calf rearing and many have stuck with hutches despite the extra workload and exposure to the elements for the calf rearer. For large units, choosing options to stay in control of disease, especially if male calves cannot be sold for whatever reason.
Control is key once you start having to treat animals and you have new baby calves entering the shed the next day you can quickly become a slave to the calf house and the bank balance goes south.
Ideally, if farmers can keep distinct calf-rearing areas, one for heifers, one for bulls, and one for weaned calves disease incidence will be less. If weaning is started, if not completed, at 8 weeks of age then the number of calves on milk will be minimised reducing the workload and disease pressure in the calf-rearing area.
Farmers should seek advice on their options on where to house their calves as often old sheds can be renovated at a small cost to make ideal houses for calves. Don’t dismiss low roofs, distance to other buildings, age of building, or previous use. Providing the floor can drain properly and the calves can be kept warm. Stocking rates can be modified to ensure the air is clean.
We have helped farmers modify old sheds for a few thousand pounds when the alternative was to build for tens of thousands. Old pallets can be used as dividers with feed rails at the front.
Calves in groups of 6 or less, that are dry, well-bedded, warm, and fed using clean utensils will give far less problems on a farm in the first weeks of life. As soon as they are eating sufficient dry feed, they can be fed milk once a day. This will increase total feed intake and encourage earlier weaning and less stress after weaning. It will also save about an hour per calf reared. This is as much as can be saved using computerised feeding when calves are kept in small groups ( <10) and far more time when calves are housed in bigger groups as disease treatment and prevention becomes the main chore.
Using the example of a 300 cow herd calving all year round and rearing all calves. Weaning at 8 weeks will save 400 hours of work a year and £12000 in feed costs. Feeding milk once a day will save a further ½ hour/day ensuring calves are more content before and after weaning, reducing coccidiosis and pneumonia after weaning.
Table 1 ( Liverpool University 2016)
Treatments | feeder ( N<6) | Bucket (N<6) |
Scour ( N=50) | 47 | 33 |
Pneumonia (N=50) | 28 | 9 |
Number of infected pens | 9/17 | 5/17 |
Mean age with Pneumonia | 54 | 36 |
Table 2
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