When we hear the phrase “challenges in the transition pen,” we often think about the lactating herd, paying particular attention to the transition from a dry, non-lactating animal to a highly productive lactating animal.

Remember the children’s story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” in which a young girl tastes three different bowls of porridge and discovers she doesn’t like it too hot or too cold but at just the right temperature? When it comes to preferences, calves and Goldilocks share something in common.

It is easy to fall in the pattern of thinking that once calves are weaned off milk the hard part is over, and you can turn a blind eye to them until it’s time for breeding.

I have been fascinated with calf barn ventilation for more than a decade, to the point where I have made its study the focus of much of my professional career. Calf raisers around the world often have the same questions when it comes to ventilation, and this article will discuss the three most common calf barn ventilation questions I receive. 

The words “essential oil” can elicit a strong emotional response. For some this may be positive, and for others it may carry a negative connotation equivalent to that of “snake oil.”

Keeping calves warm in winter is good for calves and good for the farm. Calves that are not cold stressed are healthier and more productive throughout their lives.

It’s common knowledge that feeding adequate volumes of high-quality colostrum benefits the health and growth of the calf. It’s also known that calves that receive good-quality colostrum right after birth carry those benefits throughout their lives as heifers and even into the lactating herd.