How much impact does heifer stocking density have on their conditioning? Many herd managers seek to prevent freshening heifers from being overconditioned by dietary dilution with low-energy forages.

Molasses is a common ingredient in texturized calf starters. It is added for palatability and reduction of dust. Unfortunately, molasses brings some challenges to the manufacturing process because of its viscosity and at the farm because it attracts flies and increases the possibility for mold growth on starter.

Although the term “nutritional scours” is often thrown around in today’s dairy industry, what many calf raisers might diagnose as nutritional scours is likely the result of common misperceptions surrounding nutrition inputs and manure outputs. Below are six common scours myths:

There is no doubt that dehorning (also referred to as disbudding) is painful. Given that much of the horn as well as the skin surrounding the horn is highly innervated, dehorning elicits immediate and acute reactions from calves.

When you’re raising replacement heifers, your goal is to build animals that will achieve long, healthy, productive lives. The care and nutrition they receive in their first days and weeks of life can have lasting effects on how well they fare in the longer race.

“Calf health is built on colostrum, nutrition, environment and calf health maintenance,” Dr. Sheila M. McGuirk, DVM, University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, said. “Depending on the farm, one may be more important than another.” (Figure 1)

In recent years, a great deal of attention has been focused on the significance of ash in calf milk replacers (CMRs). In order to understand the importance of ash in today’s CMRs, we first need to define it.

A sound nutrition program grounded in research-proven ingredients forms the foundation for success and helps dairies achieve productivity goals.

Every dairy producer knows healthy calves require a healthy environment. This includes sound biosecurity measures and standard operating procedures (SOPs) that focus on sanitation and the elimination of disease transfer.

Calves – they’re not easy to raise, and we don’t get any payback for at least two years. They get sick easily and take abundant resources, especially time and money, to rear into productive contributors to the herd. Are they worth all this effort?