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Replacement heifers are critical to the longevity and sustainability of dairy operations. Special attention should be paid to raising calves, as many aspects influence lifelong health and future productivity, including maternal factors during gestation, colostrum management, nutrition, vaccination program, housing and environmental conditions.
The U.S. calf mortality rate is 6% to 8% (7.8%, USDA, 2007; 8.1%, USDA, 2010; 6%, USDA, 2017), inclusive of all housing types. According to Dairy Calf and Heifer Association Gold Standards, the target mortality rate from 24 hours old to 60 days old is 3% or less.
While bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) persistently infected (PI) calves may look normal on the outside, they are comparable to a Trojan horse in your dairy herd. This is due to the level of virus each calf continues to shed throughout their lifetime.
Protecting the investment in your heifer herd has never been more important. We tend to put a lot of emphasis on genetic progress with our breeding programs, but we fail to partner that with a quality heifer management program to allow our heifers to express their full genetic potential.
“The dairy producer plays a critical role in veal production,” said Dr. Jessica Pempek, animal welfare specialist and assistant professor at Ohio State University. “Establishing the foundation for superior calf health and performance really begins on the dairy farm at birth.”
Creating lifelong immunity in baby calves has never been more important. A proactive approach to health, nutrition and management is a must from day one. Having a proper program in place not only improves the health of the animal, but it can also improve resilience to stress and disease.
Scours is responsible for 56.5% of mortality among pre-weaned dairy calves, making it the leading cause of calf death and sickness. How can you make sure your calves’ health, growth and productivity are not affected?
From birth, calves’ naïve immune systems are assaulted by challenges: new environments, fast diet transitions, exposure to disease and sometimes transportation and commingling. That makes it no surprise the dairy industry continues to battle pre-weaning losses.
Scours – it’s an unwelcome but far too common problem on many dairies today. Thanks to education and development of new products, tremendous strides have been made in reducing the severity and number of calves lost due to the main causes of calf scours.
Disbudding without pain control is painful! All methods work by removing or damaging horn-producing tissue, and all methods have been shown to cause pain when done without appropriate pain control.
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