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As a passionate farmer, you do everything you can to keep calves looking and performing their best. But what if one of the greatest opportunities to support calf health is something you cannot visually see?
Calf diarrhea is the leading cause of death among dairy calves and likely contributes at least in part to the second leading cause, pneumonia, due to calves being in a weakened state.
This is not another article about how important fresh, clean water is for calves. Instead, this article focuses on why feeding water from day one is so vital.
It’s hot enough these days to fry an egg on the hood of a tractor. Heat stress is a major issue, even in Canada. Yet not much is said about the negative effects of heat stress in calves. Most of our effects focus on cooling the adult milking cows. However, heat stress can also negatively impact the calves. If the calf’s dam was heat stressed during the dry period, the negative consequences could last a lifetime.
What is fetal programming? Fetal programming occurs during pregnancy where changes in the intrauterine environment impact the development and subsequent phenotype (physical, biological, metabolic traits) of the fetus.
When Clarence Markus and his wife, Wendy, took over his family’s 60-cow dairy, Markvale Holsteins in Beachville, Ontario in 1985, they knew they wanted to set the business up so that, someday, their children might have the opportunity to farm.
We have gained tremendous momentum in dairy calf nutrition research, with publications tripling over the last 20 years. And rightfully so, since dairy calves are the future of the milking herd and how they are fed and managed during early life influences their future reproductive efficiency, capacity for milk production and health.
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.
Raising replacement animals is a key segment of many dairy operations. Not only does it represent a significant cost, but it also demands an important investment in time and dedication to raise highly performing heifers.
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