Management strategy defines the success of calf programs. Calves are challenged from birth with an immature immune system, and at the same time they are programmed to grow quickly. A large part of managing young calves is their feeding program. It is an important first step to ensure that the milk replacer has been formulated with good-quality milk ingredients for optimal digestion and growth. However, other ingredients in the form of additives can also be used as part of the milk replacer program to strengthen calf health and growth.

Group housing in the calf barn has become an efficient way to house and manage dairy calves. Since our Grober Young Animal Development Center opened its doors in 2009, there has been a dedicated effort to demonstrating the benefits of raising these young animals in groups; some of those benefits include improved growth performance during weaning and post-weaning. Those particular benefits were uncovered in calves grouped right from the start. However, could there an advantage to housing calves individually to start out and then moving them into a group setting to maximize performance and also satisfy their innate need to socialize?

Milk replacer is formulated to balance major nutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates) with an optimal fortification of vitamins and minerals. When designing any nutrition program, the calf’s health, size and age must be considered. Historically, citations in scientific literature have documented trials where calves have been fed diets low in energy, depriving them of much-needed nutrition. Recent work has rightfully demonstrated that increased nutrition in the calf for optimized growth leads to many positive outcomes, including better milk output in the first lactation.

Milk replacer is formulated to balance major nutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates) with an optimal fortification of vitamins and minerals. When designing any nutrition program, the calf’s health, size and age must be considered. Historically, citations in scientific literature have documented trials where calves have been fed diets low in energy, depriving them of much-needed nutrition. Recent work has rightfully demonstrated that increased nutrition in the calf for optimized growth leads to many positive outcomes, including better milk output in the first lactation.