Preparing your youngstock for a flying start
To ensure maximum immunity and desired growth rates, both the management factors and milk powder need to work in harmony to achieve targeted performance.
Housing
I think I will start in the calving pen. Make sure it is always cleaned out and disinfected (ideally pressure washed after each calving), with plenty of clean bedding available allowing a hygienic and germfree entrance into the world. Often the calving shed is overlooked and by managing these factors the risk of infection is greatly reduced.
Calving
The big moment, the birth of a calf. As soon as possible, we advise dipping the calves naval with good strong recommended naval disinfectant reducing the risk of any infection entering this vulnerable spot.
Colostrum
I cannot emphasis enough that all colostrum should be tested with a refractometer. It is a small investment, but it is essential to know the quality of colostrum which should be fed at a Brix measurement of 22 or higher. Feed at least 10% of the calves body weight e.g a calf weighing 40kg is fed four litres of quality colostrum. 50% of this needs to be fed within the first three hours of life, if not immediately. Try to feed by teat, if not please tube.
The next step is to move the calf to its new residence, whether it be calf shed, hutches or an igloo. The environment must be clean, dry, airy, but essentially draft free, very comfortable and plenty of light. A clean fresh water supply must always be available from day one, supported with availability of starter feed and clean fresh forage, preferably in a rack.
Choosing the right calf milk replacer (CRM)
Once the aims and targets are set, the next decision is which milk powder suits your system. Growth rates? Beef or heifer replacemnets? age of heifers when calving down?
Almost all calf milk powders are either skim or whey based. The importance is understanding the raw materials included. It’s essential to be aware of the nutritional value of all of these ingredients as not all are suitable to the pre-ruminant and can bluntly be undigestable causing restricted growth rates and possible scour.
Ingriendents included in your milk powder that will give you the best results include; included proteins must be skim or whey, palm and coconut oils and an ash lvel of less than 9%. So what do we have to offer? All our milk powders are made from British milk, they have a concise list of ingredients and are suitable for optimum performance. The Calfpride range of whey based milk powders and the Milkivit Energizer range of skim based powders, are all highly digestable and give good feed conversion and growth rates.
For more information on our range of milk powders, contact us today.
