by Amanda Smith, Associate EditorSpring is coming on strong. Despite a return to warmer weather, though, we can still experience wide temperature fluctuations from day to night. With their naïve immune systems, the youngest members of your herd will need all the help they can get to overcome the hurdles facing them.
Biosecurity protocols are important in reducing the risk of disease transfer to calves. "To boost the integrity of your biosecurity practices, remember that cleanliness is critical," noted Alyssa Dietrich, a master's student, in Virginia Tech Dairy Pipeline.
Promoting calf health begins with the maintenance of a well-bedded maternity pen. This ensures that calves are exposed to the lowest pathogen load possible in the first hours of life. After receiving colostrum, calves should then enter clean hutches or group pens that have been bedded using clean equipment. Disinfect your hutches or pens after weaned calves leave, and keep them empty for a few days before introducing a new calf.
It is also important to feed and treat calves with clean equipment. Rinse bottles, nipples and so forth with lukewarm water, and wash them in hot water detergent and bleach. If the same materials must be used for multiple calves while feeding, they should be disinfected between calves with chlorhexidine.
"The key to designing sound protocols is to limit calf contact with potential pathogen carriers," concluded Dietrich.
c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
March 16, 2015
