A calf that gets off to a bad start may be running a race it can never win. That’s because building a foundation for productivity and longevity starts during the first 90 days of a calf’s life, emphasized Jon Robison of JDR Livestock Management Services Inc., during a presentation at the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association’s annual conference.
“What you do in the early stages of developing this calf has a significant impact on the rest of its life,” said the dairy consultant and professor emeritus from California State University in Fresno. He commended geneticists for putting the right genes together to create productive dairy cattle, but noted that, “Management programs still markedly impact genetic performance.”
The first 90 days of life are important because some big changes occur within the calf that set them up for future success. For example, in just two to three months, a calf’s digestive system must go from sustaining on milk to becoming fully ruminant and capable of being supported by solid feed intake. This is a whole different digestive, fermentative, absorptive, and metabolic process, Robison noted.
The calf is going to become a ruminant with our help or not, but Robison said the magnitude of that development makes the difference that allows for genetic expression. This is a critical phase of tissue development, and if we miss those opportunities early on, we never get the full effect.
“If you want a high producing first lactation, you better grow and develop her correctly,” said Robison.
He noted that growth and development are not necessarily the same. Growth is an increase in cell numbers, cell size, or both. It is often measured by some type of structural evaluation of weight. This is not the best way to account for optimal tissue development, though. “Just because it gets bigger, doesn’t mean it is functionally more efficient,” he noted.
Development is a differentiation of cell types and happens in phases. For example, it is taking cells that are destined to become rumen papillae and allowing them to develop, under the right stimulation, to reach the full magnitude of potential.
“If we diminish their development, we diminish genetic expression,” he said.
To minimize the gap between genetic potential and management, Robison advised going back to the basics. This includes management of close-up cows, colostrum delivery, feeding transition milk, and the quality of the milk diet prior to weaning. The main goal of the calf feeding program is to establish a system that can achieve optimal growth and development so that calves can become productive, long-lasting herdmates.
