Individual dairy calf housing was a concept that arose in the 1960s. At the time, dairy farmers were struggling with high rates of calf morbidity and mortality
Group housing for preweaned calves often comes with an investment in automated feeders, but it doesn’t have to. The Paxton family of Grove City, Pa., is a working example of this.At Irishtown Acres
For Steele, a professor at the University of Guelph, calf health all starts with colostrum. He reminded the audience about the importance of cleanliness for both the colostrum and the equipment used to...
After being vaccinated, have you ever felt feverish and tired? Have you sprained your ankle and experienced swelling, or was your ankle even warm to the touch?
Getting calves off to a good start includes a nutritional program that encourages weight gain at a young age. “I want calves gaining weight by the second week of life,” said Bob James
What job on your farm would you like to make easier?There are many possible answers to this question, but a top contender for many would likely be disbudding calves
Quality, quantity, quickness, squeaky clean, and quantify: these “five Qs” developed by Sandra Godden at the University of Minnesota serve as guidelines for effectively supplying colostrum
Those who work closely with the calves on a dairy farm must always be on the lookout for signs of illness. Identifying calves that are dealing with the most common issues — scours and pneumonia
A growing number of farmers are choosing pair housing over individual pens for preweaned calves to capture some of the cognitive and social benefits that can be gained when cattle are raised in groups
When temperatures are between 59°F and 82°F, a dairy calf can manage and control its body temperature with relative ease. “They are generating metabolic body heat and have normal exchange...
The long awaited publication of the eighth edition of Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) includes a chapter on calf nutrition
Conversations about calf feeding often focus on the liquid portion of the diet, either milk or milk replacer, but calf starter is an important part of the equation, too
As we brace ourselves and our farms for winter, there is one particularly vulnerable population on the dairy when it comes to cold weather.“Newborns are going to be the most susceptible animals