Winter Feeding Strategy Guidelines
Winter Feeding Strategy Guidelines We are still focusing on winter feeding strategies; here are a few guidelines to follow. Dairy heifers account for about 30% of the feed costs on a dairy farm, and the most costly period for raising heifers is during the preweaning period. The animal’s susceptibility to disease is greatest during this period, […]
March 2020 Calf Blog
Acidified Milk And/Or Pasteurized Milk….? SO the question for me this month is Acidified milk and or Pasteurized milk? As group housing or paired housing systems for calves have gained popularity in recent years, interest in acidifying milk systems has also been renewed. This blog describes reasons for acidifying milk or milk replacer and examines […]
Calf Care 101
An Article done with an interview by Minnie Ward and the Dairy Star
“You can’t manage, what you do not measure!”
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure!” Peter Drucker (1909 – 2005) This wise quote by the management guru Peter Drucker applies to all areas of economic activity, and also to agriculture. But many decisions are still based on human instinct. This is also true for calf rearing: the goal of a daily increase from […]
February 2020 Calf Blog
Nipples? Bottles? Buckets? or Nipple Buckets? Which do you choose? During discussions of raising calves, a common question often arises – what’s the best method for feeding calves? Is it nipples, bottles, buckets, or nipple buckets? Well, the answer is quite simple. The best method of feeding milk is the one that works best for […]
January 2020 Calf Blog
January 2020! A New Year, a New Blog Season… The last few months we have focused on Colostrum and the impact it has on your newborn calf. Lets talk about the “Liquid Gold” Colostrum and take home ideas for strengthening colostrum management. Keep good records on colostrum feeding – timing, quantity, quality, periodic checks on bacteria […]
December Calf Blog 2019
Colostrum Freezing and Thawing Process So the last 2 blogs have been written around Colostrum, the liquid gold! So, I would like to continue with the topic of Colostrum and discuss the freezing and thawing process. As you know, colostrum is an excellent source of nutrition and immune proteins that transport protection to the calf. […]
November Calf Blog
Minimizing Bacteria Replication So last month I focused on Colostrum and the importance of IgG’s. I am going to go a step further and discuss the bacteria load and the importance of minimizing the bacteria replication. The importance of early feeding of colostrum to the young calf is critical to protecting the gut of the […]
The Importance of Colostrum
So, what’s so special about Colostrum? First, it’s the first milk producedfrom the cow directly after calving. Not 4 hours after, not 12 hours after but directly after calving. The more time that elapses after calving shestarts what I call the dilution effect. She starts producing milk forconsumption. Now as I stated this is the […]
September Calf Blog
For some of us it’s a time to appreciate the young adults we have around us. The extra help we had for the last few months is going back toschool. So how do you replace their time? Even though some of these kids are in grade school they still have a purpose. Usually to help with […]