Calf Health

If you walk into your dairy barn and you can smell burgers grilling and hear steaks sizzling it might be time to look into methods to cool those girls down. As we head into the summer months and the temperature starts rising, we need to consider methods for heat abatement for our cattle. Heat stress not only affects intake, but immune function, growth, fetal development, and rumen health as well.

Calves are susceptible to heat stress as well, though it might not be as apparent as it is with older cattle. Higher temperatures can lead to decreased feed efficiency and average daily gain. Calves can also experience a lowered immune status due to the added stress of hot weather.

Debating over milk or milk replacer is much like debating which came first, the chicken or the egg. Everyone has an opinion but is there really one right answer? Maybe not.

Coming home from a two week vacation can be a painful adjustment back to real life. For dairy cows, transitioning back into the milking herd after a 55 – 60 day vacation can be even more stressful. She won’t be worried about office gossip she missed; she is adjusting to the rigor of producing upwards of 80, 90, even 100+ lbs of milk/day.

Internal parasites can cause significant decreases in productivity in both beef and dairy operations. Instituting a timely and effective deworming schedule will keep cattle healthier and increase profitability. Safe-Guard is a highly effective dewormer that can be fed at the bunk or dosed orally.

Upon birth, calves have little to no circulating immunoglobulins (also known as antibodies). Calves acquire immunoglobulins through the ingestion of colostrum during the first 24 hours of life with the greatest rate of absorption occurring in the first 6 – 12 hours. For a Holstein calf, recommendations indicate that they should consume, at minimum, 1 gallon of good quality colostrum.