Canadian border may re-open
It’s likely the Canadian border will be re-opened this summer to heifer imports, says Greg Scheer, dairy analyst with Doane Advisory Services. That will add to the heifer supply in this country and help bring prices down. The price for dairy-replacement heifers should average $1,700 in July, he says, down from the record high last fall of $1,870.
Before the border closed a few years ago — in response to BSE concerns — the U.S. imported roughly 70,000 to 80,000 dairy-replacement heifers per year from Canada.
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Welcome to the April edition of Calf and Heifer Adviser,
published by Dairy Herd Management®
magazine.
Calf and Heifer Adviser and its core sponsors are committed to providing you with the information you need to make informed and timely business decisions. |
Calves need more calories
“The more we learn about calves’ nutrient requirements, the more we confirm that we don’t feed them enough,” Mike Van Amburgh, dairy nutritionist at Cornell University, told those attending a heifer-growers meeting last month. That doesn’t mean milk replacer is bad; it means we feed it wrong. New research, completed since the 2001 NRC recommendations were released, shows that in order to meet maintenance and growth needs of the calf, milk replacer must be fed at a level equivalent in calories to whole milk. The chart below summarizes the recommendations based on the rate of gain you want to achieve.
Rate of gain
lbs/day |
Dry matter intake
lbs/day |
Metabolizable energy
Mcal/d |
Crude protein
grams/day |
Crude protein
% dry matter
|
0.45 |
1.2 |
2.4 |
94 |
18.0 |
0.90 |
1.4 |
2.9 |
150 |
23.4 |
1.32 |
1.7 |
3.5 |
207 |
26.6 |
1.76 |
2.0 |
4.1 |
253 |
27.5 |
2.20 |
2.4 |
4.8 |
307 |
28.7 |
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Source: Van Amburgh and Drackley, 2005
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Feed calves’ immune system, too
A 92-pound calf — born with about 3.5 to 4.1 pounds of body fat — uses about 0.6 to 1.8 pounds of that fat while learning to live outside the womb during the first day or two of life. That only leaves it about 1 pound of fat to draw from when stressed, explains Mike Van Amburgh, dairy nutritionist at Cornell University.
Researchers have learned that without adequate fat stores, calves cannot mount an effective immune response.
If you feed milk replacer at the traditional rate — 1 pound of 20:20 milk replacer powder per day — at temperatures less than 68°F, calves will be in a negative energy balance and not develop fat stores to fight off a disease challenge during the first couple of weeks of life.
Potassium sorbate preserves colostrum
Looking for a good way to extend the shelf life of refrigerated colostrum? Then you might want to try potassium sorbate, a common food preservative. Research published last year in the Journal of Dairy Science shows that bacteria counts in refrigerated colostrum were much lower after 96 hours when preserved with potassium sorbate compared to untreated colostrum. For more details, go to: dairyherd.com |
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Right now pasture conditions are ideal for transmission of internal parasites to your heifers.
Do you know how effective your current dewormer is? Click here to learn about the free parasite evaluation program, sponsored by Intervet.
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Time for shade
With summer’s heat just around the corner, don’t forget that calves and heifers need plenty of shade. According to the University of Minnesota, all animals should receive protection from direct solar radiation. Otherwise, heat-stressed calves can go off feed, over-heat and can sometimes die. In addition to shade, make sure that all animals have access to clean, cool water throughout the day. Check your shaded areas frequently to make sure they don’t become a damp, manure-laden breeding ground for disease.
 Fine-tune colostrum testing
Colostrum temperature can affect the accuracy of colostrometer readings. If you test warm colostrum, the immunoglobulin (IgG) count will be underestimated. If you test it cold, IgG will be overestimated. So, researchers at Penn State University have developed a spreadsheet, allowing you to enter the temperature at which you test colostrum and the spreadsheet will calculate corrected IgG levels. To access the spreadsheet, follow this link.
Do you feed your heifers enough?
“We put a lot of money into genetics, but then if we don’t feed heifers enough you lose that genetic potential,” says Jon Robison, professor of dairy science at California State University in Fresno. He offers these rules for feeding growing heifers:
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Always feed at a level that covers maintenance plus growth and development.
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Use a ration that supplies nutrient levels that parallel your heifers’ growth potential.
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Make sure the nutrients are provided in a form that is appropriate and useable for that age of animal.
Records track success of calf treatments
Calf-treatment records are a win-win at Lamb Farms, Oakfield, N.Y. Each treatment is entered into a handheld PDA. Data are then transferred to a computer in the office. Each month, the managers print out the records, allowing them to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment protocols and relative cost from one month to the next.
Best time to dehorn calves
Many calves are dehorned between six and 10 weeks of age. But that may be too late, according to one expert.
Sam Leadley, calf-care expert who works in conjunction with Attica (N.Y.) Veterinary Associates, says 21 to 28 days is a good time to dehorn calves when using the gouging or cauterizing methods.
- By the end of the third week, calves that have been properly fed may have developed enough immunity to deal with the stress of dehorning (from gouging or cauterizing methods), Leadley says. Yet, they are still young enough that the amount of tissue damage is minimized.
- Caustic paste is another story. “All of the producers that I have contact with (who use caustic paste) do this as early as possible,” Leadley says. Some do it as part of the intake procedure at one to two days of age.
Web site offers heifer contract ABCs
Looking for advice on custom heifer-raising contracts? The University of Minnesota has compiled an extensive online resource, including sample contracts from several states and key provisions. For more information, follow this link.
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Dairy Herd Management has a Web site. Look for updated news, loads of important links and an ever-growing and expanding Internet presence at www.dairyherd.com
© Copyright 2006Dairy Herd Management magazine and Food360°. All Rights Reserved.
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![DOUBLE THE WEIGHT BY WEANING. Imagine, in just seven weeks, gaining 56 pounds more than a calf on 20/20 milk replacer. That's a 65% increase in body volume [size and frame]. And that equates to earlier breeding and earlier calving.](http://www.dairyherd.com/adviser/images/lol0406.jpg)
