Dairy Herd Management's Calf and Heifer Adviser

Ear infections stunt calf growth
Ear infections caused by Mycoplasma bovis are costly, according to a study presented at this year’s American Dairy Science Association annual meeting. The table below shows the effect of ear infection on three treatment groups over a 42-day trial. Treatment cost for ear infection alone was nearly $20 per calf for those displaying clinical signs and receiving treatment for more than six days.

Treatment group
	No clinical signs No antibiotics	Clinical signs Antibiotics for 1-6 days	Clinical signs Antibiotics for more than 6 days
Number of calves	77	33	21
Total gain	30.9 pounds	28 pounds	24.3 pounds
Total milk replacer intake	58.2 pounds	57.6 pounds	56.2
Total starter intake	17.4 pounds	14.6 pounds	10.8 pounds
Total respiratory days	2.2 days	4 days	3.4 days
Total ear infection cost	$0.00	$8.84	$19.82
Total treatment cost per calf	$10.56	$22.15	$36.97

Source: Journal of Dairy Science, Vol. 90, Suppl. 1, p. 95, Abstr. #M290

Help calves transition into winter
As the weather gets cooler, calves need more energy to maintain their body condition. And, they can be more vulnerable to clostridium. One of the things that triggers a clostridium outbreak is some kind of change in the calves’ lives. It can be a change in the time of feeding, the temperature of the milk replacer or even the weather, points out Jim Quigley, research director at Diamond V. So, with warm days and cold nights, it is important to minimize change elsewhere in their lives. Try to feed the calves at the same time every day, and so on. For more on handling the transition to cooler weather, follow this link.

Clues for dealing with clostridium
Experts at the University of Minnesota say improving your colostrum management also can help you deal with clostridia bacteria. For example, if you have not recently checked blood serum total protein levels among calves that are one to seven days old, this is a good time to do it. At least eight out of ten samples should be 5.0 or higher. None should be as low as 4.5. For more advice, follow this link.

Spanish-language “newborn” article
Calves are born with no defense against disease, which means the newborn depends on the care you give it during the first few hours of life. This is one of the take-home messages from the August issue of Manejo Lechero, a sister publication of Dairy Herd Management written in both English and Spanish. To provide a copy to your Hispanic work force, follow this link. To read in English, follow this link.

Barrel collects water-refusals

This portable 55-gallon barrel is used to collect water-refusals in the calf barns at the University of Minnesota Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca. Calf feeders collect water-refusals prior to milk feeding or when buckets need cleaning. The maintenance department at the research center retrofitted the barrel by securing it to a wheeled base. The barrel also has a faucet at the bottom, which allows calf feeders to empty the water into a central drain in the milk-mixing area instead of dumping the water on the ground in the calf rooms. This helps keep the calf pens and central alley dry.

Seminar date change
The Dairy Calf & Heifer Profit Seminar scheduled for Oct. 19 in St. Cloud, Minn., has been rescheduled to Nov. 5. For more information, call (636) 449-5077.

Life’s a beach

Calves at Helendale Ranch stay cool and comfortable on sand. Owner Cheryl Madison of Oakley, Kan., swears by sand for calves. “If you crawl into a hutch in the summer, the sand-bedded ones are at least 10 degrees cooler, compared to straw,” she says. Follow this link to learn the other reasons why Madison is sold on sand.

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