Latest News From Calf

Providing free choice water to newborn calves has been shown to deliver a wide array of benefits in terms of calf health and performance. But it’s also a huge challenge for some farms in the winter.

More and more farms have made the switch from feeding calves individually to group autofed systems. However, disease detection in group-housed calves remains a challenge. Could autofeeders help detect sick calves?

As one of the top scourges to calf raisers, cryptosporidium is an ever-present challenge that rarely takes a holiday.

Wintry weather demands extra attention for preweaned calves, and that includes the temperature of their liquid feedings.

Winter ushers in a season of high tide for scours and pneumonia in preweaned calves. The sooner their sickness is detected, the more effective treatment and supportive therapy will be. Here’s a list of 10 ways to help.

As awareness of animal welfare grows, new methods of detecting and evaluating stress and pain in calves are being evaluated. Researchers are exploring heart rate variability as an accurate, non-invasive assessment tool.

If you sell your bull calves shortly after birth, it’s tempting to send them down the road with no colostrum. But those animals will be far better served if you take the time to get them the colostrum they need.

Even healthy calves can suffer dehydration in extremely hot weather.

The U.S. calf-raising sector now has a program to help ensure optimal calf health and welfare via the Calf Care & Quality Assurance (CCQA) program.

A high level of crude protein helps support development of the gastrointestinal system, especially important as calves go through the weaning process.

Successful transition from a milk-based diet to a diet of grain and forages requires proper rumen development.

Research shows it is not possible to eliminate the possibility of a calf becoming infected with Salmonella by good management and hygiene during or after the calving process, as it may have been infected in utero.

Abomasal bloat is a frustrating, mysterious, and often acute disease that affects young preweaned dairy calves, sometimes literally overnight.

The common industry practice of feeding first-day colostrum and then switching calves directly to whole milk or milk replacer may be under review.

Dehorning or disbudding calves is a decades-old practice that has changed over the years, and more changes are coming.

A set of lungs that becomes damaged in calfhood will impair a dairy heifer for the rest of her life.

Veterinarians have at least eight options for doing a cesarean section (c-section) in cattle, but most rely on only one.

Veterinary diagnostic labs are reporting an increase in Salmonella Dublin isolates from U.S. dairy farms.

Use vaccines strategically, not as cure all.

Calves coming down with illness often are very good at masking their symptoms in the early stages.

Essential oils and gut health promoters are garnering significant attention in human health and nutrition. Could these substances be beneficial to calves, too?

How nice it would be to be able to give every calf a treatment that would help safeguard their health, promote growth, and set them up for more successful lifetime performance.

An esophageal tube feeder can be a lifeline for young calves, delivering colostrum, milk or electrolytes when they are unable to suckle a bottle. But incorrect use of these feeders can be dangerous or even deadly.

Simply producing a black calf if not enough if the dairy industry wants to make permanent inroads into successful crossbreeding.

Could a simple administration of “good” digestive bugs improve the health of young calves?

A traumatic birth can leave newborns struggling to get off to a healthy and vigorous start.

Explore ways to address two of the main issues affecting calf health and comfort during summer months.

AgDay's Betsy Jibben had a discussion with one of the panelists, Dr. Jan Shearer, a Professor and Extension Veterinarian at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University to break it down scene by scene.

Dairy farms are seeking opportunities to control costs, but also maximize the health of their heifers as dairy replacements are the foundation for genetic progress and improvement of the herd.

While it is possible to wean calves from milk-based rations at as early as 6 weeks of age, University of Guelph calf researcher Michael Steele says it’s not optimal.

Bloody scours in calves is never a welcome sight, but diagnosing the source can help with treatment and preventing future cases.

Good gut health will lead to better productivity.

Calves need at least a gallon of quality colostrum as soon as possible after birth.

The more difficulty a cow has giving birth, the more challenging life in the outside world will be for her calf, according to New York Calf and Heifer Specialist Sam Leadley.

A growing body of evidence suggests there are wide-reaching benefits to following colostrum with several feedings of transition milk.

With spring flush comes an influx of spring calves. That combined with volatile weather can make calf rearing a challenge.

Calf and heifer raisers from across the country are encouraged to attend the 2019 Annual Conference of the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association, April 9-11, 2019, in Madison, Wis.

A group of Chinese dairy researchers recently examined whether the presence of antibiotics in the liquid ration impacted the growth, ruminal function or gut microbial population of preweaned calves.

Keeping accurate calf health records; following written management routines; and observing medical treatment protocols all can enhance animal welfare, farm efficiency, and consumer confidence.

Maintain quality from the cow to the calf.

I-29 Moo University Collaboration Hosts 2019 Dairy Beef Short Course March 26, 2019 in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in conjunction with the Central Plains Dairy Expo.

Severe illness and death losses in young dairy bull calves due to Salmonella heidelberg became more commonly recognized in many Midwestern states, including South Dakota.

When harvesting colostrum, it is imperative to keep cleanliness on your mind.

Cold winter weather presents some additional challenges to keeping dairy calves healthy, comfortable and growing.

Do your heifers seem to stall out and stop growing for a period after weaning?

Both colostrum and oral vaccines are critical to immune development and disease prevention in newborn calves. But they should not be given at the same time.

Two dairy farmers experiencing some of the coldest temperatures in history offered these tips to fight frostbite.

Two dairy farmers experiencing some of the coldest temperatures in history offered these tips to fight frostbite.

A new series of resources is available to provide training in calf management including; newborn calf care, colostrum management, animal handling, automatic calf feeder management and hygiene and sanitation.

Registration is now open for the 2019 Dairy Calf & Heifer Association (DCHA) Annual Conference, April 9-11, at the Madison Marriott West, Middleton, Wis.