Rearing the Beef Bred Calf
Fundamental goal of feeding calves Provide immunity to calf Develop the rumen to serve as a fermentation chamber for grain and forage Maximise growth rates Minimise rearing costs
Colostrum Provides passive immunity to calf Protects calf until its own immune system (active) is functioning Provides essential nutrients to stimulate digestion and metabolism Success depends on: Quality Quantity Timing
Colostrum - Quality Affected by: 1 st yield, age of cow, dry period, leaking milk, breed Milking number 1 2 3 Milk Solids % 23.9 17.9 14.1 12.9 Protein % 14.0 8.4 5.1 3.1 IgG mg/ml 32 25 15 0.6 Fat % 6.7 5.4 3.9 4.0 Lactose % 2.7 3.9 4.4 5.0 Calving number Antibody % First 5.9 Second 6.3 Third 8.2 Fourth and later 7.5
Quantity and timing Colostrum Ability to absorb antibodies declines rapidly over first 24 hours 2-3 litres as soon as possible and 2-3 litres within 8 hours 40% of calves left to suckle do not drink enough colostrum
Effect of immune status on performance Immune Status Category (ZST) Units 0-20 >20 Sig % Calves receiving antibiotic pre-weaning 48 37 LWG 0-3 Months (kg/day) 0.64 0.77 * Age at Slaughter (months) 20.1 19.5 ** Margin /feed ( ) 121 138 AFBI
Building Immune Function Birth 24 h CON MOS CON MOS (n=19) (n=22) (n=19) (n=22) Serum IgG1, mg/dl 1.6 ND 1490 1786 Serum IgG 2, mg/dl ND ND 124 158 Serum IgM, mg/dl 13.7 3 245 268 Serum IgA, mg/dl ND ND 127 111 Rotavirus titers 132 164 6737 12,569 Franklin et al., 2005, JDS 88:766-775
Building Immune Function Control MOS Serum rotavirus titers 3375 4270 Colostrometer 95 96 Colostral IgG 1 4910 4467 Colostral IgG 2 Colostrum rotavirus titers 348 356 21773 26010 Franklin et al., 2005, JDS 88:766-775
Rumen development Development starts within a few days Development affected by type of feed Rumen microbes require water to grow Rumen changes in 2 ways Physical size Wall thickness and papillae formation
Rumen development 6 weeks - milk only
Rumen development 6 weeks - milk and hay
Rumen development 12 weeks - milk and hay
Rumen development 4 weeks - milk and concentrate
Rumen development 12 weeks - milk, concentrate and hay
Rumen development Papillae stimulated by butyrate and propionate from concentrate Forage increases size through stretch not growth Forage important for muscular development after weaning
Features of United Feeds Calf Feeds Starches and restricted sugars butyrate + propionate Inclusion of saturated fat high digestibility and energy Mother smell ensures early uptake Biomoss binds to pathogenic bacteria and stimulates calf s immune system Yeast promotes beneficial bacteria
Finishing Steers Level of concentrates 3 5 7 Days to gain 200kg 220 176 152 Daily liveweight gain (kg) 0.91 1.14 1.31 Feed costs ( /head) 200 200 206 Other costs( /head) 124 98 86 Total cost ( /head) 324 298 292 Scottish Agricultural Colleges
Lifetime rearing programmes Bulls Intensive Housed 2.6T concentrate Forage / conc. based 1 st summer at grass 1.7T concentrate Steers Medium conc. input Grass / grass silage 1.5T concentrate Low conc. input Grass / grass silage 0.8T concentrate
Comparison of performance according to programme Lifetime rearing programme Intensive Bull system Forage/conc. Bull system Low conc. input Steer Lifetime LWG (kg/day) 1.22 1.07 0.76 Age at slaughter (months) 15.0 16.4 26.2 Carcass weight (kg) 309 298 328 Carcass Value ( ) 821 788 863 Total conc. fed (t FW) 2.6 1.7 0.8 Total silage (t DM) 0.27 0.86 2.5 Grazing area (ha/animal) 0 0.05 0.26 FCR - kg DMI/kg LWG 4.9 4.7 5.2 Margin/feed lifetime ( ) 189 215 157 Feed costs/kg carcass gain ( /kg) 1.82 1.68 1.96 AFBI
Comparison of performance according to programme Consider rearing 100 calves per year through to finish Lifetime rearing programme Intensive Bull system Forage/conc. Bull system Low conc. input Steer Months to finish 2 batches 30 33 52 No. Years 2.5 2.7 4.4 Carcass Value ( ) 821 788 863 Margin/feed lifetime ( ) 189 215 157 Total Value of animals finished ( ) 37,800 43,000 31,400 Total Value/year ( ) 15,120 15,926 7,136
Recommendations Pre calving nutrition of cow important Ensure early colostrum intake Introduce Calf Starter from day 3 and ensure fresh clean water available Wean when calf eating 0.75 1 kg starter and introduce forage when calves eating 2 2.5 kg of star Consider length of keep in finishing system