FROM CALF TO COW GUIDELINE FOR A MODERN CALF REARING

FROM CALF TO COW GUIDELINE FOR A MODERN CALF REARING TECHNICAL INFORMATION

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING FOREWORD The way from a new born calf to a long-living cow starts already with a professional rearing management. During this phase JOSERA puts special attention to an optimal and adequate nutrition of your calves. For a successful rearing, nutrition is a very important, but not the only topic to consider. Besides calving as well as an appropriate care afterwards for a good health protection there are many additional points to consider every day. If the requirements for a professional rearing are fulfilled, you will be fully prepared to secure the highest life effectiveness of your future high-performing dairy cows. In the points below we have summarized the most important challenges regarding calf rearing in dairy farms. Maybe there are also some points which you can optimize on your farm. Colostrummanagement Calving hygiene Healthy calf Drinking place and feeding hygiene Animal control Adequate feeding 2

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING FOREWORD IDENTIFYING A HEALTHY CALF! Healthy calves are an important factor for success on farm. Only a healthy calf can develop its full potential to be a high performing cow in future and contributes to your monetary success. Often an experienced person recognizes if a calf has problems in its development. Nevertheless it is essential for a future-orientated farm to know the important parameters for a healthy calf. Therefore have a look at the following points: Does my calf have a smooth and shining coat? Does my calf have awake and clear eyes? Is my calf vital and curious? Is the body temperature between 38,5 and 39,5 Celsius? Are the mucosa and the mouth pink in colour? Is the respiratory frequency less than 36 breaths / minute? Are there breath sounds or is the breath quiet? Are there nose and tear effluences? Is the colour of the faeces brown till light brown and the consistency hard till pulpy? Identifying a healthy and vital calf isn t enough, because a successful rearing has various requirements on the management in a modern dairy farm. Hereinafter we would like to focus on the most important challenges on a farm and we will give you some essential practical hints for your business. Enjoy reading! 3

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING CALVING AREA THE CALVING AREA During the birth process the calf changes from a sterile to a microbial-contaminated environment. The calving area is therefore a very sensitive sector in your farm to which you should pay most attention. Don t use your calving boxes for ill animals and keep both areas strictly separated. To keep the microbial-contaminating stress as low as possible, you need to clean, disinfect and put fresh straw into the box after every birth. New contaminations can be avoided, if you put the close up cow into the calving area shortly before calving. The new born calf should be moved into a clean and disinfected calf box directly after the birth. Also note that if you build up a new barn you need to have enough and sufficiently large calving boxes. This will facilitate your work afterwards! Hard facts: Don t use the calving box for ill animals Provide a very clean calving box with good cow comfort Put fresh straw into the box before every calving Before birth put the cow into the special calfing area Bring the new born calf in a clean, disinfected calving box with fresh straw Don t forget the calving area if you build up a new barn Our comment: In our assortment you will find an environmentally friendly product which you can use for a better hygiene in your barn. JOSERA Desan helps to control bacteria, yeasts, fungi and viruses effectively and reduces the number of flies in your barn. 4

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING CALVING THE BIRTH Calving is the biggest stress factor for your dairy cows. Help your cows during this act and consider their needs for a comfortable environment and less stress to minimize the risk of injury for cow and calf. Always act calm. It is clear that calving aid equipment and other used instruments (ropes) need to be cleaned and disinfected before use. Give the cow time and pull only during a contraction. If you are not sure or you know that it will be a complicated calving, it is necessary to consult a veterinarian. For disinfecting the navel it is important to react appropriated. We recommend the following: Clean and disinfect your hands Pull the navel very careful away from the belly Desinfect the navel from all sides with a suitable disinfectant (iodine solution, bluespray) Immediately after birth it is very important, that you rub and clean the calf with clean straw. Protect the new born calf from cold stress and draughts. You can secure this by putting a straw bale in front of the calf igloo. The air exchange needs to be secured so that humid air can get away from the calf until it is fully dry. Additionally it is possible to use blankets for the calves, if the calves are weak or very cold temperatures are arising. In winter time young animals have a high energy demand to keep their body temperature. This should be secured through an increased drink concentration of milk replacer up to 180 g/l water. Or feeding more frequently a higher volume. Hard facts: Avoid stress work calmly Good hygiene is the most important fact Give the cow time During heavy calving consult a veterinarian Rub the calf dry and protect them against cold and draught Increase the drinking concentration or quantity and frequency in winter time Our comment: A calm and stress-free environment is the best environment for a natural calving. Give the cow time during the birth! 5

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING COLOSTRUM PHASE THE COLOSTRUM PHASE After birth the calf doesn t have any energy resources and the immune system isn t developed. The intake of at least two liter colostrum in the first two hours after birth is essential to start the passive immunization by absorbing antibodies from the colostrum in the intestine of the calf. Without these antibodies the calf is defenseless against pathogens and an infection can easily come. Please ensure that the calf gets enough colostrum milk. Four liter at the first day is the minimum amount. Very important is the quality. Please only use colostrum milk with more than 50 g/l lgg. You can use a colostrum measuring equipment or a refractometer if you want to check the quality. If the quality isn t sufficient for an immunization an immunity gap will arise. To improve colostrum quality we recommend the usage of JOSERA Colostrin in the colostrum. It contains immunoglobulins, lactic acid bacteria, vitamins as well as trace elements which strengthen the natural resistance. You should store ideally surplus colostrum to create a stockpile. It should always be checked for very good quality. Fill the colostrum milk into to a plastic bag and freeze it in a flat and plane way. So you can defrost it (max 55 C warm water) easily. You should again work hygienically. Only use clean buckets or other equipment with a lid to protect the milk against flies and bacteria. The colostrum milk should have 37 C when you give it to your calves. Drenching is a possibility if the calf does not drink alone. Please also use only clean and disinfected equipment. Hard facts: At least two liters of colostrum in the first four hours after birth Adequate amount of colostrum milk in the first three days Check the quality of the colostrum Stockpile colostrum milk Focus on hygiene during defrosting Drenching is possible in difficult cases Our comment: A high quality colostrum is essential for a healthy pre-development of the immune system and intestine. Keep this important period in your mind! 6

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING DRINKING PERIOD THE DRINKING PHASE After the colostum phase (2-3 days) we recommend the change to a suitable milk replacer. Particularly in the first three weeks (Igloo-Phase) your calves should get a high quality milk replacer with an high concentration of nutrients and active components, as well as immunoglobines. The development of the intestinal flora and of a healthy and functional digestive system is very important in that period to secure health and performance in future times. Which economical input a calf will give in its future, can be determined in the first three weeks of life. Healthy calves with an optimal nutrient supply can develop their organs in the best way. As adults these animals can provide a better performance, because their organism is able for a better feed and nutrient intake and utilization. We advise a very qualitative milk replacer in the first three weeks of your calf. JOSERA IgluStart is especially made for this sensible phase which helps to develop the organs healthy through the function package CalfCareEXTRA. Moreover IgluStart includes high quality milk components which supply important energy for a good start into life. It is important to mix the drink with an increased concentration of 140 g/l milk replacer (this means 160 g milk replacer / l water) to a better supply of nutrients for the positive metabolic programming. Only health animals could be programmed on this way. Already small illnesses could harm the positive effect of the metabolic programming of the performance in future. For that reason also have a look at the optimal rearing conditions. 7

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING DRINKING PHASE Only a calf milk with suitable ingredients can promote the enzym training of the organism. This doesn t occur automatically. Ingredients like pre-gelatinised wheat starch helps to build starch splitting enzyms which are important for the development towards a healthy ruminant. All JOSERA milk replacers are equipped with the function package CalfCare. Many also include the Smart-Energy-formula, which is on the one hand helpful regarding the enzyme training and on the other hand helpful to supply fast available energy via glucose and sucrose for the calf. Furthermore inulin provides energy for the microorganism in the intestine. The requirements of the calves are changing during their age. Therefore the feeding needs should be adjusted. Young calves need high energy resources which cannot be obtained out of roughage, because the digestion relies to highly digestible milk components. Therefore JOSERA recommends the concept of a multi-phase-feeding. It is important that the calf gets high-quality and easy digestible milk components in the first weeks of life. Furthermore the change of feeding milk replacers with a higher concentration of plant components has to be done step by step. Herewith it is secured that the calf becomes a ruminant easier. Calf rearing also becomes more economically, because the use of expensive milk components at first play now a decreasing role in the good development of your calf. More frequent and smaller drinking portions are better for the physiology and the development of the calves. Split the daily amounts on at least two, or better more portions. Rumen Ideal head position for an optimal development of the oesophageal groove reflex. Abomasum Oesophageal groove Reticulum Omasum 8

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING DRINKING PHASE For an optimal function of the oesophageal groove reflex and to avoid that milk gets into the rumen and digestion problems occur, ideally the calf is fed via drinking buckets or drinking machines. Take care of the right drinking temperature and the posture of the head. For a good functional digestion the calf should drink slowly. This is secured through a tight teat. The teat should be cleaned up regularly. Therefore clean it frequently or change it completely. Ideally a new-born calf gets a new teat. Please avoid enlarging the hole of the teat to enable a faster suckling for the calf. A faster suckling could disturb the digestion of your calves. For the physiology of the calf and for an optimal digestion of the nutrients a drinking temperature of 40 C is necessary. In winter a mixing temperature of 45-50 C has to be secured. If you use drinking machines or if you have short ways to the drinking place, a temperature of 43 C is also possible. The right temperature is very important. It should be checked regularly, especially in the winter. We also advise this for the use of drinking machines. Beside the powder and water amounts, also check the water temperature frequently. Deposits in the teat and in the drinking bucket encourage diarrhea. To achieve a good development and a functioning digestion the concentration needs to be 125 g/l drink, which means 140 g milk replacer per liter water. The usage of a measuring cup is helpful. If you have a change between two batches you should weight the measuring cup again to ensure a constant concentration and to avoid variations in the bulk weight of the powder. 9

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING DRINKING PHASE Feeding recommendation liter / day Concentrate feed The added concentrate feed is a reliable indicator for the beginning of the weaning phase. If the calf has an intake of at least 1,5 kg concentrate feed, we recommend the start of the weaning phase. Also the age of ten weeks could be an approximately time indicator. At a successful rearing the calves are very good developed, the rumen is fully functioning and the digestion is prepared for the intake of plant nutrition. 140 g/l water =125 g/l calf drink Weeks If you want to feed fresh milk in the drinking phase, use in addition a suitable electrolyte and energy feed as JOSERA VitalTrunk. The fresh milk does not meet the needs on minerals, vitamins and trace elements, which are important for the calf. Hard facts: Metabolic programming through a high quality milk replacer in the first three weeks of life At least 2 drinking portions per day, better feeding more times small portions Use drinking buckets or drinking machines Constant drinking concentration Pay attention on the mixing and drinking temperature Our comment: A high quality feeding in the first three weeks is important for the development of the calves to become a high-performing dairy cow. Don t use cheap products in this sensitive phase. 10

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING CONCENTRATE AND WATER CONCENTRATE FEED AND WATER Always provide fresh water to your calves. Water is as necessary for the rumen development as concentrate feed. Despite of the liquid nutrition through the calf drinks, calves have to cover their water needs, especially important at warm temperatures. During the rearing phase the calf needs to develop itself step by step to a pure herbivore. The early addition of fresh concentrate feed in little amounts is important. Through an early intake of concentrate feed the enzyme training of the calf and the development of the digestion system is starting. By this process more fatty acids are produced in the rumen, which support the development of the villi in the rumen. The needed concentrate depends on the age of the calf. At the beginning concentrate feed like JOSERA Kälberkost can be fed in the first week of life in small but increasing quantities. From the fifth week of life we recommend a mix with cereals and JOSERA Powermix or cereals, protein components and Kälber-Profi (18% crude protein, 11 MJ ME/kg, > 35% starch). With the correct usage (the correct amount) of Powermix and Kälber-Profi you have a guaranteed mineral supply of your calves. Due to the lower feed intake and the high need of minerals, calves have a higher demand on mineral feed. JOSERA Kälber-Profi can fullfil these demands perfectly. Hard facts: Offer early fresh water to your calves Offer early fresh concentrate feed Take care of the correct composition and mineralization of the concentrate feed Our comment: The change from calf to herbivore requires early suitable concentrate feed. As a result of the lower dry matter intake your calves have other needs. The demands on feed compositions and mineralization of concentrate differ from the feed for adult dairy cows. Therefore offer a separate calf ration with suitable mineral feed. 11

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING CALF REARING THE CALVE REARING Often the feeding or the fed product are challenged, if problems in the rearing occurs (diarrhea, less weight gains, etc.). But even the best feeding cannot perform miracles, as hygiene and comfort play key roles in the rearing process. Clean and disinfect the igloos and the single boxes after each calf. Through the identification of the pathogen you can choose the right disinfectant, because not every disinfectant can help against all pathogens. As a powerful help we recommend JOSERA Desan, which helps to change the environment of the pathogens, by decreasing the fly population and decreasing detrimental gas concentrations in the air. A lack of hygiene and wet straw encouranges the increase of pathogens. As far as possible leave the single boxes empty for a certain period to interrupt the pathogen environment. For igloos it is recommended to change the location from time to time. In each case the single boxes and igloos need to be covered with enough fresh straw before a new calf comes in. Cleaning, disinfection and leaving them empty between the occupations interrupt the pathogen reproduction. 12

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING CALF REARING Also with simple measures good effects can be reached. Put new staw in the calf boxes constantly and avoid double occupancies through an suitable amount of igloos and available boxes to prevent danger of infections. Moreover you should have a distance between the igloos to avoid the suckling of each other until the navel is healed completely. Also a good climate and an optimal air supply are important. Good, clean air (Attention: no draughts) plays an essential role in the development of the calf and reduces the risk of respiratory problems significantly. The UV-radiation of the sunlight could reduce the pathogens, but a suitable shelter helps to avoid direct sunlight and protects against rain. Put your calf igloos on a hard bottom-plate with a slope to the front for the outflow so sewage and liquid dirt can drain off. Don t place the igloos in the drain off area from surface water and do not put the opening of the igloo to the weather side. Hard facts: Clean and disinfect the calf boxes regularly Interrupt possible pathogen environment through leaving them empty and / or change of the location Avoid two calves in one box Keep in clean straw constantly Protect your calves against direct sunlight and moisture Take care for an optimal climate and good air Our comment: Always check the necessity of enough clean straw in the box. This you can test if you fell on your knees. Is the bedding soft enough and your knees stay dry than the box is sufficiently filled with straw. 13

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING THE HEALTH THE HEALTH The health of the calves plays an important role regarding the performance as a dairy cow in the future. Therefore pay attention to your calves. Measure the body temperature regularly (at the beginning ideally every day). Possible illnesses and infections can be recognized early and measures against can be started earlier. If diarrhea arises, an adequate supply with liquids as by the JOSERA VitalTrunk is needed. Also intestinal stabilizing products as JOSERA Curavit help against intestinal problems. Before doing other steps you should get the information why diarrhoea arises. Therefore make a faecal test to get to know if there are any pathogens or if it s a feeding problem. Diarrhea is an illness which has multiple causes. A quick faeces test can give the first answer which main pathogens are mainly causing it. If particular pathogens arise more often and if the cause is known, you need to advice a veterinarian who can help you regarding the vaccination of the mother animal or special treatments. Therefore please consider the points on page 6 regarding the colostrum-phase. A vaccination of the mother animal only makes sense for the calf if the vaccines can be given to the calf through a good colostrum management. 14

GUIDELINE for a modern CALF REARING THE HEALTH The liquid supply of your animals is - as well as for humans - a very important issue during diarrhea problems. The lost liquid needs to be regained through additional drinking possibilities. This drink should be enriched with electrolytes to balance the deficits. We advise JOSERA VitalTrunk as a powerful electrolyte drink. You shouldn t stop - as partial practiced - the calf drinking any milk replacer over a long period because the energy demand of a calf isn t covered by the electrolyte drink and the health problem might get even worse. Hard facts: Improve the hygiene and drinking management Frequently measure the body temperature Supply enough liquids and electrolytes during diarrhea. Determine the causes for these problems. Talk to your veterinarian how to stop recurring pathogens Our comment: You should know pathogens which occur often as well as how to use suitable counter measures. Document all happenings at your farm to collect experience and to be prepared if changes causes. 15

OUR HIGH-PERFORMING PRODUCTS FOR HEALTHY CALVES CalfCare the milk replacers from JOSERA High daily weight gains Direct use after colostrum period Milk components Suitable for use in automatic feeders IgluStart EXTRA GoldenSpezial PLUS Brillant PLUS Milk&Fat Optimil Supramil Primamil Easymil Vitamil FE-Trank For every cases JOSERA special products Colostrin Curavit Immunoglobines at birth Dietetic product against diarrhea Immunoglobulines, vitamins and important trace elements increase the immune defense and reduce early diarrhea. Diarrhea stop with electrolytes helps to recover ill calves. Josera GmbH & Co. KG Industriegebiet Süd 63924 Kleinheubach Germany Phone: +49 9371 940-110 Fax: +49 9371 940-5-107 Mail: export@josera.de Web: www.josera.com VitalTrunk VitalAcid Desan Electrolytes during diarrhea Acids for security Natural barn hygiene (certified for organic farms) Very good to provide it between feedings of milk every day and as a fresh milk upgrade. To acidify milk replacers and to create ad libitum feeding of milk possibilities. Decreases bacteria, yeasts, fungi and viruses, interrupts the pathogenic environment and reduces the flies in the barn. From calf to ruminant The JOSERA rearing feed Kälberkost Tasty calf muesli The high-quality muesli stimulates the early concentrate intake and secures a good rumen development. Powermix Complementary feed with proteins and minerals Helps as an easy and cheap supplementation of your complete feed for your calves. Only cerials have to be added. Kälber-Profi Special mineral feed for your calves The mineral feed offers an adequate supply, secures a fast rumen development and strengthens the resistance of your animals. 10/2014