Starting the Dairy Calf

Agdex#:	411/51
Publication Date:	05/81
Order#:	81-048
Last Reviewed:	09/96
History:	Reprinted, March 1990
Written by:	H.J. Clapp - Dairy Cattle Specialist/OMAFRA

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Colostrum
3. Digestion
4. Sanitation
5. Nursery
6. Feeding
7. Records & Health

Introduction

Before birth the calf is protected from germs, temperature fluctuations, digestive disorders, and other stresses. If the dam is on an adequate diet, she will provide the calf with a sufficient supply of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins (especially A, D and E) for the calf to have an average daily gain of 0.5 kg during the last 30 days in the uterus.

Provided the dam has been in the herd 3 weeks, she will have antibodies in her blood stream which provide resistance to many local diseases. Unfortunately, in the blood transfer which nourishes the calf, these antibodies are filtered out and do not reach the unborn calf.

It is important that the calf quickly establish immunity to the health hazards prevalent in the new surroundings. A calf should be considered to be very susceptible to infection at birth and for the first 6 weeks. In fact, the buildup of immunity is quite slow for the first 4 months, and the healthy, robust calf may be 15 months of age before it develops full natural immunity.

| Top of Page |

Colostrum

The first milk (colostrum) from the dam is extremely important to the new arrival. The calf should be fed one kilogram as soon as possible after birth (15 minutes), plus additional feedings during the next 24 hours.

Colostrurm carries a large, readily available supply of antibodies from the mother and this is the only way she can transfer her immunity to the calf for resistance to the many disease organisms the calf will encounter during the first few months of life. Because of the permeable nature of the digestive tract immediately after birth, these antibodies and the milk nutrients are absorbed at a very high rate directly into the blood stream. The gut wall gradually becomes less permeable and the absorption rate is reduced. Therefore, early feeding of sufficient colostrum is essential. Colostrum has twice the solids and energy, 100 times the Vitamin A, 6 times the protein, and 3 times the mineral content of ordinary milk. It also provides enzymes which promote a chemical change in the intestines necessary for the digestion of food. The colostrum tends to flush the digestive tract and in so doing, keeps the E. coli bacteria from multiplying and migrating into the upper tract and stomach. A high concentration of bacteria in this area will mean early death.

Excess colostrum may be frozen in ice trays and stored in one kilogram amounts. It may be used for calves born to cows that have been premilked for several days or calves of dams that have not been in the herd for 3 weeks.

| Top of Page |

Digestion

The amount of milk consumed by the calf can be measured and regulated by quickly separating the calf from its mother. This practice will provide less stress for the dam and it will reduce the risk of injury to the calf.

A slow intake of milk by sucking or a nipple, stimulates the secretion of saliva in the young calf . The increase in saliva production increases the production of enzymes required to assist in the digestion of milk. Thus, large amounts of milk fed at a young age are more easily digested and less liable to cause diarrhea if fed by nursing or via a nipple than by pail feeding.

The young calf at birth, has a stomach of 4 parts, although the abomasum (fourth part) is the only functional one. Liquid feeds go straight to the abomasum via a tube tonned by the closure of the oesophageal groove. The closure of this groove is evoked by various stimuli (e.g., sucking, milk, water) and the reflex action becomes weaker as the calf grows older.

During the first 4 weeks of life, the only nutrients which can be well utilized when given in liquid diets are milk proteins, vegetable, butterfat, or other animal fats, the sugars (lactose and glucose), and of course minerals and vitamins.

| Top of Page |

Sanitation

Birth means a rapid adjustment in many areas for the new calf . In the first 2 weeks, every effort should be directed to helping in this adjustment without pushing for a rapid gain in weight. The respiratory tract, the digestive system, and the umbilical stump (navel cord) are all highly receptive to disease organisms in the first hour after birth. So one should strive for maximum sanitation.

The calving site is open to suspicion as it is all too often the ideal place to infect the calf with disease. This area should be cleaned and disinfected as thoroughly as possible. If the calving area appears to be the cause of health problems, a new calving location should be found. In summer this could be a clean grassy paddock, and in winter it should be in another barn or building, e.g., garage, machine storage area. In severe weather this area may only be required for an hour at the most.

The herdsman should not only be in attendance at the birth, but be close by for several hours. No person should handle a calf without first washing his hands in a sterilizing solution. Deliver the calf on to a clean plastic sheet rather than into the bedding. Wipe the mouth and nostrils free of mucus with a clean cloth (milk filter pad). Rub the calf dry with clean cloths, do not use bedding or feed bags.

The navel cord is just as susceptible to germs as an open cut. Dipping in a 5% iodine solution can prevent infection, dry up the cord, and seal the opening.

Sanitation is especially important when feeding calves liquid diets. Equipment must be spotlessly clean and sanitized before each feeding.

| Top of Page |

Nursery

The body of the new born calf is not conditioned to fluctuations of temperature and humidity. The body's heat control mechanism is not functioning well at this stage of life, and chilling or sunburn lowers resistance and uses up energy reserves.

Move the calf immediately to a calf nursery and in cold weather continue the drying with a heat lamp. The calf nursery should be in a separate building or in a separated area of the cow barn. It should house as few animals as possible in individual pens or stalls. It is important that the nursery have its own air supply, providing continuous ventilation without drafts or extreme temperature fluctuations.

The nursery provides an environment that minimizes the opportunity for pneumonia-causing germs to enter the lungs. By controlling humidity and temperature, the hair-like filters (celia) in the respiratory tract are assisted in screening the dust and moisture particles carrying the germs. A temperature of 21° C must be maintained in a nursery which has high humidity (80%), but a temperature of 10° C will be satisfactory if the nursery is kept relatively dry.

Pneumonia frequently occurs in calves as a sequel to, or simultaneously with, infectious diarrhea. The cause is blamed on stress, certain bacterial organisms, and viruses. Factors involved in prevention include strict sanitation along with temperature, humidity, and draft control. Calf pens should be routinely cleaned, disinfected and bedded with clean straw or shavings.

The nursery should be considered a quarantine area accessible to a few people and only after they have taken the necessary steps to prevent disease transmission.

| Top of Page |

Feeding

Feeding young calves a liquid diet not only increases the dry matter intake, but also increases the percentage of energy digested. Feeding of whole milk, a milk replacer, or a combination of these is a matter of preference, availability and economics.

Calves are born with a reserve of nutrients in their bodies and can be underfed for a short time after birth. Restricting the diet assists the calf in making the adjustment from birth without stressing the digestive system. This practice almost eliminates nutritional scours. Hungry calves will soon learn to supplement the liquid diet with nutrients from dry feed, and thus meet their nutritional requirements.

The following tables on nutritional requirements and feed intake may help in formulating calf rations.

* Energy estimated

Milk

Whole milk is excellent for use in feeding young calves but should be limited to daily feedings of 8% of body weight. It is possible to raise Hoistein-Friesian calves on only 75 to 100 kg of milk.

Milk Replacer

Milk replacers can produce comparable weight gains in calves to 4 weeks as the feeding of whole milk, even though the calves may appear to lose some bloom and baby fat. A good quality milk replacer is made up mainly of high quality milk products (dried skim milk, dried whey, and dried buttermilk), plus, in some cases, a small percentage of cereal products. Calves under 2 weeks do not have the enzyme development to effectively digest cereal starch and many of the non-milk protein feeds.

Because of the complexity of the formula and the relatively small amount of each ingredient required, it is customary to purchase milk replacer rather than to mix one on the farm.

The analysis of commercial milk replacers must be at least 20% protein, 12% fat, and not in excess of 0.25% fiber to meet the standards adopted by Agriculture Canada in 1975. Products which are designed as a "milk replacer", but which do not meet all of these standards are sold under a manufacturer's specific trade name.

The preference of dairymen shows a trend towards higher energy levels. Vealer (starter) is often fed as a substitute for milk replacer. The vealer (starter) should have a minimum of 15% fat and 20% protein. The addition of good quality fat, along with careful feeding, will increase energy intake and improve performance without digestive upsets. Vitamins and minerals are essential and some milk replacers contain an antibiotic for scour control.

A milk replacer feeding program of Agriculture Canada recommends feeding approximately 0.25 kg of milk replacer in one kilogram of water twice a day (0.5 kg of MR/day). This amount is fed without variation until weaned at three weeks (four weeks for smaller calves).

A good quality dry calf starter is offered free choice and some calves will start to eat at 7 days. Limiting the whole milk or milk replacer fed will entice the calf to eat the starter and thus supplement the milk ration. Wean calves when they are consuming 0.5 to 0.7 kg of the starter ration or the body weight has reached 60 kg or they have reached 28 days of age.

Sour Colostrum

There are many dairymen in Ontario using sour or pickled colostrum in place of whole milk or milk replacers. They report excellent results plus a considerable saving in feed costs and a lower incidence of calf scours.

To obtain sour colostrum, save the milk from the dam's first 6 to 8 milkings and store at room temperature. Avoid areas where the temperature of the room will go higher than 24° C or lower than 7° C. Plastic garbage cans fitted with heavy-duty plastic garbage bags as liners, make excellent storage containers. The colostrum should be thoroughly stirred at least twice a day. Blood in the colostrum will not cause any problems in fermenting or feeding, but mastitis or milk containing antibiotics should not be saved.

Start the calf on sour colostrum gradually. The first feeding is the mother's fresh colostrum. Beginning with the second feeding the calf should get a blend of the mother's fresh milk with souring colostrum of previous milkings. The second day, the calf should drink 1 kg of blended colostrum per feeding mixed in 0.5 kg of warm water. On the third day, mix 1 kg of water with 1 kg of colostrum per feeding for large breed calves. Feed this quantity twice a day until the calf is weaned. This will mean each calf will require 65 to 75 kg of sour colostrum to be stored (5 to 6 weeks).

A coarsely ground, fresh, palatable calf starter should be offered to the calves within the first week. This starter must be 18 to 2O% protein and 7O to 72% TDN. It is important to any calf feeding program to get the calves eating at an early age.

Calf Scours

The most common cause of early calf mortality is calf scour - either nutritional or bacterial. The calves die from starvation, dehydration and infection of the blood. The nutritional scour is usually caused by over-feeding. Calf feeding is an art and it is better to keep calves a little hungry and feed a regular amount at a set feeding time. The stomach capacity of a young calf is about 1 litre. There are at least 5 bacterial organisms with over 100 strains plus toxins which can cause infectious diarrhea in calves. Individual calf feeding pails or bottles properly washed and sanitzied between feedings, along with clean dry quarters will aid in control. Dehydration or the loss of body fluids from calves with severe diarrhea, disturbs the body chemistry and is a major reason for death in scouring calves. Electrolytes are available from your veterinarian to replace the lost fluids and aid in recovery.

Some success has been reported in the development of vaccines for the prevention of bacterial calf scours.

Vitamins

The young calf should receive a sufficient supply of vitamins from colostrum to last until the calf is on grain feeding. However, an injection at birth of 1,000,000 IU of Vitamin A, 150,000 IU Vitamin D, and 100 IU Vitamin E, will provide insurance, especially during late winter months.

Calf Grain Ration

An early weaning will reduce the cost of feed and labor and lower the risk of nutritional scours. It is possible to wean large, healthy calves at 3 weeks and most calves by the fourth week. The key to early weaning is to limit the liquid diet and have the calf eating dry feed as soon as possible.

The trend toward early weaning, rapid growth, and early breeding, stresses the importance of a good calf starter ration. The starter should be fresh, palatable, with the grains cracked or rolled and nutrient composition of 20% protien, 70% TDN, and Ca To P. (2-1). A satisfactory calf starter may be made from homegrown grains by adding 23% soybean meal, 5% molasses, 1% calcium phosphate, 1% trace mineralized salt and a vitamin mix for 2,000 units of Vitamin A and 300 units of Vitamin D for each kilogram of grain mixture.

Where small quantities are required, it usually is more convenient to purchase a commercial calf starter. These can offer the advantages of freshness, variety, and palatability.

Because of a higher percentage and digestibility of protein and energy in the starter ration, it is wise to withhold the feeding of hay until the calf has accepted the grain ration. There is no real advantage in feeding hay to a calf under 3 weeks of age. An acceptable rate of gain to 7 weeks is 0.5 kg per day.

A thumb rule given in an earlier paragraph was to wean a calf from a liquid diet when it is consuming approximately 0.5 to 0.7 kg of calf starter per day. This amount will increase rapidly after weaning when offered free-choice. The amount of calf starter fed per day can be limited to 2 kg per calf.

In a calf rearing program stature (height) should receive at least equal emphasis with weight in assessing growth for age. Using this criterion, a 1980-81 study of calf rearing on more than 100 Ontario dairy farms would recommend a grain ration of 20% protein be fed until the calf is six months of age. Through this stage the daily diet would be 2 kg of grain ration, and free-choice water, mineral, and fresh, good quality, first-cut, mixed hay.

The growth pattern of heifers, being fed rations which included corn silage, hay crop silage, pasture, or second cut hay, would indicate that, on the average, the rumen was not sufficiently developed in capacity or efficiency for best use of these feeds, under six months of age.

* Nebraska formula
** Virginia formula

Water

Calves may be offered water at 7 to 10 days of age; a small quantity on a regular basis at first and the amount increased as the calf consumes more dry feed. The water should be fresh and the drinking utensils clean.

Cold Housing

Many Ontario calves are being reared in calf hutches or other forms of cold housing. This system can provide a proper environment , provided the site has good drainage, the open side faces South, the front is kept open, and the quarters are generously bedded with straw and/or shavings. Sawdust is not recommended because calves eat more sawdust than other bedding.

In below zero weather, the young calf could suffer from insuffcient energy and lack of fluid consumption. This could result in death, which would be reported as malnutrition and dehydration.

In this type of housing it is desirable to increase all fluid diets by 25% in winter months. To prevent scours, it may be necessary to divide the total amounts into three, rather than two feedings per day. It is also desirable to feed the calf liquid diets at body temperature (38.5° C). Offer warm water to calves once a day and always have an excellent calf starter available on a free choice basis. Educating a calf to eat a calf starter ration as early as three days of age is time well spent. This may save a calf's life, if for reason (ie. sudden cold snap) the calf's requirement for nutrients increases rapidly.

| Top of Page |

Records & Health

Parasites

Very young calves can become very heavily infested with lice. The damage can range from an unthrifty calf to a death, due to loss of blood. Dust powders and systemics are available for treatment.

If calves are suspected of harboring worms, consult your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

Records

The calf should be entered into your record system the day it is born. Proper identification may be by photograph, sketch, tattoo, or ear tag. The date of birth, sire, and dam should also be recorded. List all sickness such as scours, pneumonia, etc, and the treatment.

Health

Raising healthy calves is a major problem of the dairy industry. One out of every five calves either dies from disease or is seriously affected during the heifer stage. Management factores predisposing calves to disease include improper environment, improper nutrition, and inadequate sanitation. Good management, individual attention, and separate quarters are more important to successful calf raising than needles and drugs.

All medication should be based on the veterinarian's recommendation for a particular calf. Practicing disease control in baby calves is an important part of a herd health program.

Additional Information

For additional information, read the following OMAFRA factsheets:

• The Calf Nursery, Agdex 411/721
• Hutch Housing for Calves, Agdex 411/721

   

| Top of Page |