Calf rearing.

Mooooo

I know most of ye arent thinking of it for a while but I said I'd fire this thread away up as a reference thread maybe for all tings calf rearing.
Talks of milk replacer going up in price. Had been rearing on whole milk here but will be putting most heifers on milk replacer in spring. Any opinions on the best one purely on terms of ingredients as opposed to price? Would ye normally go on milk replacer or does it depend on how milk price and replacer price compare each year for ye?

mahoney_j

Mooooo wrote: »

I know most of ye arent thinking of it for a while but I said I'd fire this thread away up as a reference thread maybe for all tings calf rearing.
Talks of milk replacer going up in price. Had been rearing on whole milk here but will be putting most heifers on milk replacer in spring. Any opinions on the best one purely on terms of ingredients as opposed to price? Would ye normally go on milk replacer or does it depend on how milk price and replacer price compare each year for ye?

Reared all calves on milk replacer for last few years ,that and getting them onto oad after 10/14 days and high feeding rates has transformed calf rearing for me both from labour and calf performance point of view .i bought one of those jfc/volac mixers ,super job .next step tho will be automatic feeder .tried a few different milk powders and by far best one is shine oad

Mooooo

What would be your routine on going to oad then. Gradually increase morning feed and reduce evening feed?

mahoney_j

Mooooo wrote: »

What would be your routine on going to oad then. Gradually increase morning feed and reduce evening feed?

300 gramms twice a day from day 4/5 then day 10 600 gramms in 3 ltrs oad slowly increasing to 750 over next 10 days .fresh straw ,water and crunch ad lib.transition to oad would be abrupt with maby they would get there normal 300 gramms evening before .cruical to keep water temp right ,consistent mix and regular feed time

Sam Kade

mahoney_j wrote: »

Reared all calves on milk replacer for last few years ,that and getting them onto oad after 10/14 days and high feeding rates has transformed calf rearing for me both from labour and calf performance point of view .i bought one of those jfc/volac mixers ,super job .next step tho will be automatic feeder .tried a few different milk powders and by far best one is shine oad

+1 to shine oad, it's skim based rather than whey based.

Jexbullcalf

Why milk replacer lads? Never used it here as have a dumpline going straight into the calf feeder.
Is it not another cost and another job to do in a busy time?
Are the calves much better off on it.

mahoney_j

Jexbullcalf wrote: »

Why milk replacer lads? Never used it here as have a dumpline going straight into the calf feeder.
Is it not another cost and another job to do in a busy time?
Are the calves much better off on it.

Calved thrive better snd if mixed consistently it's a stable feed daily ,whole milk is not

Jexbullcalf

mahoney_j wrote: »

Calved thrive better snd if mixed consistently it's a stable feed daily ,whole milk is not

What do you do with waste milk in fresh calvers? Use a long acting dry cow tube here and would have to hold milk for 156hrs. Pain in the arse so it is. But plenty of milk for calves!!
How much is that shine stuff per litre might try on a pen in the spring

whelan2

Jexbullcalf wrote: »

What do you do with waste milk in fresh calvers? Use a long acting dry cow tube here and would have to hold milk for 156hrs. Pain in the arse so it is. But plenty of milk for calves!!
How much is that shine stuff per litre might try on a pen in the spring

if you test the milk it is clear before the 156 hours

Mooooo

Would be keeping bull calves on whole milk as they will be gone before 6 weeks Please god. Used a short withdrawal tube on some of the autumn calvers, 36 days + 24 hours super job. Trying to get away from feeding waste milk to heifers as it could be high scc stuff and trying to improve on that front.

mahoney_j

Jexbullcalf wrote: »

What do you do with waste milk in fresh calvers? Use a long acting dry cow tube here and would have to hold milk for 156hrs. Pain in the arse so it is. But plenty of milk for calves!!
How much is that shine stuff per litre might try on a pen in the spring

Calves get whole milk for first 5 days so that mops that up

whelan2

mahoney_j wrote: »

Calves get whole milk for first 5 days so that mops that up

But if cows are treated with rotavec corona calves need the biestings for at least the first 12 days... Just something to bear in find for those who do use rc

Jexbullcalf

whelan2 wrote: »

if you test the milk it is clear before the 156 hours

No got caught last spring trying to be the smart boy. Sensitivity tests are getting better as used to let it off after 10 milkings

Buford T. Justice XIX

Jexbullcalf wrote: »

Why milk replacer lads? Never used it here as have a dumpline going straight into the calf feeder.
Is it not another cost and another job to do in a busy time?
Are the calves much better off on it.

There is also a danger of spreading Johnes to the heifer calves if they are on whole milk.

Timmaay

Jexbullcalf wrote: »

No got caught last spring trying to be the smart boy. Sensitivity tests are getting better as used to let it off after 10 milkings

Ouch. Every dairyfarmers worst nightmare!

Mooooo

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Jexbullcalf wrote: »

Why milk replacer lads? Never used it here as have a dumpline going straight into the calf feeder.
Is it not another cost and another job to do in a busy time?
Are the calves much better off on it.

There is also a danger of spreading Johnes to the heifer calves if they are on whole milk.

Jexbullcalf wrote: »

whelan2 wrote: »

if you test the milk it is clear before the 156 hours

No got caught last spring trying to be the smart boy. Sensitivity tests are getting better as used to let it off after 10 milkings

Can you not.change tube?

Jexbullcalf

Mooooo wrote: »

Can you not.change tube?

Was that thinking of doing that this yr but the active ingredients in the tube are the reason I'm using it and would be afraid to change now as have scc sub 100 after yrs of being 200+. Using bovaclox dc extra by the way

dar31

used orbenin DC last year, based on sensitivity test on cows milk.
scc all year ranged from 40's to 130 mostly under 100. fresh calvers milk was clear after 4 milking even earlier. every cows milk was tested with delvo before going to tank....8-12 week dry cow peroid

visatorro

Anyone any faith in scour testing kits?

Buford T. Justice XIX

At the Teagasc Dairy conference, they were recommending that they be used more by farmers to narrow down the disease and use the correct drugs.

I'll be getting a few for the spring.

visatorro

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

At the Teagasc Dairy conference, they were recommending that they be used more by farmers to narrow down the disease and use the correct drugs.

I'll be getting a few for the spring.

Where will you purchase? I couldn't find any on Irish websites

Mooooo

visatorro wrote: »

Where will you purchase? I couldn't find any on Irish websites

The vets have then alright. I think there is another crowd that do them not sure of name. They can be handy as well to rule stuff out as well as much as in.
One of the big things for calves is water the small bit they drink would be important even early on. Had a habit when numbers were landing fast there may be calves in all corners till space comes in main shed and may not have had water available so if no trough available I'll drop.in a bucket of water now as well. Even when young the small drop the may drink helps

whelan2

Osmonds do them afaik

Buford T. Justice XIX

visatorro wrote: »

Where will you purchase? I couldn't find any on Irish websites

I was getting them from the vet but Whelan says they are sold by Osmonds so I will look there first.

Farfield

Using Rotavac for first time this winter. Had lot problems with scour in spring Calvers n rota showed up.
It's helping a bit but still getting some scouring around 7 days but no deaths. Vets told me only needed to feed bieslings for about 3 days n that should do it. I have read here that they need it for 12 days??? Maybe that's why I have some problems?

Mooooo

Going to fix up a few sheds on out farm for a few calves. These are old sheds so will be keeping them lowly stocked, no going in with a machine to clean em out for the most part. Was thinking of setting up a pen in the yard outside for feeding milk and they could wander a way out on the nice days. May keep the shed a bit cleaner and leave more space for the calves. One question is if it's raining and and they come out for the milk and back into the shed again all wet would there be much a health risk.?

Mooooo

Farfield wrote: »

Using Rotavac for first time this winter. Had lot problems with scour in spring Calvers n rota showed up.
It's helping a bit but still getting some scouring around 7 days but no deaths. Vets told me only needed to feed bieslings for about 3 days n that should do it. I have read here that they need it for 12 days??? Maybe that's why I have some problems?

Was rota the only thing that showed up. Had fierce trouble myself last spring but crypto was main culprit, but The warm wet spring didn't help either. Got rotavec corona here too will do the cows this week.

jfh

Mooooo wrote: »

Was rota the only thing that showed up. Had fierce trouble myself last spring but crypto was main culprit, but The warm wet spring didn't help either. Got rotavec corona here too will do the cows this week.

We found the rotavec corona hit & miss, didn't do cows the last 2 years & much the same results. Try to let calves out as soon as possible after calving, know this is not possible if calving early

RightTurnClyde

Mooooo wrote: »

Going to fix up a few sheds on out farm for a few calves. These are old sheds so will be keeping them lowly stocked, no going in with a machine to clean em out for the most part. Was thinking of setting up a pen in the yard outside for feeding milk and they could wander a way out on the nice days. May keep the shed a bit cleaner and leave more space for the calves. One question is if it's raining and and they come out for the milk and back into the shed again all wet would there be much a health risk.?

Mooooo, are these sheds for slightly older calves 4-5 weeks?
If they are, if I was you I'd go get a mobile 50 calf milkbar feeder and keep them out in a sheltered paddock altogether. Over the years I've tried everything from hutches to outdoor rearing to auto feeder in shed. The best and healthiest calves I've had were the outdoor calves fed on yogurt. ( even though I'm gone back indoors on auto feeder atm...labour and ground space issues)

Mooooo

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

Mooooo, are these sheds for slightly older calves 4-5 weeks?
If they are, if I was you I'd go get a mobile 50 calf milkbar feeder and keep them out in a sheltered paddock altogether. Over the years I've tried everything from hutches to outdoor rearing to auto feeder in shed. The best and healthiest calves I've had were the outdoor calves fed on yogurt. ( even though I'm gone back indoors on auto feeder atm...labour and ground space issues)

Plan is about a week old once they are switched to milk replacer. Batches of 5 or 7 together of heifers so depending on how they'll land. Brother will feed before and after work and I'll pop down during the day. There is a steep small paddock, 1/4 acre maybe near the yard down there but it's overgrown and the river runs below the land there also. May clear that back and create run up to the yard if we can manage it. Rest of the land is steep upper part would be exposed lower part would have shelter but again the river runs below it and floods occasionally in the sheltered part. I had calves out in the autumn but they were born outside so had no real adaption to do. Would be worried going from inside to outside so young?

blackdog1

Healthiest calves are the ones born outside. If you have a very clean and well disenfected calf house that is bird and cat free you should have no problem putting calves in shed. I strongly recommend pasteurising milk and giving it for first 3 days then on to good milk powder. According to hoards dairyman calves fed good pasteurised milk have higher antibodies than non pasteurised at 60 degree for 60 mins

Bass Reeves

For all of you with calves this is a simple home made electrolyte mix. It every bit as good as those expensive sachets out of the co-op or vet if you have a bit of scour.
100grams of glucose
1 level T spoon of salt
1/2 level T spoon of bred soda.

Made up to 4 pints of water fed 2-3 times a day. It is cheap so you can horse it into them.

I used to make it up with 90 grams of glucose and adjust the salt and bread soda and mix it in a 2 litre milk carton. Weigh your glucose the first time and mark you tumbler or measuring jug and you can make it up very fast.

Long times since I had calves but I have the recipe in a page of a book. All you really need is to have the glucose in stock and rob a bit of bread soda ( not baking powder) and salt from the kitchen

Mooooo

Anyone use the lactalis "eurovo" milk replacers? If so How did ye find it?

visatorro

whelan2 wrote: »

Osmonds do them afaik

Scour test kit

Rep told me to just bring sample to the vets. Great interest from a sales rep!!!

whelan2

visatorro wrote: »

Scour test kit

Rep told me to just bring sample to the vets. Great interest from a sales rep!!!

Went onto the osmonds site the other day, you cant order on line

jaymla627

whelan2 wrote: »

Went onto the osmonds site the other day, you cant order on line

www.animalfarmacy.ie have them for sale online

Mooooo

Suggested feed plans from this crowd

blackdog1

Can someone post the hoards dairyman article pasteurizing colostrum 'the next step to control disease' can't seem to do it. it's an eye opener

Sam Kade

blackdog1 wrote: »

Healthiest calves are the ones born outside. If you have a very clean and well disenfected calf house that is bird and cat free you should have no problem putting calves in shed. I strongly recommend pasteurising milk and giving it for first 3 days then on to good milk powder. According to hoards dairyman calves fed good pasteurised milk have higher antibodies than non pasteurised at 60 degree for 60 mins

Yogurt milk would be less hassle with similar results, you can also make yogurt from milk replacer.

blackdog1

Sam Kade wrote:

Yogurt milk would be less hassle with similar results, you can also make yogurt from milk replacer.

I agree if you had just problems with digestive scour, but if you have crypto or other diseases pasteurizing is the best option. I'm removing the calf now and putting them straight on pasteurised colostrum and getting great results.

Buford T. Justice XIX

blackdog1 wrote: »

Can someone post the hoards dairyman article pasteurizing colostrum 'the next step to control disease' can't seem to do it. it's an eye opener

http://hoards.com/article-1793-pasteurizing-colostrum-the-next-step-to-controlling-disease.html

Mf310

Good read in farmers journal on calf rearing

Sam Kade

Anyone use the trusti tube for tubing calves? Crazy price for a bottle and tube but then it would last forever.

https://www.donedeal.ie/dairycattle-for-sale/trusti-tuber/14454992

http://www.clippersireland.ie/trusti-tuber-starter-pack/

Mooooo

Sam Kade wrote: »

Anyone use the trusti tube for tubing calves? Crazy price for a bottle and tube but then it would last forever.

https://www.donedeal.ie/dairycattle-for-sale/trusti-tuber/14454992

http://www.clippersireland.ie/trusti-tuber-starter-pack/

Use the red attachment that you can get for the speedy feeder bottles. I'd always try and feed the calf with the teat first, only would need to tube a few after. Find it makes things faster in the next feeds if they drink first time

theaceofspies

What do people find as the best disinfectant to clean out calf houses for the new season. Had problem with scour last year so looking for something that will leave no bugs alive.
Would cubicle lime under straw work??
Thanks

whelan2

theaceofspies wrote: »

What do people find as the best disinfectant to clean out calf houses for the new season. Had problem with scour last year so looking for something that will leave no bugs alive.
Would cubicle lime under straw work??
Thanks

I use interkokask get it from vets. Not sure if lime will kill crypto

theaceofspies

whelan2 wrote: »

I use interkokask get it from vets. Not sure if lime will kill crypto

Thanks - had a look there at that online and it looks good. Will try it out.
Thank you.

blackdog1

whelan2 wrote:

I use interkokask get it from vets. Not sure if lime will kill crypto

Lime doesn't kill crypto. Interkokask is a very good product but expensive. Hydrogen peroxide can be got cheap from the right supplier... Is excellent too. I'm paying 60 euro for a 25 litre drum

visatorro

Seen a video from farmers journal and calf rearing. He recommends mixing electrolyte with milk. Older generation here says two separate feeds of milk and two feeds of electrolyte and warm water.
Just wondering what's the general thinking?

Buford T. Justice XIX

visatorro wrote: »

Seen a video from farmers journal and calf rearing. He recommends mixing electrolyte with milk. Older generation here says two separate feeds of milk and two feeds of electrolyte and warm water.
Just wondering what's the general thinking?

Current thinking is 2 feeds of milk and 2 feeds of electrolytes between them. Seemingly, the mixed milk and electrolytes won't curdle properly and can lead to more digestive upsets. Unless the calf is fairly dehydrated, keeping feeding them leads to better growth. If they are dehydrated, take them off milk and 3-4 feeds of electrolytes or fluids into the vein to get them hydrated again.

visatorro

Remember briefly talking to dairymaster rep and he was talking about his computerised feeder mixing electrolyte with milk. Our vet wasn't a big fan. That was a few years ago, just wondering did something else come into fashion.