Good maternity pen hygiene
Calving is a time when both the cow and the newborn calf are especially susceptible to disease due to lowered immunity. To minimise disease spreading to the new calf or cow, the calving area and facilities need to be clean and in good working order. If possible, calving pens should be cleaned out between each calving. Efforts should be made to minimise the length of time a calf spends in the calving pen.
Ensure adequate early intake of good quality colostrum
Calves should receive colostrum within the first four hours of life. Ideally, four litres, or 10% of the calf’s birthweight, of high-quality colostrum should be fed within the first four hours of life.
To ensure passive transfer occurs successfully, the calf should then receive another two litres of colostrum within the next 12 hours. Ensuring the calf drinks within the first four hours of life is vitally important, as the openings in the wall of the small intestine that allow for the absorption of antibodies begin to close immediately.
Within 24 hours, these openings will be completely closed. This early intake is critical because the calf is born without its own protective antibodies.
Provide plenty of fresh, clean water
The provision of clean water is very important during the milk feeding stage, as the development of the rumen depends on the fermentation of starter feed and forage, water is necessary for this fermentation to take place. Regardless of the milk feeding system, calves should be given ad-lib access to clean drinking water from birth. Calves will drink four litres of water for every 1kg of creep they consume.
Don’t let growth rates drop whilst weaning
Abrupt weaning places sudden stress on the calf because it loses its milk supply overnight without having fully adapted to solid feed. This stress can depress the immune system, reduce feed intake, and slow down rumen development.
A poorly developed rumen leads to reduced nutrient absorption, making calves more vulnerable to digestive upsets and poor growth. A step-down weaning programme allows the rumen to mature gradually, promotes consistent starter intake, and results in smoother transitions with fewer health issues.
Maintain consistent target growth rates
Poor nutrition and intakes can result in heifers not reaching puberty in time to breed. To reach 55-60% mature bodyweight at 15 months, a practical and effective nutrition plan must be applied between months four to twelve. Between four and 15 months of age, heifers must be on a on a settled diet prior to service with good quality silage and between 1-2kg of grower concentrate to achieve a steady growth rate of 0.7kg/day. Feed space and stocking density greatly influence growth target achievements.
As heifers approach calving at 24 months, they should be 90% of their mature cow weight. The target daily live weight gain for heifers is 0.75 – 0.80 k/day.
Correct transition management
Getting nutrition right during this critical period ensures cows and heifers are in optimum body condition before calving. Six to eight weeks before calving, heifers should be supplemented with minerals. Testing the forage in animals’ diet will allow you to determine its mineral status. Effective transition management ensures that cows commence cycling shortly after calving, enabling them to successfully rebreed within 365 days.
For further information and support on calving, arrange an on-farm visit with one of our NWF Sales Specialists.