Teagasc's calving season advice for Kilkenny farmers

Farmers across the country will be busy preparing or even starting calving season during the coming weeks.

Although some farmers may be better prepared than others, there’s still plenty of time to make changes now to ensure your calving season runs as smoothly as possible.
Once a calf is born on farm it’s important to give every calf every chance of survival.

Importance of Colostrum
When a calf is born, they are without protective antibodies to protect themselves against diseases. Colostrum is an extremely rich source of these antibodies. To ensure calf health is maximised, colostrum management is critical, as it is the most important factor in calf health and vitality. The calf depends on the successful passive transfer of these maternal antibodies from the colostrum in order to defend itself against infection until its own active immunity begins to work. A basic rule of thumb which should be followed when a calf is born is the ‘Colostrum 1, 2, 3 Rule’.
Use colostrum from the first milking for the first feed.
Give colostrum within two hours from the calf’s birth.
Give at least three litres of colostrum.

This provides the calf with immunity to disease before pathogenic organisms can become established in the calf’s gut.

Additionally, calves are at extreme risk of picking up infections via the navel, mouth and nostrils from the cow, other animals in their airspace and the calving environment. Calves should be placed in a clean, freshly bedded area once born where they can be fed the correct amount of colostrum and avoid potential diseases. Where poor colostrum management practices are used, calves are more likely to have failure of passive transfer of antibodies.

Calf Nutrition
The primary goal of the rearing phase is to double the birth weight of the calf by 56 days of age. Good nutrition is fundamental to animal health, welfare and productivity. The type of liquid feed given to calves following colostrum is transition milk. The feeding of transitional milk can either be whole milk or milk replacer.

Feeding milk replacer is common practice on many farms. There is a wide range of milk replacer powders available, each with their advantages and disadvantages on nutritional content and cost. It is recommended that calves are fed 15% of their birth bodyweight, so for a 40 kg calf that is equal to six litres/day, which is divided into two equal feeds for at least the first four weeks of life. Of the six litres/day fed, approximately half is required for maintenance of the calf and the remainder is available for growth. If you plan to feed milk once-a-day, calves must be at least four weeks of age. However, calves still need to be checked twice per day and farmers should pay particular attention to any signs of calves showing illness.

Where farmers buy in calves, it is advisable to feed electrolytes after transport for the first feed. This helps to ensure calves are well hydrated and stay healthy. Depending on the distance the calves have travelled, a second feed of electrolytes may be required.

Weaning
Weaning can take place once calves are consuming 1kg of concentrate per head per day. The intake of calf starter concentrates is the single most important factor in the development of the rumen, which is very small and undeveloped at birth. Starter intake is important in ensuring a smooth transition from milk feeding to an adult diet at weaning without setbacks to growth.

In general, calves are fed a ‘calf starter’ ration up to 12 to 16 weeks of age.
Finally, ensure fresh water is available to calves from birth and ad lib. Water is important for the development of the calf’s rumen and to ensure timely weaning of the calves off milk.