Written by Lesley Irvine, Dairy Adviser, TIAR Dairy Centre
What happens in the first hours, days and weeks of a calf's life can have a big impact on the animal's longevity, productivity and profitability.
Calves need to be fed high quality colostrum in the first few hours. The best colostrum comes from older cows in the herd, which have been exposed to more diseases in their lifetime and therefore will pass on better immunity. Calves need to be fed colostrum as soon as possible after birth and certainly within 24 hours.
The ability of a calf to absorb antibodies to fight off diseases decreases to almost zero within 24 hours of birth. To get enough antibodies, calves should be fed four litres of good quality colostrum, preferably in one feed. It can be split in two feeds, but by the time the calves are given their second one, their ability to absorb antibodies will be reduced.
Colostrum can be stored without loss of quality in a fridge for seven days and in a freezer for up to a year. Frozen colostrum should be thawed in hot water (less than 50 degrees celsius) rather than in a microwave.
In the first few days and weeks, calves should be provided with shelter. The more comfortable they are, the more energy they can use for growth rather than for dealing with external stress. Calf rearing sheds should be airy to reduce disease transmission and stress. Calves need moving air in a well-ventilated shed with the temperature of the air inside the shed similar to the outside.
Calves can be fed milk either once or twice a day - it makes no difference to growth rates. Feeding calves once a day can actually encourage them to start eating concentrates earlier which leads to early rumen development. The quantity of milk fed to calves each day varies from farm to farm.
Calves should have access to fresh water from at least their third day. Calves need water to help develop their rumen - feeding milk or milk replacer does not provide this. Trials have shown that calves that have access to water have higher concentrate intake, higher growth rates and less scours.
Recent projects conducted at Elliott Research and Demonstration Station using automatic calf feeders examined how much milk to feed (either four or six litres of milk per day, or four litres dropping to two once pellet intake had started) and when to wean. The studies showed that feeding four litres of milk each day gave the most economical growth rate and weaning at 100 kg, or 120 kg for calves born later in the season in a seasonal calving system, gave the best outcome for calf growth rates into the future.
More information by emailing dairy.enquiries@dpiw.tas.gov.au or phoning 1300 368 550