Giving Calves the Best Start in Life

In this month’s blog, David Wilde, National Ruminant Technical Manager at Massey Feeds and Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Biosciences at University of Nottingham, shares why it’s important that calves get the very best start in life if they are to thrive and go on to produce high milk yields as an integral part of a farm’s dairy herd.

“A calf never gets over a good or a bad start in life.” So, it’s critically important for farmers to ensure their calves have the very best one. Big, strong, healthy calves at weaning will go on to survive longer in the herd and produce more milk – so positive steps should be taken to ensure calves get the very best start in life.

Many factors affect how the calf will thrive.  Time spent with the dam, cleanliness of the calving pen, avoiding “muck meals”, timing, quantity and quality of colostrum fed all have an effect along with ensuring fresh, clean water is available from day one – as this is what kick-starts the rumen function.

Scour is the biggest cause of mortality in young calves pre-weaning, with respiratory issues causing the problems post-weaning.  Therefore, gut health is crucial to the success of any calf rearing program.  Not only will a well-functioning gut allow for the best absorption of nutrients, but it also impacts the immune system – the immunity of the gut in turn will affect the immunity in the lungs.

So how do you know if your calves are healthy? The good news is that calves don’t know how to lie – they tell the truth all the time – and refusal to drink milk is the biggest give-away if they are feeling poorly.

Choosing the Right Milk Powder

Where milk powder is used, offering the right amount of the correct choice of milk powder is key.  Optimal formulation, ensuring the best ingredients will help to deliver the right nutrients for your calves.  For example, only palm and coconut oils should be used as the fat sources.  Soya protein in milk powder is poorly digested by the calf and so should be avoided.

The use of proven additives can also help.  There are so many on the market, it is essential to know which ones are included in your milk powder and starter feeds are proven to be beneficial for your animals.

At Massey Feeds, we use two that meet this criterium in both milk powder (FiMLAC Formula SMP Plus) and starter feed (FiMLAC Sweet Start Pellets). Both these are specially formulated with additives that have been shown to help support and maintain gut health and, as a result, contribute to normal functioning of the immune system.

In university and on farm trials here in the UK and internationally, when calves were fed using these additives, growth rates were higher – an indication that all else is working as it should.

By using additives in both the milk and hard feeds allows the full benefit to be had, particularly as the volume of milk declines as we approach weaning and the intake of starter feed increases.

With Cryptosporidiosis an ever present issue on most farms, and a particular threat to young calves, along with housing them in a clean, warm, and dry environment, providing calves with additional nutritional support is shown to give them the energy needed to fight disease and repair their bodies.

Farming is not an easy business, with fine margins and constant pressures to maximise the opportunities available.  What is however increasingly clear is that by giving calves a nutritionally balanced and optimised feed helps ensure they have the very best start in life, with farmers ultimately benefitting in the longer run through a happy, healthy and productive herd.