Calf Rearing

Lesson Structure

There are 7 lessons in this course:

1. Calving and Culling
   • Introduction
   • Research into raising dairy calves
   • Principles of good calf rearing
   • Pre-calving management
   • Managing the cow for a healthy calf
   • Colostrum management
   • Calf selection
   • Estimated Breeding Value (EBV)
   • Culling
   • Assessing calves for suitability in a rearing system
2. Calving Management
   • The birth of a calf
   • Signs that the birth is close
   • Stages in a normal birth
   • Calving problems
   • Important points
   • Abnormal presentations
   • The calf at birth
   • Colostrum
   • Stress and pathogen exposure
   • Managing stress
   • Managing pathogen exposure
   • The calf digestive tract
   • Rumen development
   • Bacteria
   • Liquid in the rumen
   • Outflows of rumen materials
   • Absorptive qualities
   • Substrate (Dry feed Intake)
3. Calf Health Management
   • Overview
   • Common calf diseases
   • Scours
   • Coccidiosis
   • Round Worm Scours
   • Lung worm
   • Calf diphtheria
   • Pneumonia
   • Clostridial Disease
   • salmonella
   • Navel and joint ill
   • Stress and the young calf
   • Transport stress
   • Feeding stress
   • Heat and cold
4. Calf Rearing Systems
   • Birth to weaning
   • Natural Systems of Calf Rearing
   • Single suckling
   • Multiple suckling
   • Foster suckling
   • Race suckling
   • Early weaning
   • Artificial systems of calf rearing
   • Teaching the calf to drink
   • A basic Feeding program
   • Milk Substitute
   • Common calf rearing systems
   • Rearing calves at grass
   • Five and a half day system
   • Once a day system
   • Cold milk system
   • Acidified milk replacer
   • Mildly acidic milk replacer
   • Strongly acidic milk replacer
   • Milk-fed veal production
5. Calf Housing
   • Ventilation
   • Isolation
   • Comfort
   • Economy
   • Calf Pens
   • Metal crates
   • The calf hutch
6. Weaning
   • Stress at weaning
   • General weaning transition strategies
   • Providing water
   • Weaning at twelve and eight weeks
   • Weaning at five weeks
   • Weaning at four weeks
7. Post-weaning
   • Post weaning period
   • Calf husbandry practices
   • Reducing surgical stress
   • Cattle identification
   • Castration
   • Bloodless castration
   • Surgical Castration
   • Dehorning
   • When to dehorn
   • Dehorning instruments and equipment
   • Tetanus
   • Vaccination and Worming

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Choose calves for breeding stock and dairy stock, among other objectives.
• Describe the techniques used to manage calving operations on a farm.
• Describe how common health issues that may affect calves are diagnosed.
• Describe the various methods of calf rearing.
• Describe the housing needs for calves in an environment where animals are raised.
• Describe the steps involved in weaning calves in a commercial setting.
• In a commercial setting, describe the needs of calves after weaning.

How You Plan to Act

• Describe the phenotypic elements that influenced the choice of calves.
• Describe the genetic factors involved in calf selection.
• Make a list of requirements for choosing calves for dairying.
• Describe the three primary functions for which calves are needed and how breeding can help.
• Explain the many phases of a calf’s typical birth.
• In reaction to watching a video of a calf being born or observing a calf being born in person, describe the calving process.
• Describe at least five potential calving-related issues that might arise on a typical property in the learner’s area.
• Examine the details of two troubling calving situations.
• Provide at least four solutions for resolving the mentioned calving issues.
• List the typical health issues that calves in the learner’s area may experience.
• List the signs of at least three prevalent calf diseases, such as scouring.
• Describe the potential consequences of stress on a calf.
• Provide at least three common calf ailments, including scouring, relevant treatments.
• Create stock culling criteria for a particular property.
• Diagnose a calf’s health issues by analysing data from a case study.
• Report on the learner’s inspection of the condition of a calf.
• Explain the calf-rearing methods the learner saw, such as:
  • Earmarking
  • Castration
  • Dehorning
  • Branding
  • Tattooing
  • Drenching
• Compare the methods used to raise calves naturally and artificially.
• Choose the best calf-rearing technique for the given property.
• List the requirements that must be met while designing calf housing facilities in the learner’s area.
• Identify which building materials would work best for calf housing facilities in various climes.
• Examine the calf housing facilities on a certain property to assess the suitability of their construction.
• Create a design for a facility to house calves that includes:
  • A sketch/concept plan
  • A description of materials
  • An estimate of cost
• On a site that the learner is familiar with, describe the steps in the weaning process for a calf.
• List the potential issues that could occur with weaning calves.
• Provide suitable recommendations for the weaning issues.
• On a property that the learner is acquainted with, describe the stages of post-weaning for a typical calf.
• List the potential issues that could occur with calves after weaning.
• Describe any modifications that might be made to the post-weaning a calf procedure.

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Keep the Cow in Check for a Healthy Calf

Make sure the cow is dry six to eight weeks before giving birth. To maintain the essential vitamin and mineral status of both cows and growing calves, dried cow minerals should be given to cows when necessary. Depending on the mineral and vitamin condition of your farm, particular attention should be made to the calcium, selenium, iodine, and vitamin E status of dry cows. If you suspect a problem, speak with your neighbourhood veterinarian about the importance of these vitamins and minerals on your farm.

Many farmers also take advantage of the dry season to vaccinate their cows against some of the factors that cause calf scour (e.g. Rotavirus or E. coli). The developing calf receives the derived immunity. Regarding the application of such immunisation regimens in your own herd, speak with your neighbourhood vet. Vaccination is advised if Rotavirus or E. coli have been identified as a recurring issue.

Situations in the weeks leading up to calving can have a significant impact on a variety of possible outcomes, including the possibility that the cow would have trouble giving birth. These facts primarily concern the health and diet of the cow.

Some people make the error of feeding the cow the best feed they can find in the mistaken belief that doing so will assist the cow get in better condition, which will facilitate calving. Sadly, this is not the case. This is because milk production places a significant demand on calcium and magnesium, and no matter how good the quality of the feed, it cannot initially match this demand spike. Instead, the cow needs time to modify its metabolism in order to get ready to give birth. The cow should be fed primarily low-quality feed during the final six weeks before calving. This will encourage the cow to start removing calcium from its bones so that it can help meet the sudden increase in need after calving. The risk of the cow developing metabolic problems like Grass Tetany or Milk Fever will be considerably decreased by moving the cow to high quality feed right away after calving.

Reducing the amount of feed is another error that is made frequently. More harm than good will result from starving the animal. One effective tactic is to keep a good, tidy pasture next to the dairy that is heavily grazed and has only lower grade grass species. Then, make sure there is a plentiful supply of grass hay (with in mind that quality is not vital) that has been dusted with an Epsom salts and molasses solution because the molasses masks the flavour of the Epsom salts. However, while purchasing or storing hay for this use, you need be extremely cautious about mould. Abortions, stillbirths, or major neurological abnormalities may result from feeding mouldy hay.