Automatic Calf Feeders and Group Housing
Principles and Experience
Introduction
Producers have traditionally raised calves in individual pens or hutches. This rearing system has had advantages of individual feeding, observation and reduced risk of cross-contamination. It is however, still labour intensive. Dairy cattle are naturally group-living animals. Group-housed calves can enjoy an early social interaction and learn to understand group behaviour. Research is now proving that well-managed group housed calf rearing systems can provide advantages for both calves and producers.
Automatic feeding systems for group housing… Continue reading
Veal calf feeding and pre-feed checking
This information is inteneded for those raising veal calves, housed individually.
- Calves should be fed twice everyday.
- Missed feeding means missed growth.
- Calves should be fed as close to 9-12 hours apart as possible for optimum appetite and digestion. These times should remain as constant as possible as calves are creatures of habit. Irregular feeding times will result in more refusals, especially with older calves.
- Two hours after feeding give water to all calves that didn’t drink half or more of… Continue reading
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appetite, bloat, creatures of habit, general health, hydration, label changes, manure, raising calves, sick calves, veal calvesHappy Calves Drinking
The 2001 study done by Thomas et. al. (App. Anim. Sci., 74: 165-173) concluded that significant vocalization differences existed between groups… Continue reading
Choosing a Milk feeding program: Pasteurization Pro’s and Con’s
In the last few years, larger calf raising units and more attention being paid to rearing costs and profits, has made it interesting to look into the possibility of on farm pasteurization for waste milk.
Important criteria to consider in choosing a… Continue reading
Grain-Fed Veal – Producer Objectives
Why Higher Protein?
Capitalize on the rapid early growth potential of young calves. Meet the needs of the rapidly growing bone and muscle for protein. This encourages greater lean tissue deposition without excess fattening.
Why Specific Protein : Fat Ratio?
Provide the correct protein to fat ratio at these higher feeding rates, to better promote muscle and skeletal growth so that increases in stature are attained. The high digestibility of lactose and the requirement for energy by the calf must… Continue reading
Developmental Research – Grain-fed Veal Programs
Ontario and Quebec dairy herds produce approximately 400,000 male calves annually. These calves are destined for several hundred veal producers.The goal of grain fed veal producers is to achieve the desired finish at the desired weight and age. The market-ready calf is typically 250-295kg at an age of 25-30 weeks. Finished average daily gains should be 1.13kg or better and feed conversion should be 3.5-4.0 kg per kg of live-weight gain.
The Holstein calf has an ability to grow rapidly… Continue reading
Typical Grain Veal Growth
The aim of beef production is to produce a high quality product with maximum efficiency.
Factors that affect the carcass composition and carcass yield are:
- Weight and age
- Genotype
- Gender
- Growth rate and nutrition
- Conformation
A typical growth curve involves a self-accelerating phase of weight increase from birth to puberty of the animal. During this phase, growth hormones are mainly responsible for the growth process. The second phase of growth (puberty to adulthood) has lower rates of weight increase and… Continue reading
Heifer-Mammary Development
It is important to remember that the foundations of udder development are completed within the first 15 months of life. Mammary growth and development is a component of the reproductive process and is affected by hormonal changes that occur as the animal develops.
The basic structures of the mammary gland (teats, circulatory system, mammary fat pad and ligaments) are established at birth.
From birth to approximately 3 months, the mammary gland grows at roughly the same rate as the… Continue reading
Heifer Holstein Size Targets
The profit-making potential of the modern cow depends on her ability to combine production and type. Functional type enables a cow to produce over a long lifetime. (Holstein Canada)
Relative Emphasis for Cows
Body weight alone should not be a measure for developmental traits of heifers. Wither height is also any important measurement of skeletal development (frame and capacity). If heifers are not grown properly and do not achieve sufficient size at calving, they will not be able to take… Continue reading
Heifer – Holstein Growth Targets
We most often concentrate on milking cows to meet financial and milk supply commitments and to let the herd replacements take a back seat. Replacement heifers are tomorrow’s profit earners and deserve as much detailed attention as the milking herd. Managing the growth of replacement heifers to achieve sufficient body size and yet assure optimum mammary development is a concern among dairy research institutions, nutritionists and dairy producers.
The improved genetic heifer or modern Holstein heifer that has the potential… Continue reading