Every producer has individual opportunities and challenges due to their housing environment and management strategy. The key to maximizing growth, health, and long-term profitability is establishing a sound system of care for your pre-ruminant livestock. No matter the system you choose, ensuring these 5 keys to management are acknowledged…

Grober Nutrition is invested to be at the frontier of young animal nutrition, and the Grober Young Animal Development Center (GYADC) is an opportunity to explore new developments in young animal husbandry and nutrition. During 2014, one of the trials at the GYADC focused on dietary and developmental needs of…

During 2014, a trial at the Grober Young Animal Development Centre (GYADC) focused on the advancement of automating individual calf feeding systems using Förster Technic Calf Rail technology. This was the second year using the Förster Technic Calf Rail at the GYADC, where an accelerated ten week feeding program of…

Group housing calves is becoming a more common way to house and manage calves. Part of managing a group of calves is being able to scan the herd effectively for individuals who need more attention. Monitoring the behavior of individuals and of the group by assessing the herds reaction to…

It’s that time of year again!  Along with the cold weather and warm fires, winter brings New Year’s Resolutions.  Set (and keep) some New Year’s Resolutions for your calves! Calving The calving process is extremely influential on the success of the calf in early life.  Dystocia or difficult calving frequently…

The most efficient rate of growth a calf experiences is in the first month of life. Strong growth and good calf health has been linked to improved performance of heifers with a trend toward earlier first breeding and increased milk yields. However, calves are at a disadvantage in the winter…

Digestive and metabolic upsets are just some of the challenges in pre-weaned calf rearing. Rumen drinking is a condition that occurs when milk is ingested into the rumen in large quantities. Rumen drinking has been linked to decreased passage rate, reduced digestion and absorption of nutrients, and abnormal metabolic and…

The USDA estimates that 95,000 calves die each year of hypothermia. It may be more common in calves than is recognized and proper diagnosis, treatment and prevention are critical to calf survival. Mild Cold Stress or Hypothermia At this stage of cold stress we observe vigorous shivering. If we look…

The dam’s colostrum has the potential to set calves up for success, so why should you consider supplementing or replacing it? There are many times when Mother Nature may fall short either in the quantity or quality of maternal colostrum, in the vigor of the newborn or in the mothering…