LeAnne spent time with local calf rearers, sharing her expertise and practical tips on calf management and the key ingredients for a successful calving season. For those who were unable to make Leanne’s presentation below are some of our key takeaways

Colostrum, Colostrum, Colostrum

• 2-4L, within the first 12 hours of life of high-quality colostrum are necessary to provide the calf with an adequate lifelong immune system

• An estimated 33% of calves experience failure of passive transfer (fpt) due to inadequate colostrum provisions

• We can test colostrum quality as well as transfer of immunoglobulins in calves

Importance of the calf pen

• Dry bedding with adequate water and low stocking density

• Good ventilation with solid partitions between pens and draught protection

Navel care

• Spraying/dipping navels at collection and at removal from calf trailer

• Use 7% iodine or 4% chlorhexidine

Additional management

• Multimin injections on day 1 have shown to reduce prevalence of scouring diseases by 50%

• Use of binding agents like Optiguard in milk or Zorbifresh dusted onto bedding to minimize disease presence

• Vaccination with lepto-4-way and covexin-10

• Use of Rotagen or Exogen preventatively if scouring diseases have previously been a concern

As always, if you have any questions on this topic don’t hesitate to reach out for a chat with your vet.