Calf Rearing Systems
The
choice of calf milk replacer will depend to some extent on the system used to feed the calves. Over the
years a wide range of calf feeding systems have come and gone. Traditionally
calves have been fed milk twice a day simply because it has fitted in with the twice daily routine of
milking cows.
The majority of farmers are rapidly moving to either feeding milk Once a Day or to feeding milk through an automatic computerised calf feeding machine. There has been growing concern over feeding pooled whole cows milk to replacement heifer calves for a variety of reasons. RIchard Webster Nutrition recommends using a high quality calf milk replacer in preference to pooled milk. Once the move has been made to feeding a calf milk powder rather than whole milk it is difficult to make a case for feeding milk twice a day.
There has also been a move away from bucket feeding systems to teat feeding. Teat feeding should be used if at all possible to make use of the oesophageal groove reflex where milk bipasses the reticulorumen directly to the abomasum.
It is now strongly
recommended that 4 litres of high quality colostrum is fed immediately after birth. Weaning should ideally
not be before 8 weeks of age and only when calves are eating at least 1kg of dry concentrate feed. Which
ever system is used calves should have available at all times, clean water, a high quality dry calf starter
pellet or coarse mix, clean straw, dry beds and plenty of ventilation.
Twice A Day Milk Feeding
Twice a day bucket or teat feeding has a number of disadvantages in particular it is much more labour intensive than Once A Day feeding or Automatic Machine Feeding.
Dry feed intakes are lower than on Once A Day and also health issues tend to be higher. Rumen development and weaning tends to be delayed due to reduced dry feed intakes. Performance is lower and overall costs are much higher.
Twice day milk feeding is still relatively widespread
due as much as anything to tradition but also farmers reluctance not to use waste antibiotic milk. Whole
milk is still produced on most dairy farms twice a day and it is usually more convenient to feed it than
store it. Also whole milk is not sufficiently concentrated to use alone for Once A Day feeding and cannot
be used in most calf feeding machines. However once the switch has been made to use a Calf Milk Replacer
there is no case for twice a day milk feeding.
There is no longer a case for feeding milk to calves twice a day
Ad-lib Calf Milk Feeding Systems
The old ad-lib Forster Technik Machines which fed large volumes of very dilute milk powder have largely disappeared from UK farms as have the cold ad-lib systems. Ad-lib machines were used to put a bloom on bull calves over 3-4 weeks prior to export to veal units in Europe. For heifer rearing the system had major disadvantages. Calves could take over 50kg of calf powder to weaning. The large volumes of dilute milk also meant that calves were very prone to scour. Dry feed intakes were very poor leading to severe checks after weaning. The calves consumed large volumes of liquid which invariably led to wet beds, high humidity and pneumonia. Often the system led to high mortality despite the over reliance on antibiotics.
Feeding milk to calves using ad-lib machines is no longer recommended
Once-a-Day Milk Feeding
The Once-a-Day milk feeding system offers the opportunity to feed a reduced volume of concentrated milk mix once a day thereby reducing labour inputs. Once-a-Day milk feeding offers clear advantages in terms of reduced labour inputs, healthier calves, increased dry feed intakes, less bedding as a result of drier beds, earlier weaning and growth rates improved by up to 30%.
The system is proving both much more cost effective and producing healthier, stronger calves than conventional rearing. A calf that starts well will continue to do throughout it's life. Milk is fed in the morning at an increased concentration, and dry concentrates fed in the evening. Since calves are not fed milk in the evening they consume more dry concentrates earlier. Dry feed intakes promote early rumen development and ensure that calves can efficiently digest high levels of forage sooner.
Advantages
of Once-a-Day Feeding for Calves
- Labour saving of 30% - 40% compared with Twice a Day feeding
- Improved growth rates of up to 35%
- Higher dry feed intakes at an earlier age (+15%)
- Early rumen development
- Up to 2 weeks earlier weaning
- Improved calf health. Less scour. Lower vet bills
- Less water used. Drier beds. Lower humidity and less pneumonia
- Less straw used for bedding
- Simple system - not at risk to technological breakdown
- Low capital requirement. No expensive machines. No power supply required
- Better, healthier calves, with less work and lower costs
For Once-a-Day feeding to be successful it is essential to use a specialist high quality powder which will form a clot in the abomasum. Richard Webster recommends Shine Once-a-Day.
Shine Once-a-Day Milk can be fed at 200gms made up to one litre with water or at 50gms -100gms made up to one litre with whole milk. Feed at 3 litres to supply 600gms of powder, from 7 days to 7 weeks of age. Then
reduce by 0.5 litres per day to wean at 8 weeks. Alternatively the feed rate may be increased to 4 litres
to feed 800gms of powder for weeks 6 and week 7. This additional level of milk powder has been shown
to increase live weight by 15kgs which is still retained at bulling.
Milk replacers claiming to contain milk, but make no reference to skim milk powder or buttermilk are unsuitable for once-a-day feeding because they contain no casein protein. These products are usually based on whey and vegetable proteins and are flushed through the calf’s digestive system in only a few hours, so are wholly unsuitable for a once-a-day feeding regime.
Similarly of use of whole cows milk for once-a-day feeding is problematic due to the high volumes, of around 4.5 litres - 6 litres required per feed to achieve the 600gms - 800gms of solids required for high performance heifer calves. Whole milk can however be used where a suitable calf milk replacer is added in order to increase the solids. Calf Feeding Trials show £40 per calf saving from Once-A Day feeding.
Other specialist milk powders such as Kalvolac Unique, Healthystart OnceaDay and Frank Wright Trouw Nutrition's Once-a-Day powder are all suitable for use with the Once-a-Day system.
The Once-A-Day Milk Feeding System is a Clear Winner for Most Dairy Farmers
Automatic Computer Controlled Calf Feeding Machines
Automatic
Calf Feeders have gained popularity for batch rearing beef calves and are appropriate on some dairy
farms. Automatic feeders have the advantage of mixing and delivering warm milk to the calf several times
a day according to a set programme. Whilst automatic feeders cost between £4000
and £10000
per unit they do offer savings
in labour costs over conventional twice day bucket rearing and use less milk powder than ad-lib systems.
Advantages of Automatic Feeding
- Very low labour requirement - saving 80% compared with twice day feeding
- Applicable to batch beef calf rearing and very large dairy herds
- Calves fed little and often
- Feed intakes are monitored
- Calves fed to individual needs
- Potential for high levels of performance
Disadvantages of Automatic Feeding
- High capital costs for machine
- Specialist buildings with power supply needed
- Needs high standard of calf housing
- Tends to use higher volumes of liquid than Once-a-Day
- Increased humidity, straw bedding and pneumonia
- Increased disease risk
- Large numbers of calves in one group
- All calves feed from the same teat, risk of cross infection
- Can be an over reliance on medication
- Good stockmanship is essential
Automatic Calf Feeders May be the Best Choice in Certain Situations
RWN offers a full range of specialist calf milk replacers to suit all the various calf feeding machines currently in use in the UK.
For dairy farmers committed to producing high yielding, healthy heifers,
Getting calves off to a good start is essential
For more information or for an in depth consultation contact Richard Webster.