Growing your future cows starts now, experts say

Raising replacement heifers is costly, but raising heifers that will perform poorly as lactating cows will cost you more. Getting the new generation of lactating cows in your herd on the track is crucial.

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Purina's calf and heifer specialists Connie Walters, veterinarian, and Rebecca Klopp, Ph.D., sat down with Successful Farming to share tips for improving longevity and performance of heifer calves.

"Starting a calf on the right path and supporting the growth of good bacteria in the gut is going to lead to a heifer calf that not only grows better, but she's going to become a more productive and efficient cow later on in life," says Klopp.

Successful Farming: What should a dairy farmer do in the first 12 hours after birth to achieve that perfect first day of life?

Rebecca Klopp: Great question! Three key elements to achieve a perfect first day are environment, dipping the navel, and quality colostrum. I often ask farmers to think about the environment that the calf is born into. First, the maternity pen should be clean. People often think putting fresh bedding on top is solving the problem — It's not. Scraping out the old bedding and manure will ensure the pen is a dry and clean spot for the calf. It also limits harmful bacteria exposed to the calf.

I also recommend dipping the navel with iodine. Dipping the navel — an open cavity — will help lessen the chance of bacteria entering the calf's bloodstream, which can make it sick later in life. The last piece is colostrum and ensuring the calf gets enough of it. I recommend giving them a volume of colostrum that is close to 10% of their body weight. For Holsteins, that's about four liters; for Jerseys, it's about three liters. Giving the calf colostrum from a clean bottle within the first four hours increases the probability of efficient absorption of colostrum antibodies. If you miss those pieces, calves will struggle within the first two months of life.

Connie Walters: As a veterinarian, I focus on first-day hygiene more than anything. I also tell farmers to consider giving a second feeding within 12 hours of the first. What I've seen in the field is if a farmer can get that second feeding in, the heifer calf will be more vigorous.

I had one farm change its calf care routine from feeding four quarts of unpasteurized colostrum in a busy calving area to calving cows in disinfected maternity pens. They left the calves with moms until they stood because of the site's cleanliness. In this new routine the farm fed four quarts of pasteurized colostrum at birth, then within eight hours of that first feeding, gave the calves two quarts of pasteurized colostrum.

As a result, I saw the farm reduce its medication treatment expenses by $10 per calf per month. That's a considerable reduction. It didn't hold up every month because some heifer calves had health concerns pop up over time, but it was a dramatic drop in antibiotic costs. Sometimes we underestimate the positive impact of high-quality colostrum and proper hygiene during a calf's first day. I don't think everybody needs to have a pasteurizer, but everybody needs to have their milk as clean as possible and try to fit as many colostrum feedings that they can on that first day.

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SF: How do you investigate calf issues on a farm?

RK: I like to ask the farmer and calf caretakers many questions such as what are you seeing? How old are calves when you notice health issues like scours? Have there been any changes? There are many things on the farm to investigate, but by asking many questions, I can usually start coming up with solutions.

To help further identify the issue, I discuss the farm's management and protocols, such as their feeding procedures, how much colostrum is being fed, and maternity pen cleanliness. If the health concern is related to maternity pen cleanliness, I'll pull out my adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meter and start swabbing pens for bacteria. If it's related to feeding milk replacer, I'll check the mixer to ensure the milk is being mixed properly and at the right water temperature.

SF: What's one issue you encounter the most?

CW: Honestly, hygiene. I understand it's a working operation, so perfect cleanliness daily is hard to achieve but it is important to have protocols. If possible, farms should implement a five-step cleaning plan, which is where we need to be for newborns. For most farms, it's not feasible year-round, but if a farm can do a clean semi-regularly, I don't see a lot of significant health challenges that lead to death loss, and you can reduce calves' illness exposure.

RK: I agree. The most extensive problem area I see on farms is the cleanliness of the maternity pens. Health concerns because of maternity pen cleanliness usually happen within the calves first two weeks of life. This is where I see low levels of serum total proteins and that is when I ask the farmer, "When was the last time the maternity pen was scraped out, sanitized, and freshly bedded?"

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SF: What on-farm benefits have you seen in lactating cows when they are fed a high plane of nutrition as calves?

CW: Research from the Michigan State University has proven that there is a measurable difference in mammary growth and development at eight weeks depending on a heifer's plane of nutrition. Farms are also seeing heifers reach their breeding weights earlier, many are 55% mature body weight, according to the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association's gold standards. This is especially true on farms that have fed their calves over two and a half pounds of dry matter milk daily before weaning.