Jan Kleinschmidt talks about the importance of nutrition from birth to weaning. She covers topics like preparing the dam, colostrum management, milk replacers, calf starter, feeding hay, and weaning.

1. Calf Nutrition & Management
From Birth to Weaning

2. Calf Nutrition & Management From Birth to
Weaning
Calves are born with a predetermined genetic
potential that can be permanently affected
by management decisions and
environmental factors that occur
throughout the rearing period.
Improper management will lead to economic
losses from increased veterinary
intervention, death losses, reduced
growth, sub-optimal reproductive
performance and reduced lifetime
productivity.

3. Calf Nutrition & Management From Birth to
Weaning

4. Dry Cow Management & Calving
Health and profitability of the calf begins prior
to birth.
The dam must be prepared properly for a
strong, smooth parturition; this begins with a
well-managed 2-group or short 1-group dry
cow program.
The dam’s feet, hindquarters, udder and
perineum should be cleaned and clipped
before parturition.

5. Dry Cow Management & Calving
Maternity pens should be well bedded with
clean bedding, ideally using the “all-in-allout” system.
A hygienic calving environment is critical to
both the calf and the dam.
Calving on pasture is fine as long as there is
good shade and water available; calves can
die in a matter of hours if left in the hot
summers sun.

6. Dry Cow Management & Calving

7. Dry Cow Management & Calving
The most critical period in a calf’s life is the
first 3 days after birth.
Calves that experience a difficult birth are
much more prone to stillbirth, neonatal
mortality, and colostrum deprivation.
Sires should be chosen with the calving ease
index considered.

8. The New Calf
Immediately after birth, and for the next 3 days,
the calf’s naval should be disinfected with a
5% iodine solution in alcohol.
If the umbilical cord breaks at the body wall,
the wall should be sutured immediately.
Many producers will also give vitamin A, D and
E/Se injections at this time.
ID should be put on at birth.
In the summer time fly control implemented.

9. The New Calf
The newborn calf should be stimulated and
dried either by the dam or the producer.
Often heifers will be confused as to what has
just occurred and will neglect the calf.
In extremely cold or damp conditions, the calf
should be placed under a heat lamp.

10. Colostrum Management
Colostrum management has the largest impact
on calf health than any other management
factor.
When a calf is born the cells lining the
digestive tract are capable of immunoglobulin absorption.
As soon as anything goes into the digestive
tract, for example colostrum, mucous,
manure, dirt, straw, the cells begin to change
into cells unable to absorb immunoglobulins.

11. Colostrum Management
By 6 hours after birth only about 50% of the
available immunoglobulins are absorbed.
By 8 hours only 33% are absorbed and by 24
hours no immunoglobulins are absorbed.
Quantity, quality and timing of
colostrum feeding is critical!

12. Colostrum Management
 3-4 litres of quality colostrum should be fed
within 2 hours of birth.
 3-4 litres more should be fed within the next
6 to 12 hours.
 Colostrum should be fed for 2 to 3 days;
lower quality colostrum may be used.
 Calves should be fed from a nippled bottle or
an esophageal feeder. THEY SHOULD NOT
BE ALLOWED TO SUCKLE THE DAM.

13. Colostrum Management
 Baby calves should be removed from the
dam as soon as possible after birth.
 Colostrum should be tested with a clostrometer for quality.
 It should only come from animals 4 years or
older, who have been on the farm for at least
one year and who have not “leaked’ heavily
prior to calving.
 Known carriers of leucosis, Johne’s,
Mycoplasma, and Salmonella should have
their colostrum discarded.


14. Colostrum Management
Keeping stored colostrum on the farm at all
times is smart.
Fresh colostrum (refrigerated less than 1 week)
is the ideal, however, frozen colostrum can
be used when necessary.
Colostrum should be thawed in a warm water
“bath” to avoid killing immune cells (less
than 50’C).
Re-heating in microwave ovens is not
recommended.

15. Colostrum Management
REMEMBER: EVEN WITH THE BEST
COLOSTRUM FEEDING, CALVES KEPT IN
FILTHY, WET CONDITIONS WILL NOT
THRIVE. REDUCE THE CHALLENGES!

16. Nutrition After Colostrum
There are several sources of liquid feeds for
calves from 3 days of age:
1. Whole milk. Whole milk feeding is
discouraged if the herd is trying to control
Johne’s or leucosis.
2. Milk replacers. Should be 100% milk protein
with the appropriate fat % depending on
housing (warm or cold). There is a wide
range in milk replacers on the market.

17. Nutrition After Colostrum
High quality milk replacers contain >20% CP,
>20% fat and <0.5% crude fibre; protein
source should be 100% milk source with
0% coming from vegetable or animal
proteins.
If you are using milk replacer be sure to mix
and feed according to label directions.

18. Nutrition After Colostrum
3. Excess colostrum; may need to be diluted
with water.
4. Waste milk from cows with mastitis or who
have been treated with a drug requiring
milk withdrawal. Many farms no longer use
this milk to feed calves because of the
inherent risks. Pasteurize?
Liquid feeds should be fed twice a day at about 2
litres/feeding. Although feeding equipment is
optional (nipple bottle, bucket or nipple bucket),
EXCELLENT sanitation is essential.

19. Nutrition After Colostrum

20. Accelerated Calf Program
The accelerated calf program involves:
 Higher DM of milk replacer (~25%)
 Higher DM of calf starter (~25%)
Higher feeding levels:
 2-2.5 litres in the 1st week
 3-4 litres to weaning
In my herds, many producers found the program
required too much management and abandon it.
However, all agreed that it did work in terms of
accelerated calf growth.

21. Calf Starter
Calf starter and water should be made
available on day 3 of the calf’s life.
It is important for rumen development to keep
fresh water available to all calves 24 hours a
day, particularly prior to weaning.
High quality, palatable calf starter is essential
to promote early rumen development and
allow early weaning; it promotes the growth
of rumen epithelium and ruminal motility.

22. Calf Rumen: Milk Only
6 Weeks Old

23. Calf Rumen: Milk & Grain
6 Weeks Old

24. Calf Rumen: Milk & Hay
6 Weeks Old

25. Calf Starter
Starter should be kept fresh and clean, refused
starter should be removed daily and the
bucket or boxes cleaned daily.

26. Calves & Hay
Researchers and producers alike now agree
that hay should be part of the calves diet
AFTER weaning.
Calves weaned at 8 to 10 weeks should have
limited hay (0.5 kg) from about 6 weeks of
age; calves weaned before this time should
have no hay until they are in group housing.

27. Calves & Hay
Feeding hay early in the calf’s life has a double
negative effect:
1. It limits the amount of calf starter a calf will
consume.
2. The low energy content of hay will keep a
calf small and “gutty”.
Hay fed to calves should be of the highest quality, both
chemically and physically.
Fibres (ADF and NDF) should be low, protein high and
the physically nature of the hay soft and not coarse.

28. Calves & Hay
Hay fed to calves should be of the highest
quality, both chemically and physically.
Fibres (ADF and NDF) should be low, protein
high and the physically nature of the hay soft
and not coarse.
Many feed companies in Canada have
developed a “built –in roughage” program
which utilizes oat/soy hulls, beet pulp or
dehydrated alfalfa to replace hay until 6
months of age.The results are very good.

29. Weaning
The decision to wean a calf should be made on
2 criteria:
1. Size
2. Consumption of calf starter:
Large breed calves should be consuming a
minimum of 700 grams of calf starter a day
for 2 consecutive days.
Common sense should prevail here!

30. Weaning
Weaning can be accomplished using the
abrupt or gradual method; both are
acceptable.
Weaning stress, which results from a reduction
in energy intake as well as the loss of a
pleasurable experience, can be reduced.

31. Weaning
 No dehorning or removing extra teats at this
time.
 No vaccinating at this time.
 Keep the calf in the same housing for 10
days to 2 weeks after weaning.
 Make no other changes to the basic diet
besides the removal of milk.
 Do nothing else to the calf that will create
stress at this time.

32. Weaning
Most dairy producers are weaning their calves
between 6 to 8 weeks, although there is a
trend to wean as young as 5 weeks.
Again, common sense needs to prevail and the
needs of individual animals taken into
account.

33. Weaning