How well the calf is managed in the first 12 to 24 hours of life has a massive bearing on lifetime performance.

Central to this management is making sure calves get enough colostrum as early as possible after birth. The calf’s ability to absorb colostrum starts to decline around six hours after it is born.

By the time the calf is 24 hours old, the newborn animal’s gut can no longer absorb colostrum molecules. Colostrum molecules transfer antibodies from the cow to the calf, giving it immunity to diseases on farm.

Timing

Therefore, the more the calf suckles its dam during in the first 12 hours of life the better. A good way to approach the calf’s first feed is to follow the 1-2-3 rule.

This means the first feed (1) should be within the first two hours of life (2), with the calf getting up to three litres of milk (3).

Rule of thumb

However, it is not practical to milk out every cow and stomach-tube every calf born on farm. There is also a danger to farmers trying to work with a freshly calved cow.

So instead, work on the rule of thumb that for every 10 minutes of continuous sucking, the calf is getting one litre of milk from the cow.

This makes it much easier to observe calves sucking, without having to enter the pen to assist the calf.

If you do have to enter the pen, make sure the cow is securely restrained in a head lock, then assist the calf.

Colostrum quality

The better the quality of colostrum, the more antibodies will pass to the calf, with heifers tending to have lower-quality colostrum than mature cows. Pre-calving diets also affect colostrum quality.

Feeding cows 0.25kg to 0.5kg/head of soya during the final fortnight prior to calving can help increase colostrum quality.

When defrosting colostrum, place in a bucket of lukewarm to medium-warm water. Do not use boiling water.

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