One of the first areas where I really started pushing preventative medicine was in calves. I have investigated numerous calf health issues on farms. Unfortunately this can be one of the most frustrating and time consuming areas for any farmer when things go wrong. What I have found is that diseases like scours and pneumonia can have devastating effects on calf health. Therefore, to control them I truly believe farms must start planning ahead and produce standard operating procedures (SOPs) around calf health. A good way to think of it is – if you had to leave your farm for a week, could you give someone written guidelines for your farm and your calves?

So here are my top 10 tips for limiting disease and producing healthy calves. This of course is not an exhaustive list but from my experience covers essential areas or CCPs (critical control points) for calf health.

1. It starts in the dry period. Having cows in good body condition calving down minimises stress on cow/calf. Adequate energy and protein in the diet in the close up dry period will ensure the cow produces good-quality colostrum. Dose for parasites like liver fluke which may affect the quality of colostrum. Now start writing down your checklist for the essential products and equipment you need around calving. Have them ready, clean and easily at hand when calving starts.

2. A clean comfortable calving area. This area should be designated for cows calving only. Would you see a sick person in a maternity unit of a hospital? No, so avoid having calving pens doubling up as sick pens for cows. Remember most of the newborn scour agents are picked up from faeces of adult cows around calving. It is only when numbers build and infection pressure increases we see problems. I think removing the calves quickly is a good way of minimising exposure to disease (faeces). Is it better to leave them with the cow for 24 hours? In my opinion, no, because we are not creating or able to create this more natural mothering. It simply doesn’t suit intensive rearing with large numbers of cows. What this system does suit is infection pressure to build on farms. So prompt removal is my advice.

3. Colostrum is by far the most important ingredient in good calf rearing, followed closely by hygiene. We need to ensure that it is of good quality and we get it into the newborn as soon as possible. We have all heard and know three litres in the first two hours of life. Farmers are sick of hearing about colostrum, but I am sick of seeing the cheapest and most important factor of calf health being overlooked. Time and time again poor colostrum management contributes to poor calf health. Next week I will focus on colostrum in more detail.

4. Hygiene. We are bringing large numbers of newborn animals into an intensive system. All these young animals are very susceptible to infection. One of the great ways to minimise infection is to reduce its levels in the environment. This means stringent cleaning of pens and feeding equipment. Calf scours are spread in faeces, so minimise faecal contamination of utensils. Treat your stomach tube the same. I advise having one for colostrum and one for treating sick calves. I also would include navel dipping disinfection in this section. The navel can be a potential source of infection in any newborn, so disinfecting and cleaning the navel can greatly reduce the risk. If you haven’t cleaned your calf shed yet, now is the best time before there are any calves in it.

5. Feeding. There has been much discussion around accelerated milk feeding and I believe it is a great way of getting calves off to the best possible start. Whole milk or replacer is a decision many face but ensure that either is done consistently and with the best possible product. Whichever one you choose, ensure adequate volumes are being fed at least twice daily, with 15% of bodyweight being fed daily.

6. I have a personal preference for calves to be in individual pens for the first 10 to 14 days. Group housing works well after this once there isn’t mixing of age groups. Raised pens work well as they allow better cleaning. Ideally these calves should be housed away from adult animals on farm as again being close to the main herd when so young makes them much more susceptible to infections which the adult animals are shedding.

7. Water should be available within the first two days of life. It is another cheap ingredient that is essential for hydration and rumen development. Plenty clean available water 24 hours a day. Milk goes to abomasum but water is required and passes into the rumen.

8. Ration or concentrates should also be available from four days of age. These coarse rations being introduced early play a vital role in rumen development and early weaning. I have seen many different types but again it is worth investing in a top-quality ration to get calves going and growing. Recent research has suggested that the quickest rumen development occurs by feeding concentrates early.

9. Chopped forage or straw should also be available as the fibre content is another critical component in early rumen development.

10. Warmth is another fundamental requirement for any newborn. If caves get cold they must drink more just to maintain their body weight. So having plenty deep fresh clean straw bedding allows calves to stay warm and concentrate their efforts on putting on weight. Remember the lower critical temperature of a calf is 5°C. So below this calves are under pressure just to maintain their weights. This is why in winter/spring calving set-ups calf jackets are so successful and now becoming very popular. Cold weather will drop body temperature, making it difficult for thin immunosuppressed animals to fight off any infection. Of course while it needs to be warm at calf level, there has to be plenty of fresh air in sheds to minimise the spread of disease and fresh air is nature’s cheapest and best disinfectant. Avoid draughts and moisture build-up in calf houses. Personally, I never recommend a power hose to be used when calves are in the shed.

So why not get into a calf pen, kneel down and assess the comfort yourself. It may sound strange, but these calves are the future of your farm and you want them to get to the parlour as quickly and efficiently as possible so they can pay you back for all your care and attention.