By doing the simple things really well we can rear very healthy happy calves. In doing this, the first three weeks are often the hardest and require the most attention.

We want to make life as simple as possible for these calves when they arrive on farm, we want them to spend their days feeding, lying down and playing. Anything else is an unnecessary distraction.

Somewhere in the future I would love to see calves sourced with herd health information to go with them. The ideal scenario would be to see calves tested for colostrum transfer or passive transfer before arrival. This may mean extra cost and hassle, but colostrum has the biggest impact on animal health and performance. Knowing they have had a good start is worth any money in my opinion.

1 Cleaning: Have all pens and equipment cleaned out and disinfected before the arrival of calves. Power wash on day one, steam clean day two and use an appropriate disinfectant on day three. If you’ve had coccidiosis or cryptosporidium issues you need to use disinfectants such as kenocox, kilcox or hydrogen peroxide.

Long-term, focus on having easy-to-clean surfaces such as plastic or smooth concrete, especially on walls. The more crevices, the more dung can build up and spread infections between batches or even between years with some infections.

2 The first six hours: The first six hours after calves arrive is critical. Have a good look through them and pick out any sick calves. A thermometer is a vital tool in a dairy-to-beef unit. The time to get worried is when the temperature goes above 39.5°C or below 37.5°C.

Isolate any sick calves in a separate unit and assess severity of the illness and treatment options. Most infections in calves are highly contagious and will spread between groups and other calves.

Then the next 10 days to two weeks are critical for watching calves as this is the period in which they are most likely to show symptoms after arrival.

3 First feed: The first feed after transport can be a good-quality electrolyte solution – 2l of water and premium electrolyte to each calf. The first milk feed can be given in six to eight hours later when calves are settled. I would never leave calves go 12 hours after arrival without milk feeding.

After short journeys, I would be happy for the first feed to be a milk feed, I’ve found with longer journey over 30 miles calves did better with rehydration treatment first, followed by their first milk feed. So ideally time calves to come in the morning when it’s bright for examining and feed milk once settled in the early evening time.

4 Milk: I’m a believer in “more is better” when it comes to milk in young calves. Start on 3l twice daily and 725g minimum of good-quality milk replacer. Aim for crude protein of 23-25%, more than 18% fat and fibre below 0.1%. This will ensure milk replacer is made from animal protein. Quality milk replacers pay their way.

In well-run units I’ve seen the same milk replacer being fed from source farm and home farm to stop any upsets when moving.

Consistency is key with milk replacer – it should be fed the same time every day at the same temperature, ideally 38°C. Hygiene when mixing and preparing is critical to reduce issues with bloat and spread of infections. Anyone serious about calf rearing needs to set up a calf kitchen for washing, mixing and cleaning utensils. This should be set up in a place with a drain hole for washing to flow out to prevent moisture build-up.

Have clean drinking water in every pen at the right height. Clean water troughs twice weekly.

4 Treatment: It is necessary to treat any sick calves early with antibiotics if needed.

To help reduce the use of antibiotics, vaccines work well, but at a cost. If getting calves from multiple different sources with no history, it is advised to give RSV and IBR intranasally 24 to 48 hours after arrival to healthy calves and then follow up with a bacterial pneumonia vaccine (dead vaccine, two shots three weeks apart).

At the time of first vaccination, I always recommended each calf should get a tonic mineral drench as a boost to appetite and ensure the best start possible. It is also possible to treat calves as a group for coccidiosis if this risk appears. One dose timed well should work, with some product containing toltrazuril.

5 Feeding on arrival: All calves to start on creep or crunch on arrival. The trick is small amounts regularly each day given fresh to increase over time. It is essential to have plenty fresh water in each pen. I found a small bit of milk replacer mixed through a course ration for the first 10 days seemed to help intakes also.

6 Housing: Stocking density in pens is a huge factor that can affect disease management. Aim for a minimum of 2m2 per calf and always use too much straw. Yes, too much straw – when you think you have enough, add 50% more. Your calf shed needs to have plenty of fresh air and this becomes a problem in cold weather. I have found leaving sheds more open and feeding more milk at colder times a better option than calf sheds that are very stuffy. When bringing in young calves, calf jackets do work but are not necessary after three to four weeks.

Maximise fresh air in calf pens and you will minimise pneumonia.

7 Pneumonia: I have found mycoplasma pneumonia to be the most challenging disease in calf-rearing units. It is a bacterial infection that causes pneumonia and is hard to treat. You may see tilted heads and some joint problems with it also. It often presents as pneumonia cases that respond poorly to treatment. Only a few antibiotics are licensed to treat it. Removing any sick calves with symptoms can help minimise the spread. Where good vaccine protocols are in place you can see fewer problems.

Please, please don’t mix older calves with younger calves.