Since spring calving this year Irish Country Living has followed the development of a replacement dairy heifer. Calf 541 was born in Jamie Kealy’s herd in Co Carlow and we regularly documented her growth in these pages.

The idea behind this was that in the current climate, where untruths about the welfare of farm animals are rife, we would show, based on fact through calf 541, the first few months of a dairy heifer calf’s life.

The project was to take place between 541’s birth and the Ploughing, thus, we have come to the end of this particular journey. For the final instalment of the Diary of Calf 541 we are going to look back at the first six months of her life.

Weeks one to four

When calf 541 was born, she was given four litres of colostrum within the first two hours of life. To prevent Johne’s disease the cow is milked with a mini milker.

The aim is to bottle feed all calves on the first feed. Once the calf gets the colostrum, it is left with the mother until it is licked off and dry.

“Then we move the calf out of the calving shed to the calf shed,” says Jamie. “We are looking at it from a disease point of view, the disease is in the calving shed, so we get the calf out of there as quickly as possible.”

Weeks four to eight

For the first month 541 receives whole milk. Then she is put on milk replacer, which she will stay on until she is weaned at 100kg. She now weighs 78kg. In this period her diet consists of Shine Once-a-day milk replacer and meal ad-lib.

541 out to grass with other calves.

Calves are fed through teat feeder to mimic feeding off a cow, this improves gut health. The calves are eating around 1kg of meal and drinking 650g of milk powder diluted in warm water through a teat feeder.

In this second month, due to a spell of good weather the calves are put out to grass in a sheltered paddock.

Weeks eight to 12

Calf 541 has now surpassed 100kg and is completely weaned off milk.

“Over a period of seven days we reduce the volume of milk,” explains Jamie.

“After those seven days milk is totally removed from the diet.

“This way it doesn’t have much of an effect on the calves, they’ve sort of gotten used to it, so there’s no big shock to their system.

The diet is now 1.5kg of meal and good-quality grass. Jamie uses a leader-follower grazing system, which he says is working very well for calf growth.

“We are not forcing the calves to eat all the grass, we are giving them preferential grass and the maiden heifers are coming behind to clean up after them.”

Prior to weaning all calves were dosed for worms. This takes away any unnecessary stress at this time.

They were also dosed with Bovicox to prevent coccidiosis.

Weeks 12 to 18

Calf 541 is now over 150kg. In this period Jamie cut silage and has moved the calves on to after-grass, which helps them thrive.

“With after-grass they are gone away from any little bit of stem or anything like that in the grass. They are gone onto lush green grass and that will make a big difference to them.”

On after-grass, meal is pulled back to 1kg/day.

“They are turning into little cattle then with the heads down grazing, whereas up until now they have been picky and only getting used to grass.

“That is why we have been supplementing them with meal,” says Jamie.

Weeks 18 to 26

At six months old, 541 is 215kg. At housing – taken to be in and around the start of November – the aim is that she would be 220kg, which she is on track to exceed. At breeding in spring 2020 her target weight is 330kg.

She is now eating no meal, just grass.

In the past six months, 541’s economic breeding index (EBI) has reduced.

At birth, 541’s EBI was €212, with a sub-index for milk of €71 and a sub-index for fertility of €80. Now her EBI is €192, with a sub-index for milk of €73 and a sub-index for fertility of €66.

At present, because 541 is not producing milk, her EBI is based on her bloodlines. Jamie says that he hadn’t expected her EBI to drop, but that the index will be more significant when she starts producing milk.

Calf 541 at the Ploughing

541 is going to be at the National Ploughing Championships next week, where she will be raffled off in aid of Rathoe National School to build a play area for kids in the junior classes. Tickets are €5 each or three for €10. These can be bought at Jamie Kealy’s stand, where the raffle will take place. If you win and you are not a registered farmer, you will get the cash value of €1,000. Calf 541 will be on the Irish Farmers Journal stand. For more information search @calf541fundraiser on Facebook.

Read more

The diary of calf 541: weeks one to four

The diary of calf 541: weeks four to eight

The diary of calf 541: weeks eight to 12

The diary of calf 541: weeks 12 to 18

Watch: The diary of calf 541, weeks 18 to 26