Following the basic principles of good colostrum management and feeding high levels of milk can benefit herd performance.
Dairy heifers fed the right amount of good quality colostrum at the right time will produce more milk in their first and second lactation and are more likely to survive to the end of their second lactation is 16% higher.
See also: Advice on grazing management for dairy heifers
This is according to Dr. Adam Geiger of animal health company Zinpro. He offers the following tips for early childhood nutrition.
Colostrum quality determines quantity
The target level of immunoglobulin (IGG) in colostrum is 50g/liter. The calf does not need any amount of colostrum, but a total of 150-200g of her IGG is required. If the quality of colostrum is poor, the calf will need more colostrum.
“Quality determines quantity. So, [standard] The recommended value of 4 liters is [Brix refractometer reading] It’s about 23%,” says Adam. “It also allows for delayed feeding and potential for bacterial contamination.”
Please give colostrum early
The rate of the first feeding of colostrum is very important, as calves can absorb 50% of the IGG contained in colostrum at birth.
Within 4 hours, this percentage drops to 25-30%. Therefore, the goal should be for calves to nurse within two hours of birth.
©Leanne Price
Keep colostrum clean
Colostrum should contain fewer than 100,000 coliform bacteria per ml, but research shows that only 55% reach this most important goal, and 45% contain more than 1 million. It is.
The biggest source of bacterial contamination is poorly cleaned feeding equipment. To avoid this, you should first clean the feeding equipment in hot water to avoid burning off fat and bacteria in cold water. Equipment also needs to be thoroughly dried, Adam adds.
Please give me more milk
Research shows that for every 100g of average daily gain within the first 2-3 months of life, first-lactation milk production can increase by 200-225 liters.
Increased milk production also promotes mammary gland development.
The first 60 to 90 days are the only period in which breast growth is positively correlated with body weight.
Farmers must feed at least 8 liters of milk for the first 60 days and adhere to a two-stage weaning program over 10 days.
The first milk reduction requires a “fairly aggressive” reduction of 25-30% of total milk intake to send the message to the calf that there is no milk left.
The second reduction should total 25-35% before the milk is completely removed.
Avoid overfeeding
Rumen development does not depend on feed intake, but rather on the fermentation of carbohydrates from grains.
“Feed helps with muscle development, but it is not as important as ruminal papillary development,” explains Adam.
Fermentation of grains produces propionic acid and butyric acid, which promote ruminal papilla growth. Also, overfeeding can limit grain intake.
“Calves can only consume 1% of their body weight in fiber. If the fiber content is too high or the feed is preferred, it will limit growth and rumen development,” he added.
If your calf starter contains low 20 percent neutral detergent fiber, you may not need to feed it any additional feed. However, this depends on the total amount of food given, including milk.
Calves should be fed concentrates from the first day of life, with a minimum of 3 kg per day per calf for 3 to 5 days before weaning.
Dr Adam Geiger spoke at a recent Winstay Calf and Young Stock event at Wheatland Farm in Pershore, Worcestershire.
