Calves & Heifers

Nobody would buy the cheapest lumber, hire the cheapest carpenters who use the cheapest tools but still expect to have the finest cabinetry built.

Water – which makes up 86 percent of a newborn calf’s bodyweight – is the most important nutrient for dairy calves, but it is often overlooked.

When calves are fed twice a day and housed in individual pens or hutches, the morning feeder is greeted by loud bawling of calves anxiously awaiting their morning meal. It may have been more than 12 hours since their last meal of 2 quarts of milk or milk replacer.

Implanting is a proven strategy to help improve feed efficiency and average daily gain (ADG). The basic premise of implanting is to start with the least potent implant, moving up to the most potent implant based on days on feed.

Right-sizing the heifer population to fit replacement needs not only reduces raising costs, but it can also provide an opportunity for the best future milking females to thrive.

Intravenous (IV) fluids are the fastest and most effective way to reverse severe dehydration in a calf, and an intravenous catheter allows for extended fluid therapy.