Calves & Heifers

Dairy producers are working to raise both the optimal number and the highest-quality heifers for their operations. Developing replacement heifers is a significant and necessary expenditure for dairies, requiring an investment of $1,800 to $2,200 per head to get them to the start of first lactation.

Disbudding without pain control is painful! All methods work by removing or damaging horn-producing tissue, and all methods have been shown to cause pain when done without appropriate pain control.

Everyone’s weaning process looks slightly different. Facility constraints or labor considerations might cause two farms with similar pre-weaning programs to look vastly different come weaning time. And, neither farm is wrong – each knows best what will work for them.

First one there is the winner! It’s a race between antibodies in the colostrum and the bacteria in the environment. Who would you like to win?

Cold stress occurs when an animal expends energy to stay warm. Newborn calves are most susceptible to cold stress due to their low body fat and ratio of high surface area to body mass.

Calfhood pneumonia can be frustrating to deal with. Understanding where the problem originates is the first step in creating a plan to combat it. Most cases of calfhood pneumonia can be placed into one of two broad categories: environmental causes and contagious causes.