Division of Extension
Hoof health is essential for not only the overall health of the animal, but also for her welfare. Digital dermatitis (DD), or hairy heel warts, is an extremely painful condition for dairy cattle, reducing their ability to walk to and from the milking parlor, or to the feed bunk. Based on USDA NAHMS 2017 data, 16.8% of all cows and 2.6% of bred heifers have lameness on a dairy operation.
With the cost to raise a dairy replacement being more than to purchase one, farmers must be diligent in raising a dairy replacement to enter the milking string at the optimal time and weight to reduce rearing costs and increase productivity. Numerous studies recommend the optimal age at first calving (AFC) is 24 months of age. Any delay past 24 months will add an additional $2.50, or more, a day to the cost of raising replacements as well as require more heifers to meet the herd replacement needs.
The nutrient needs of dairy heifers change with age and size as they approach maturity with feed intake increasing and diet nutrient concentrations decreasing (Table 1). This is due to changes in growth with heifers having a higher rate of protein growth prior to breeding with slower protein growth as they approach mature body weight. […]
Raising replacement heifers is a large investment for farmers to create the next generation for their herd. The cost of raising a replacement heifer on average is $2,500 with feed accounting for approximately 50% of the total rearing cost.1,2 The average age at first calving (AFC) has been decreasing in the United States because farmers […]
By Donald C. Sockett, DVM, MS, PHD, DACVIM (large animal); Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, UW-Madison It is important for livestock barns, calf pens, and calf feeding equipment to be properly cleaned before the disinfectant is applied. If surfaces are not properly cleaned, the disinfection step is much less effective at killing disease-causing microorganisms. Many disinfectants […]
Want to learn about the latest research on calf housing? Two heads are better than one: A starter guide to pairing dairy calves This series of articles is a seven-part starter guide for pairing or group-housing pre-weaned dairy calves. Throughout this guide, we cover best practices to promote good health and welfare in calves raised […]
When we talk about thermal stress in pre-weaned calves, often we discuss cold stress. However, calves can become environmentally stressed when temperatures are too cold or too hot. During extreme cold or hot temperatures, calves utilize extra energy to maintain their core body temperature. The temperature range at which a calf uses no additional energy […]
Feeding high-quality colostrum to the calf as soon as possible after birth is the most important thing you can do for calf health. It is especially important for dairy and beef x dairy calves destined to leave the farm at a young age to receive colostrum.
