When to Test for Passive Immunity in Calves

This is a new post in the Calf Facts resource library. Click HERE to visit.

The main points are:

• ·        Exposure rates are likely to be high.
• ·        Don’t fall behind – reduce exposure of newborn and older calves.
• ·        Managing infections – building immunity.
• ·        Preclinical use of the additives is recommended.
• ·        Tips for reducing severity of clinical infections.

   You may also want to look at the resource "Passive Transfer: How to Test For" at this location - click HERE.

  

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Don't Fall Behind with Coccidiosis

The November 2017 issue of the calf management newsletter has these main points:

• Exposure rates are likely to be high.
• Don't fall behind - reduce exposure of newborn and older calves.
• Managing infections - building immunity.
• Preclinical use of the additives (medications) is recommended.
• Tips for reducing severity of clinical infections.

The link at www.atticacows.com or www.calffacts.com is HERE.

The URL if you need to paste into your browser is

http://www.atticacows.com/library/newsletters/CENovember2017.pdf

Training Employees to Follow Protocols: A Checklist

This is the title of a newly edited post in the Metric Calf Facts section. 

The key points :

1. Focus on just one skill

2. Keep training short

3. Train on location

4. Demonstrate the skill

5. Practice the skill

6. Evaluate performance

To get there you can go to www.atticacows.com and click on Resources. Click on Calf Facts Resource Library, click on Metric Calf Facts.

The direct link to this resource is HERE.

Fixing Passive Transfer Failure

This is the title of a new post at www.calffacts.com. Click HERE for the post [click HERE for the metric version]

[also can be accessed at www.atticacows.com under Resources, Calf Facts]

Key points:

• How soon after birth is the first colostrum feeding?
• What quality of colostrum is being fed at first feeding?
• What quantity of colostrum is being fed for first feeding?

Enjoy.

Extended Weaning Influences Digestion Efficiency

Post-Weaning

How long is the weaning period? Three days, 7 days or 10 days or 14 days?

The authors suggest that when calf starter grain intakes increase rapidly from  100-200g/day to more than 1,000g/day in 5 to 7 days (short weaning period) digestion is compromised. They conclude the digestion rates are low enough to leave the heifers short on energy and protein to maintain preweaning rates of structural growth.

"A recent comparison of weaning over 7 or 14 days to complete weaning by 8 weeks reported greater organic matter digestibility at 12 weeks for calves weaned over 14 days." (Dennis, 2017 abst.)

"It is known that calves fed a large amount of milk replacer will have lower digestibility of starter postweaning than calves fed moderate amounts of milk replacer and this difference in digestion appears to persist for at least 4 week." (Dennis 2017 p9003) [emphasis added]

Evidence is piling up that longer weaning periods for calves fed large amounts (for example, 2 pounds or 1 kg MR, 8 to 10 quarts of whole milk daily) of milk replacer/milk need time once they begin consuming calf stater grain (concentrate) to develop efficient digestive processes in their rumens. Dennis, Hill and others are suggesting 2 weeks rather than 7 days as a more appropriate step down period.

I used 2 week-long weaning period with my own calves (roughly 35-49 days). I did not observe negative trends at the end of milk feeding. I kept them in individual housing for one more week. for close observation. During the first week post-weaning I wanted the weaned calves to be active, bright-eyed and actively eating their calf starter grain and eager to eat the small amount of hay in their grain bucket. Then around 56 to 60 days they moved into group pens (5 per pen). 

Dennis suggests a 4 week adaptive period is required to full adaptation of the rumen to a grain-based ration. I did not have that long. I don't know if I should have seen some issues the last week in individual housing and the  first 3 weeks my calves were in transition pens. But, I treated very few calves for pneumonia, they spent a lot of time running around in their out-door pens (16' x 32') and ate well over 5 lbs (somewhat more than 2kg) grain daily. Unfortunately, although I had weaning weights I was not collecting any measurements (weight, height) after weaning - that is, in the transition grower phase. 

Refernces: Dennis, T.S., and Others, "Effects fo egg yolk inclusion, milk replacer feeding rate, and low-starch (pelleted) or high-starch (texturized) starter on Holstein calf performance through 4 months of age." Journal of Dairy Science 100: 8995-9006. Dennis. T.S. and Others, "Effects of previous milk replacer feeding program on calf performance and digestion through 4 months of age." Journal of Dairy Science 100 [E-suppl 2:301] Abstract. 2017.

Do You Need to Monitor Bacteria Levels for Your

Automatic Milk Feeder?

Yes. 

Well, I know you expect to have the post contain more than one word.

In recently reported research  these were only the coliform bacteria counts, not the total bacteria counts.

Location of sample                       Median (cfu/ml)  Lowest    Highest

                                                         [coliform counts, colony forming units per milliliter (cfu/ml)]


Exit from mixing vessel into the         336                   0        25,621,330
feeder tube

End of feeder tube at the nipple      10,430                45        28,517,000

For my clients we use the goal of no greater than 1,000cfu/ml coliforms in milk/milk replacer. That means among study farms most of them failed to keep their equipment clean enough to deliver wholesome un-contaminated milk to their calves. Is it surprising that 54% of the calves in the study require treatment for scours?

Look just at the median values, 336 coming out of the mixing vessel going into the feeder tube and 10,430 coming out of the feeding tube into the nipple. I consider this 3,000% increase pretty good evidence that changing those tubes regularly and often could be one way to lower this contamination rate. Clearly, it is possible to screw up keeping feeding equipment clean.

Look at the variation between the "cleanest" (lowest) and "most contaminated" (highest) dairies. Where would you want to be a calf?  On the dairy with 45cfu or the dairy with 28 million cfu/ml coliforms in milk?

(Jorgensen, M.W. and Others, "Mortality and health treatment rates of dairy calves in automated milk feeder systems in the Upper Midwest of the United States." Journal of Dairy Science, 100:9186-9193)

The Link Between Disinfecting Navels and Mortality

Over a decades long period of time I have been advocating disinfecting navels on newborn calves. In the Calf Facts library at our www.atticacows.com website I have three posts about navel dipping - one of them is Dipping Navels: Dollars and Sense [click HERE to go there].

A newly published study of dairies with automated milk feeding systems (26 dairies from the US Upper Midwest) collected data on mortality and disinfecting navels.

Here are the results: [average rate of mortality]

No navel disinfecting [22% of farms] = 7.3% mortality

Yes, navel disinfecting [78% of farms] = 3.0% mortality

57% of the farms reported mortality rates less than 3 % with one dairy having a 13.4% death rate.

We suspect that there are other best management practices that go along with disinfecting newborn navels that, in part, are also connected to calf mortality.

Reference: Jorgensen, M.W. and Others,"Mortality and health treatment rates of dairy calves in automated milk feeding systems in the Upper Midwest of the United States." Journal of Dairy Science 100:9186-9193 October 2017