Watch Those Twins!

"Twins had a 68% inceased risk of all-causes mortality compared with calves born as singletons." This meant that twins were 1.7 times more likely to die than their singleton counterparts.

This was the observation of a California research team that collect calf health data from 5 California dairies. They used information from 11, 945 calves.

WATCH THOSE TWINS!

The authors explain this issue:
"An increase in mortality risk in twin calves may be due to competition for nutrients during gestation, resulting in reduced vigor and health status after birth. Results of the studies by Gulliksen et al. (2009) and Mellado et al. (2014) suggest that it may be beneficial for calf caretakers to closely monitor calves that are born as twins for any clinical signs of illness during the preweaning period. [emphasis added] p7326

While raising my own calves in individual hutches I slipped a plastic cow leg strap in the rear "D" ring of the hutch. This reminded me as well as any other caretaker of the "twin" status of the calf.

As I think back to this time I recall that most of my attention to these twins was during the first two weeks when diarrhea (scours) was the most common problem.

The other time I used the "twin" identity was at weaning time. Once in a while based on too low a level of calf starter grain intake I delayed weaning on a twin. This allowed her to "catch up" with her herdmates and start life as a weaned calf with plenty of energy and protein from starter.

Reference: Dubrovsky, S. A. and Others, " Bovine respiratory disease (BVD) cause-specific and overall mortalilty in preweaned calves on California dairies: The BVD 10K study." Journal of Dairy Science 102:7320-7328 (2019).

Sooner is Better for Colostrum Feeding:

But, How Much Better?

The September issue of Sam's Calf Management Newsletter has these main points:

·      Efficiency of antibody absorption 46 percent increase between feeding colostrum at birth vs. 6 hours later.

·        Volume of antibodies absorbed 33 percent increase between feeding colostrum at birth vs. 6 hours later.

·   Maximum concentration of antibodies (IgG) 40 percent increase between feeding colostrum at birth vs. 6 hours later.

•    Prevalence of beneficial bacteria associated with colon mucosa was significantly greater when colostrum was fed at birth vs. 6 hours later.

The URL to use in your browser is

http://atticacows.com/library/newsletters/CESeptember2019.pdf

or just click

HERE to go to the newsletter.

Scours and respiratory disease in young calves are linked.

In a May 26, 2019 Hoard’s Dairyman article Dr. Ollivett (University of Wisconsin School of Vet. Med.) says “Young calves with diarrhea are much more likely to develop pneumonia than their herdmates that did not experience diarrhea.” By improving  gut heath we can expect to see fewer treatable cases of respiratory illness.

She observes “Often, abnormal manure is overlooked if the calf is not off feed or depressed. When you spend time specifically looking at fecal consistency, you might realize you have more of a problem than you thought.”

Especially where pneumonia issues are serious among 3 and 4 week-old calves, Dr. Ollivett recommends serious-level record keeping on diarrhea among 1 and 2 week-old calves. 

She notes that measuring weight gain during weeks 1-2 may reveal that intestinal health is not ideal. It is “normal” when calves receive adequate nutrition that they begin gaining weight before the end of the first week. If your calves are not gaining weight or losing weight by 14 days of age you may have found one of the causes of pneumonia in the subsequent  weeks.

Time of Colostrum Feeding Makes a Difference

Maximum IgG Concentration

Compare the maximum concentration of antibodies in the calf's blood between calves fed colostrum within 45 minutes after birth and calves fed colostrum 6 hours after birth.

All calves fed 7.5% of birth weight of heat-treated colostrum testing 62g/L antibodies. For example, 90 pound calf received a little over 3 quarts. This feeding contained about 180-185g of antibodies.

The maximum antibody concentration was:

Fed at 45 minutes = 25.5 mg/ml

Fed at 6 hours       = 18.2 mg/ml

Difference? 40 percent!

Is it a good management decision to delay colostrum feeding even out to 6 hours after birth?

Reference: Fisher, A.J. and Others "Effect of delaying colostrum feeding on passive transfer and intestinal bacterial colonizaton in neonatal male Holstein calves." Journal of Dairy Science 101:30299-3109 (April 2018)

Good Summary Article

"4 steps to achieve successful passive transfer in newborn calves"

This article written by Amanda Fisher-Tlustos (University of Guelph) focuses attention on 4 key factors that drive successful passive transfer of immunity in newborn calves. 

It was published in the August 25 issue of Progressive Dairy (pp 54-55)

This is the URL

https://www.progressivedairy.com/topics/calves-heifers/4-steps-to-achieve-successful-passive-transfer-in-newborn-calves

It's probably not a surprise that the steps are (1) Quality, (2)Quantity, (3) Timing and (4) Low bacteria count. You will enjoy seeing the newest research data.

How Much Energy is in My Calf Starter?

And, When to Wean Calves based on Starter Intake.

All of this and more at Jim Quigley's Calf Notes site. Calf Note 209, "How much energy is in my starter," asks these questions:

• What makes a good starter?
• What is the point when the gastrointestinal tract sufficiently mature to wean the calf?
• Is the key fact how much starter the calf consumed today or how much she has consumed so far in her life?

Jim comments, "We may overestimate the contribution of ME (metabolizable energy) from starters early in life."

https://www.calfnotes.com/new/en/  is the URL.

Enjoy.

Why do Calves Get Sick

This is the title of a presentation given at the 2018 Healthy Calf Conference in Ontario, Canada.

Here is the link

http://calfcare.ca/why-young-calves-get-sick-and-what-you-can-do-to-stop-it/

The presenter, Mike Ballou from Texas Tech Univ., makes an easy to read presentation based on calf growth and development from birth.