FAC8: Dairy calf Health, Management, and Welfare

Question 1

What are the target body weights and when for dairy calves?

Answer 1

14-15 months: 60% adult bodyweight by service

24 months: 80-85% adult bodyweight by 1st calving

Question 2

What are the five things you should do to ensure dairy calf success?

Answer 2

1. Vaccinating to improve colostrum
2. Good dry cow management
3. Clean calving pens/good dry cow management
4. Prompt nave dipping
5. Clean colostrum soon after birth

Question 3

What are the pros and cons of group housing dairy calves?

Answer 3

Pros: better social skills and react better

Cons: disease spread, cleanliness

Question 4

What are the benefits of vaccinating the cows before birth?

Answer 4

• Promotes antibody production in mothers
• Antibody enters colostrum
• Calves passively immunised

Question 5

What are the three Qs to colostrum?

Answer 5

Quality

Quantity

Quickly

Question 6

What is the quality of colostrum affected by?

Answer 6

Dry period length - must allow adequate time for colostrum to develop

Milk Yield

Heifers tend to have poorer colostrum

Question 7

How much colostrum should calves get and when?

Answer 7

7-10% body weight by the first 6 hours (3-4L)

Another 3.5-5% bodyweight by 12 hours (1.4-2L)

Question 8

What are the three ways to get clean colostrum to calves after birth?

Answer 8

1. Allow calf to suckle mother after birth
2. Oesophageal feeder
3. Bootle and teat

Question 9

When do you monitor for passive transfer? What enzymes do you look at?

Answer 9

2-7 days after birth

• It takes time to produce
• After 7 days the calf is making their own

Enzymes

• GGt
• ZST
• ELISA
• Serum Total Protein

Question 10

What levels of Serum Total Protein are considered bad, ok, or excellent?

Answer 10

Bad: <4.8 g/dL

OK: >5.2 g/dL

Excellent: >5.5 g/dL

Question 11

What can cause a failure of oesophageal closure?

Answer 11

• Irregular feeding times
• Oesophageal feeder
• Bucket too low to floor
• Stress
• Milk too cold or hot
• Poorly mixed or incorrect concentration of artificial milk

Question 12

What are the requirements for the welfare of male dairy calves?

Answer 12

No transport until naval healed

No market until 7 days old

Must have 100g/day of fibrous food at 2 weeks old

Sufficient iron to maintain Hb>4.5

Fed at least twice daily

Access to dry bedded area

Question 13

Why do spring-born calves have a lower worm burden than autumn born calves?

Answer 13

Spring born calves go outside when not weaned and so they have immunity from mom. Therefore, they have access to worm to build their own immunity from but are still covered by mom.

Autumn calves have never seen a worm before they get turned out and they do not have passive immunity so they are like naive animals and get a ton before their immune system is able to fight the worms

Question 14

What are some of the option for how to deal with male dairy calves?

Answer 14

• Sexed semen
• Rose veal
• Rearing male calves for beef
• Using a beef breed bull for some cows or heifers