Calf Focus 2015

FOCUS ON

2015

CALVES

BR

W y pp nns or tay tt he are ne pr ed ou so dt ft o he

su

IT FA ISH RM DA ER IRY !

INSIDE THIS EDITION: • Calving Alert Technology - The Benefits • Introducing the “LifeStart” programme • “You are what you eat” • A Cautionary Tale of Heifer Rearing

1

WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER

CONTENTS 3

Calving Alert Technology

4

Introducing the “LifeStart” Concept

5

Make the most of computerized feeding

6

Harvesting Colostrum

8

“You are what you eat”

10 A Cautionary Tale 12 The Healthy Calf 14 Advance Calf Starter Feeds 14 Special Offers 15 Heatwave Competition Wynnstay Retail - 01691 662690 Wynnstay Arable - 01939 210555 Wynnstay Feeds - 01691 828512 To find your nearest store visit www.wynnstay.co.uk/locations.html

For the latest information from our dairy team, follow us @WynnstayGroup

In this 2015 edition of Focus on Calves we bring you a wide range of technical articles from specialists outside and within Wynnstay to help you maximise the potential of your youngstock, whether it is beef of dairy replacements.

Calving is always a tense time for farmers, with additional pressure to ensure calves get colostrum within the first two hours of life. We discover how a new technology has helped improve colostrum management and the care of cow and calf post calving on dairy farms in Cheshire and North Wales.

We all know rearing a calf is a delicate process, with varying stages in rumen development, action must be taken to ensure calves are fed the right substances at the right time. John Twigge from Trouw Nutrition introduces the “LifeStart” concept, a new programme that activates metabolic pathways in the calf, helping to improve youngstock performance.

With the evolution of computerised feeding over the past ten years we have heard some brilliant success stories, but also a few failures. Gill Dickson, National Calf Specialist at Wynnstay discusses the importance of management in a computerised system to achieve success.

We also have Dr Jessica Cooke from Volac explaining the importance of early stage disease identification in youngstock, introducing a five point plan that all farmers should adopt.

Heifer rearing has an increased focus on 24 month calving for optimum production and economic efficiency. Rebecca Richards from Wynnstay analyses the concept of “you are what you eat” stressing that what you put in, you get out.

Also, don’t forget to take a look at our special offers and find out how to get the chance to WIN a Heatwave Milk Warmer! We hope you find the articles in this newsletter informative and should you have any further enquiries please contact a member of our Calf Technical Team.

Calf Technical Team Contact Details Steve Brown - Ruminant Feeds Product Manager m: 07774 855026 steve.brown@wynnstay.co.uk @sirbilly55

Gill Dickson - National Calf Specialist m: 07971 296702 gill.dickson@wynnstay.co.uk @Healthycalves

Rebecca Richards - Calf Specialist m: 07881 093633 rebecca.richards@wynnstay.co.uk @richardscalf1 2

www.wynnstay.co.uk

CALVING ALERT IMPROVES CARE OF COW & CALF New technology not only allows extra supervision at calving time, but also makes sure either fresh or frozen colostrum is delivered in the first two hours of life. Two herds give a very positive report on using the latest calving alert technology.

Bill Williams at Meadow Lea Farm has 400-500 head of youngstock and 110 cows milked through a robot system at Mickle Trafford in Cheshire. The youngstock come from two sources, his own calves, plus some from his partner and son in law, Andy Walley at Cotton Abbotts Farm. In total they have around 300 animals to calve down from both farms which are the responsibility of the youngstock team: Bill, together with his other son in law Chris Thompson and Andy.

The Vel’phone calving Alert system was introduced around 18 months ago as part of a plan to improve care of the fresh cow and calf. Being on site at every calving would not only allow calving to be supervised, but also the colostrum could be dealt with quickly.

There has been an unexpected benefit, as Bill says ‘One real plus, has been mastitis monitoring. As the temperature bolus picks up a rise and fall in temperature it will identify heifers with mastitis, and these can be treated before it becomes a major problem.’

up, it allows us time to thaw out a bag of frozen colostrum in our thawing machine’.

Calves are kept on colostrum for three feeds then kept in a single pen until they learn to suck a teat. When training is complete they are transferred onto one of the three Holm & Laue computerised machines, where they are fed 900g/head of milk powder/day. In the last 18 months calf health and growth rates have improved The farm is equipped with self locking yokes, so in-calf heifers significantly. are easy to catch and the temperature probes known as ‘spiders’ are inserted about two weeks before calving. The ‘spiders’ soak Bill says apart from seeing the heifer calve, the three additional in a bucket of Hibiscrub disinfectant. Hygiene is very important, benefits have been,’ getting our sleep, detecting mastitis, and the so spiders are washed well after use, then soaked in disinfectant speed of colostrum collection’. before reusing. They are made from plastic, so get warmed up before inserting with lubricant gel. As cow calves, the water bag pushes the temperature probe out, and as it falls to the floor the probe sends a text to the mobile phone .There are two alarms, one for ‘possible calving’ and one for ‘imminent calving’. Whoever is on duty that night receives a text and arrives to see the cow or heifer about to calve. The job is split between three staff on a three week rota, so only one person has disturbed sleep every three weeks.

It’s a similar story at Shordley Hall Farm, Hope nr Wrexham, where Richard Pilkington farms 250 dairy cows, heifers and a flock of breeding ewes. Two years ago Richard Pilkington decided to invest in Vel’phone Calving Alert technology. This saves on the time spent checking the dry cow yard, day and night.

If all goes according to plan they calve soon after staff arrive at the yard. Bill says ‘the system is very reliable, we don’t use the ‘time delay ‘on the system, we just sit and wait for up to half an hour and watch, so as not to disturb the heifer, its 100% reliable. ‘We calve the heifer in the yard then put her straight into the robot, collect colostrum, and drench the calf with 4 litres. If she is slow to get

Richard inserts the probes a week before the predicted date and waits for a signal to be sent to his phone. A rise and fall in temperature sends a ‘48hr alert’, and when she starts pushing out the water bag, the probe sends a final ‘text alert’. Most cows calve within an hour of this final alert.

The system works with radio waves from a central control box, and with 350 calvings per year, 7 temperature probes are sufficient to monitor every cow calving, on an all year round basis.

Richard sets a ‘time delay’ for night time calvings and says ‘it’s a reliable system, 99% of the time the cow is at the point of calving as I come into the shed’. Somebody is always on hand if the cow is having difficulty, and we can attend to the cow, the calf and colostrum at the same time.

Gill Dickson National Calf Specialist m: 07971 296702 • gill.dickson@wynnstay.co.uk

@Healthycalves Wynnstay Group Plc

Focus on Calves 2015

3

INTRODUCING THE “LIFESTART” CONCEPT Feeding baby mammals is a precise and critical process.

The wrong food at the wrong time can result in significant health, digestive and growth problems. The calf is no different and until the rumen is functioning properly (35 – 60 days), milk is the food needed to sustain the calf.

In addition, we need to consider the frequency of feeding, the suckled calf may feed 6-10 times per day and we should also try Visit www.lifestartscience.com for to feed our calves little and often. A recent paper from Dr Don more information on the concept, Socket from Madison highlighted the need for multiple milk feeds “I expect 10 years from now, the discussion won’t be if we should research papers and practical resources feed calves three times a day but if there is a benefit feeding three times a day versus more times,” he predicted. “That’s where the These standards include factors which not only consider the research is going.” growth and development of the calf but also the maturation of the The LifeStart programme is designed to activate metabolic rumen and the gut, both critical aspects in the development of an pathways in the young calf which will help to improve both efficient and productive dairy cow. performance and efficiency during the animals’ productive life.

The LifeStart programme is a practical and functional system based on best management practices. It is essential that all calves receive high antibody colostrum (typically 10- 15% of body weight) within the first 4-6 hours of life. Use of a colostrometer is recommended. Feed colostrum for 3-4 days before the introduction to milk replacer.

Milk replacer should be mixed at 150g/litre and the calves started at 4 litres/day, this volume is slowly increased so that by day 20 the calf is receiving 6 litres/day. At 6 weeks start to reverse the process by slowly reducing the volume fed so that the calf is fully weaned by 8 – 10 weeks when they should be eating at least 2 kg This activation process requires a programme which provides an of calf starter pellets. enhanced level of digestible nutrition in a safe form. LifeStart Weight for age targets are important management tools in the formulations have exceptionally high levels of dairy ingredients growth and development of heifers to calve at the optimum 23-24 but products with lower digestibility such as soya are not used. months of age. A Holstein heifer should be 120 kg at 12 weeks Fats and oils are a key source of energy for the calf and the wide of age and we should aim for a bulling weight of 400 kg at 14 range of fats and oils used in LifeStart formulations are in the months. form of minute globules (similar to those in cows’ milk) to ensure optimum digestion and absorption.

LifeStart compliant milk replacers have to exceed an international set of standards to ensure that enhanced levels of feeding do not lead to gut disturbances or other health related issues while at the same time being formulated to support rapid, early growth and development.

John Twigge Technical Manager Trouw Nutrition

Products part of the “LifeStart” concept: • Wynngold Colostrum Management Kit • Wynngold Rich Cream Milk Powder • Wynnstay Turbo Start Milk Powder 4

www.wynnstay.co.uk

MAKE THE MOST OF COMPUTERISED FEEDING The concept of computerised feeding is brilliant. The machine can be programmed for any type of calf, in a group or as an individual, and you can choose from many different milk powders and feed at any rate. Some even dispense 50% whole milk. Weaning is gradual and it’s almost like having a mechanical cow.

In addition many rearers are under-dosing their calves with milk powder, owing to a key fact which has been lost in translation from German to English.

If you want to add 150g of powder into a litre (i.e made up to a litre) then you have to instruct the machine to add 175g on top Over a 10 year period we have seen some outstanding calves of a litre. reared on this system and only a few disasters. So why the failures?

It’s a subtle difference in translation, but makes a world of Often it’s the management which causes the system to fail. It difference to growth rates. N.B. The machine always adds the is still necessary to have a dedicated calf rearer in charge of the prescribed amount on top of a litre of water. system.

Follow the chart below if you don’t want to do the maths: 1. Remember, it’s a vending machine, not a calf rearer! It has no Milk Dry Matter (%) Milk Powder Addition (g) brain and cannot make decisions.

115 2. The operator needs to understand how to calibrate the machine, 10.0 as the density of powders vary from factory to factory and from one pallet to another. The operator also needs to know how to set a feed curve.

3. The manufacturers claim one feed station feeds 25 calves, but in practice we find smaller groups work better.

12.5

145

15.0

175

17.5

215

20.0

250

Target: We are aiming to feed 900g-1000g/day (over 24hrs) to

4. Having one big group of calves and adding baby calves to the accelerated dairy heifers and 750g for slower growing calves or

group one after another without starting a new group leads to older bought in calves, which are starting the weaning curve. overuse of antibiotic and pneumonia problems. Small groups in If you have any new staff who need training on the machine, please separate areas are easier to manage and clean out regularly. contact one of our calf specialists who will make arrangements for 5. Calves need to receive colostrum for 3-5 days (where possible) a training session. before being transferred to the machine, during this time they should be kept in a single pen and trained to suck a teat.

Introducing to the group pen too early causes poor intakes and stress induced illness.

6. Whole milk is very difficult to manage in practice, often leading to hygiene problems.

Gill Dickson

National Calf Specialist m: 07971 296702 • gill.dickson@wynnstay.co.uk

@Healthycalves

Wynnstay Group Plc

Focus on Calves 2015

5

HARVESTING COLOSTRUM With a growing focus on providing calves with a solid foundation for the best start in life, more farmers are focused on getting that all important 10% of birth weight in colostrum into calves within the first 6 hours of life, a great first step, but we can run the risk of forgetting to make sure that we are harvesting the best and cleanest colostrum.

What does good colostrum mean?

Good quality colostrum or ‘Green’ colostrum must contain a minimum of 50g IgG per litre. The only way to be sure of the colostrum quality status is to test it. A colostrometer is a cheap and effective way of testing colostrum quality, but just because your colostrum is thick and yellow, it doesn’t mean it’s good quality.

One of the many factors that can influence the quality of colostrum is the time it is harvested. One to two hours after calving the cow will go into ‘milk producing’ mode letting milk down into the udder which effectively dilutes the colostrum held in her udder.

So, in practice, the best time to harvest the most concentrated colostrum is within two hours of calving. But when it’s 1am and there’s no stored colostrum available, and you’re not due to milk for another four hours. It’s tempting to leave the calf with the mother and hope that she will suckle those all-important 4 litres.

The reality is that four out of ten calves fail to consume enough colostrum when left to suckle their mother. In addition, there is a large chance that when she does finally find the teat she’s probably ingested a great proportion of dried muck that has gathered on the mother’s teats. It’s likely that her first and most important feed will be laden with common muck related diseases such as E-Coli, Cryptosporidium and Coccidiosis. These diseases are picked up at birth and only appear days and weeks later when the pathogen has gone through the life cycle and the calf starts to show clinical signs. By this point there’s often additional cost implications in treatments such as antibiotics and coccidiastats. Antibiotic is not only an immediate cost, but also decreases the predicted heifer’s milk yield by 493kg in the first lactation (Nutreco, Lifestart). So the message is clear, prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure.

“Coliforms multiply in colostrum every 20 minutes when left at ambient temperature*

Portable milking units are a simple solution to harvesting the best colostrum without moving the cow, and enable you to feed that newborn calf immediately. Having a colostrum specific dump bucket and unit means that it can easily be kept sterile between uses.

“So the message is clear, prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure” One farmer who has implemented this system with great success is Daniel Harris, Velindre Farm, Pembrokeshire. Daniel has been using this system on the farm since November and has seen great improvements in calf health.

“Before we had the mobile milking unit, the cow would calve and be milked when the next milking shift began, the colostrum was then kept in a bucket in the parlour until the calves were ready to be fed, really it was kept in the bucket too long and gathering bacteria.

Using the mobile milking unit has allowed us to implement a much stricter protocol for managing colostrum. As soon as the cow calves, she is put in the crush, given Oxytocin, milked, given Reviva to drink, and anything that is a third calver onwards receives a calcium bolus.

Cleanliness is something that we are much more focused on now, we have a strict protocol for prepping the cows udder ensuring that we are only harvesting clean colostrum. The member of staff in charge of milking the cow must wipe the teats, then strip out the Orbeseal and wipe once again, ensuring that any bacteria that may have built up on the teat during the dry period is cleaned away so as not to contaminate that first feed.

In addition to this, we have made sure that the milking unit is specifically kept for colostrum harvesting which allows us to make sure it is kept sterile; we keep a bucket of clean water and hypochlorite nearby. This method of harvesting colostrum is simple and can be carried out by one person, with a busy farm this makes it easier for staff to manage.

As soon as we have milked the cow the calf will be given 4 litres of colostrum, we let the calf suck from the bottle first and anything that is not drunk we stomach tube. Six to eight hours after the first colostrum feed we provide the calf with a further 3 litres of colostrum via stomach tube. Following this the calves are fed 7 litres a day of colostrum (split into two feeds) for three days before they go onto the H&L automatic calf machine where they receive 175g/litre Wynngold Bloom at a rate of 8litres per day.”

6

www.wynnstay.co.uk

heifers are given Rotavec Corona during the dry period and the calves receive Halocur for the first seven days.

“Calf health at present is the best it’s ever been, and I am very happy with how they are performing, we see hardly any cases of scour since implementing this new colostrum management protocol. The next step is to start taking some blood samples from calves and running ZST tests to further fine tune our protocol, as well as investing in a new fridge to store any spare colostrum.”

If you would like any help developing colostrum management protocols for your farm, please contact one of our Calf Specialists.

Rebecca Richards Daniel commented that offering the calves higher milk intakes had not decreased the dry feed intake; in fact the calves had a strong appetite and are eating 3.3kg of dry feed at weaning. All cows and

Calf Specialist m: 07881 093 633 rebecca.richards@wynnstay.co.uk

@richardscalf1

CALF SIGNALS SUCCESS In last year’s addition of Focus on Calves we launched the Wynngold Calf Club. The idea of the Club was to attract enthusiastic calf rearers to attend events and broaden their knowledge of calf and heifer rearing. Since then we have been running a series of Calf Signals Workshops with the help of Owen Atkinson, a leading dairy vet and founder of Dairy Veterinary Consultancy Ltd. The courses have been taking place throughout the Wynnstay trading area and we are the first company in the UK to offer the Calf Signals training. Focusing on rearing healthy calves from birth to calving age, Calf Signals encourages farmers to make observations about their own youngstock, and offers practical solutions to make improvements and maximise their health, performance and profitability.

The training days go through the cycle from the dry cow, to calving accommodation and facilities, baby calf requirements, feeding, and targets for bulling. Then continuing to look at the heifer’s requirements from bulling through to calving down, pin pointing potential ‘bottlenecks’ along the way.

Farmers that have attended the events have all been keen to go back home and implement some of the tips they picked up enabling them to eliminate the ‘bottlenecks’ in calf rearing on their own farm.

If you would like any help on identifying and eradicating your own ‘bottle necks’, please contact one of our calf specialists.

Sign up to the Wynngold Calf Club to keep up to date with all latest calf related events: www.wynnstay.co.uk/calfclub.html

BE I N

WIN WITH A C HA A MIL HEAT NCE TO WH K WA WAVE EN Y R OU MER SEE PA SI GE G INFO 15 FOR N UP !

RMA M TION ORE

Rebecca Richards Calf Specialist m: 07881 093 633 rebecca.richards@wynnstay.co.uk

@richardscalf1

Wynnstay Group Plc

Focus on Calves 2015

7

“YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT” What you put in, you get out

Simply providing a superior diet and feeding a higher quantity at this crucial stage will determine which bee becomes the Queen From an economic and production point of view the optimum age and which remain as drones. Worker drones are half the size of the to calve heifers is 24 months. The DairyCo figures are enticing.

Queen and live two to three months while the queen lives for two After all, who wouldn’t want to achieve 25,031kg total 5 year milk years (Leonel, Lifestart). yield vs 8,029kg for a 32 month old heifer, see Table 1.

How does this apply to dairy calves?

To achieve two year old calving, heifers must be in calf by 15 months of age. This is possible, but Holstein heifers must reach a Research at Cornell University showed that calves fed milk or milk wither height of 125cm by 13 months of age and the best way to replacer with growth rates of 0.6kg to 0.8kg/d before weaning produced 429 +/- 106kg more milk during first lactation compared achieve this is to get them off to a quick start in life. with calves fed to gain 0.25 to 0.4kg before weaning (Soberon The road to success and Van Amburgh, 2013). What is clear from this research is the Producers spend thousands trying to improve the genetic potential positive affect milk intake has in the pre weaning phase on milk of herds, but producing an embryo that will become a superior production initiated at approximately two years of age (Daniels, calf is money ill spent if you are not prepared to feed that genetic et al, 2013). potential. Are we putting too much reliance on letting genetics do Calf feed conversion ratio during the first three weeks of life is a all the hard work and forgetting the basics in the meantime? little more than 1:1, at which point they are not ruminating. So the It’s interesting to look at an example from the insect world, which first step is, stop treating her like a cow and start thinking of her demonstrates how an organism’s genotype can be dramatically as the baby she is. influenced through feeding.

If we feed our calves once a day and hope that they are going to The Honey Bee is an outstanding example: The Queen bee and eat enough dry feed in those first three weeks your chances of workers are genetic clones, so the genotype is exactly the same. hitting that 0.75kg DLWG needed for two year calving are pretty The only difference between the creation of a Queen or a worker slim. Even if such calves do appear to be gaining weight, much of will be a difference in food they receive during the larval state. The this will be as gut-fill rather than real developmental growth of the Queen is fed the royal jelly, while workers receive worker’s food. calf body. To capitalise on that all important early feed conversion Table 1: Heifer production and fertility performance at a range of calving ages

Calving age (months)

22-23

24-25

26-28

32-36

Pre-calving weight (kg)

591

621

625

769

Calving Assistance (%)

17%

17%

27%

67%

Weight loss post calving (kg)

32

26

6

59

Cows still alive at 5 years (%)

86%

62%

41%

33%

Total 5 year milk yield (kg)

25,031

20,395

16,671

8,029

Time in milk during first 5 years (%)

48%

42%

38%

18% Source: DairyCo

8

www.wynnstay.co.uk

Wither height 125cm

In Calf

13 Months

15 Months

Calving

24 Months

“Feeding 500g-600g of milk replacer is simply not enough if you want them to grow sufficiently”

you must feed a good quality milk replacer with highly digestible ingredients. If you intend getting your calves off to the best start in life, look for a milk replacer with high quality protein sources and scour when fed too much milk. In Denmark, farmers feed up to 12 good quality oils in such as palm, sunflower and coconut. litres of milk a day and have calves tripling their birth weight by Feeding 500g-600g of milk replacer is simply not enough if you 10 weeks old! want them to grow sufficiently to be ready for first service at 13 Providing your colostrum management is excellent and you are - 15 months. Aim for 900g-1kg of powder a day for maximum using a top quality milk powder you should have no problems with performance. Feeding more will also help your calf build a strong nutritional scouring, in fact you can expect to rear healthy, strong immune system which will have significant health benefits: and growing heifers set to enter your herd at two years old. “...Every gram of growth in excess of 450g/d during the first 63 days of a calves life can mean as much as 4 litres of milk in the first lactation” (Lifestart). For example an average growth rate of 800g/d vs 450g/d = + 350 g/d. 350 x 4 = 1440 litres more milk is the first lactation.

Put simply, you only get out what you put in!

“Calf feed conversion ratio during the first three weeks of life is a little more than 1:1” Metabolic Programming ‘Metabolic programming is a natural phenomenon that determines how an organism reacts to a given level of nutritional stress or stimulus’ (Patel and Svrinivansan, 2002).

Feeding and management practices implemented on farm can affect that animal throughout its life. Certain stimuli early in life will change the way the genes are expressed and will change the potential of that animal for life. Providing the calf with intensified feeding early in life can permanently alter that animal’s genetic expression.

If you are going to invest in rearing your own replacements, get it right from day one to reap the rewards in two years time. For too long we have been starving our calves, fearing that they will

Rebecca Richards Calf Specialist m: 07881 093 633 rebecca.richards@wynnstay.co.uk

@richardscalf1

Wynnstay Group Plc

Focus on Calves 2015

9

A CAUTIONARY TALE I heard of a tragedy recently. Three well-bred Holstein heifers had not only had calves by caesarean section, but unfortunately 2 had died. These were well grown 30 months old and had been fed predominantly on (cheap) home grown forages. Not only were the heifers too fat but they had big calves, exacerbating the problem.

This was a waste of lives, a waste of £3,600 plus all future milk production, and a waste of time. It left me thinking how it could have been avoided.

When you live with young stock, or children, it’s difficult to see them developing and growing day by day. It’s only when a visitor comes to call that they notice and remark ’haven’t you grown!’ then you recognise the changes.

In the case of heifers, the two years slips by very quickly and it’s easy for other (milking) animals to take priority. It’s all the more important to put dates on the calendar to not only monitor growth rates, wither heights and heart girth, but most importantly, assess body condition.

There were three reasons for this ’bad luck’. Owing to the high cost of bought in feed, they had been reared on grass and maize silage. As the grass ran out, they were on maize silage, and the energy and protein provided in the ration was out of balance. Also, the heifers were away from the main farm, ‘out of sight and out of mind’.

...The heifers were away from the main farm, ‘out of sight and out of mind’

A young heifer doesn’t have to be a small heifer.

It’s important to grow the heifer quickly in the first 12 weeks of life, when her feed conversion is at it’s most efficient. The thought that growing too fast will put fat into her udder has been disproved. It doesn’t happen with today’s high genetic potential young stock. There is no problem growing at 1kg/ day early in life. The growth cycle should start by targeting a 12 week calf at 120kg. This can easily be achieved by feeding 900g of milk replacer per day tailing off at 8 weeks old. High protein concentrates and straw and water will promote an early establishment of a healthy rumen. There is increasing evidence that calves which get off to a good start in the first few weeks of life will go on to live longer and suffer few setbacks in their productive life. These calves need a high intake of protein at this stage to grow their skeleton, 7580% of this happens before 12 months. Their feed conversion at this stage is very efficient and any setback now, will be expensive, if not impossible, to rectify later on. The body condition score at this stage should be a 2.25 (i.e you will feel very little fat in the tail hollow). Heifers shouldn’t put on too much fat. Target scores at 6 months and 12 months would be 2.3 and 2.8. Too much fat at this stage means the diet is short of protein.

Once the calf is 3 months old she needs to be putting on a minimum of 0.8kg/day. If this means feeding a little cake at grass, it’s worth £25/per summer to keep them growing and accommodates any peaks and troughs of grass growth in the typical UK summer.

Typical Holstein heifers should be ready for service at 13 months, and once they are in calf, condition scored & monitored so they don’t develop wrinkles of fat around the tail head. If no scales are available a simple height sick will help to keep growth rates on track. Average heights at bulling should be 124cm and at calving 140cm with BCS

Wynnstay Heifer Height Stick.

There are some very good reasons why some farmers like to calve ‘late’. If the herd is small and doesn’t justify a ‘heifer group’, the heifers have to compete with mature cows at the feed face. It’s logical to grow them bigger and heavier, before they join the herd.

However, statistically, it has been shown that younger heifers

(23 - 24months), calve more easily and go on to produce a better lifetime yield. See Table 1 below.

10

www.wynnstay.co.uk

Example Heifer Rearing Plan Month

Target Age Weight (Months) (kg) 3

100

4

120

5

142

April

6

162

May

7

183

June

8

204

July

9

225

August

10

246

September

11

267

October

12

285

November

13

306

December

14

327

January

15

350

February

16

370

March

17

394

April

18

405

May

19

426

June

20

447

July

21

470

August

22

490

September

23

511

October

24

535

Diet

Actions

Notes

Straw + 3.5kgs Heifer 600 nuts Dectomax at turnout Dectomax (8 weeks) Grazing + 0.5kg Heifer Grazer nuts

Dectomax (8 weeks)

Paramection + Fluke? Housing Straw + 4kgs Heifer 600 nuts

Straw + 4.5kgs Heifer 600 nuts

Discuss with Vet Rising plane of nutrition

Tail paint/serve

Cubicle train Grazing

5.5kgs Heifer 600 nuts

Acclimatise to silage/straw/cake

3.0. A higher score means too much energy in the diet. Be aware that the calf puts on 70% of its growth in the final 3 months of pregnancy so feeding heavily to catch up at this stage will simply result in a big calf.

Making a heifer rearing plan, to include health and nutrition, helps all members of staff to keep heifers on track.

As with any enterprise, attention to detail pays dividends. If you know what to do, but haven’t got time do it, consider contracting out to a ‘man who does’. There are plenty of ex dairy farmers who are more than capable of running a contract heifer rearing business and having more time to keep their focus. For some, it may prove cost effective in the long term.

If you need help to design a heifer rearing programme, please book a visit from one of our Calf Specialists.

Gill Dickson National Calf Specialist m: 07971 296702 • gill.dickson@wynnstay.co.uk

@Healthycalves Wynnstay Group Plc

Focus on Calves 2015

11

THE HEALTHY CALF

nipping disease in the bud and reducing early mortality

Did you know that more than half of calves on UK farms suffer from If you want to give each of your calves the best opportunity in life, disease before weaning, almost all of which is due to scours and then identifying the early signs of trouble is going to be essential. respiratory disease?

You should also draw up a health plan with your vet which you can implement before the calf becomes so sick that it will go off A new simple guide has been launched by the Royal Veterinary its milk.

College and Volac to help farmers identify the early signs of poor calf health so they can attempt to nip disease in the bud and The Healthy Calf: identify common problems early ultimately reduce heifer mortality, which is currently running at approximately 14% prior to first calving.

Don’t let ill health become normal. Adopt the following five point plan, says Volac’s Dr Jessica Cooke.

How good are you at identifying mild cases of disease among your calves? They can be so easy to miss compared with spotting and 1. Look: Check calves at least twice a day to make sure they are subsequently treating the really sick calves particularly in group all healthy. Look at six key areas: housing, says Kate Johnson, of the Royal Veterinary College. Milk HEAD – eyes, nose, breathing, ears rejection, for example, is often used as a sign of disease, however it EATING – keen to drink milk and eat solid feed is far from accurate. If calves are fed less than 8 litres/day of milk, it will only be at the final stages of disease that a calf will stop APPEARANCE – bright, curious, playful, good coat condition, dry navel drinking. At this point, the calf may be so sick that the damage LEGS – sound on all four legs, relaxed posture caused will be irreversible.

Some of Kate’s latest research on 12 dairy farms measured incidences of diarrhoea and respiratory disease, the two main contagious causes of death pre weaning which also reduce growth rates. The findings indicated that 48% of the animals involved suffered from scours, while 46% incurred respiratory disease. With such a high incidence of disease, problems stop being noticed and it’s easy to accept the early signs as being ‘normal’.

Both scours and respiratory disease impact not only on husbandry demands and vet costs, but for those animals which survive, it also influences their subsequent performance. Even a relatively mild case of respiratory disease takes energy away from growth, with up to 1kg lost per week.

To sum up, identifying common problems early gives the opportunity to: • Reduce the severity and duration of the disease • Reduce the risk of irreversible damage, for example of the lungs • Reduce harmful bugs in the environment • Reduce the spread of disease

12

www.wynnstay.co.uk

TEMPERATURE – normal temperature of 38ºC - 39ºC HINDQUARTERS – clean and dry You – healthy calves save you time and money

2. Identify common problems early – use the traffic light poster for scours and respiratory.

3. Record and monitor early signs of disease; record the calf’s ID, date and symptom or treatment.

4. Treat if necessary in accordance with your vet.

5. Finally, make preventative or corrective measures.

Dr. Jessica Cooke Volac

The Healthy Calf Poster RVC and Volac have launched two posters to pin up in the calf shed. They should help you and the person responsible for calf rearing to identify the early signs of scours and respiratory disease, quickly and simply, and implement the agreed treatment protocol.

Remember disease control should always be carried out in accordance with your vet.

Green: Look for signs of good health and vigour in calves. Calves in good health should be bright, playful, curious and lively with clear eyes and nose, clean hindquarters and be keen to drink milk.

Amber: Act at early warning signs of problems – remember going off milk is a late sign of sickness. Contact your vet or implement a treatment plan.

Early signs include discharge from eyes or nose, occasional coughs as well as dirty hocks and tails and being reluctant to show normal healthy behaviours like curiosity and playfulness. This is when to act – treatment protocols planned with your vet have a better chance of success for these calves.

Red: Late signs of disease – these are calves at risk of death.

Make sure everyone knows your action plan – you should develop a standard operating procedure for calf disease with your vet. Make sure everybody knows when and how to act for sick calves so that any cases get treated straight away.

• Copies of the poster are available from Volac (0800 919808)

Wynnstay Group Plc

Focus on Calves 2015

13

ADVANCE CALF STARTER FEEDS We provide a comprehensive range of calf starter feeds. For more information on this range and other feeds available, please contact a member of our Calf Technical team.

Start n Wean® nuts - Available in 25kg bags, 500kg tote bags and bulk. Also available with Deccox® The market leading, 18% protein, calf starter/creep nut, formulated for palatability & performance. Suitable for all calf rearing systems, where early intakes and high growth rates are required. For feeding from 3 days to 10/12 weeks of age.

Contains Greenline™ - ‘mother-smell’ stimulant with specific sugars and a natural sweetener, sweeter than sugar is included ensuring early uptakes.

Super Krunch + AlfAlfa - Available in 25kg bags and 500kg tote bags Extremely palatable 18% protein, coarse calf starter, suitable for all calf rearing systems, where early intakes and high growth rates are required. For feeding from 3 days to 12 weeks of age.

AlfAlfa & NIS pellets provide digestible fibre to aid rapid rumen development, stimulates intake help counteract any acidity and help ensure troublefree weaning. Kibbled linseed flakes, micronized flaked beans and peas provide high levels of specific amino acids to meet the demands for high quality protein over the first few weeks of a calf’s life and high levels of digestible undegradable protein (DUP), ensuring rapid growth and efficient digestion.

GROW KRUNCH (non-GM) - Available in 25kg bags or 500kg tote bags Palatable 18% protein, coarse calf starter, suitable for all calf rearing systems, where early intakes and high growth rates are required. For feeding from 3 days to 12 weeks of age.

Rolled barley and flaked maize for rapid, efficient growth particularly from weaning onwards. High digestible fibre sources to aid rapid rumen development, stimulate intake and help ensure trouble-free weaning. Kibbled linseed flakes, micronized flaked peas and beans, micronized flakes soya provide high levels of specific amino acids to meet the demands for high quality protein over the first few weeks of a calf’s life. A specialist supplement is included ensuring good healthy performance.

s r e f f O l a Speci June & July Only

ORDER 10 BAGS of any Wynngold Calf Milk Powder and receive a:

FE

I N K N E P D L WYN NGO ORDER 20 BAGS of any Wynngold Calf Milk Powder and receive a:

LOSTROMETER O C EE FR & E IF N K EN P WYN NGOLD ORDER A PALLET of any Wynngold Calf Milk Powder for delivery in June or July and claim a:

ND A R E T E M O R T S O COL D E T L I U Q E U A L & M HOL

CALF JACKET!

14

www.wynnstay.co.uk

Terms & Conditions: Offers only valid from 1st June – 31st July 2015 and are subject to availability. Wynnstay reserve the right to change offers or prices at any time. The free penknife offer is only open to over 18’s and proof of age may be requested. Products may vary to illustration. Please ask in store for our returns procedure. E & O.E.

™

Feeds up to 30 calves or 50 lambs Suitable for milk powder or whole milk feeding Hygienic, milk is stored cold No more machine rental fees The No more broken glass heater elements Milk Heatw you warme ave No moving parts/reliable mar r bull c r gets Thermostatically controlled al k Fast growth give et quic ves to s yo k Healthy stock ur h er, and flyin eife Labour saving rs g

l l l l l l l l l l

star t.

Heats cold milk to be fed ad lib A warm milk feeding system Feeds milk replacer or whole milk

a

• Young ruminants prefer warm milk • Early in life their ability to convert milk into growth is at its most efficient • Frequent small meals improve digestion • Lifelong performance is improved when colostrum feeding is followed by accelerated milk feeding program • Ad lib feeding saves labour • The animal is larger at weaning time so the cost per kg of liveweight gain is similar to Once a Day feeding.

Sign up to the WYNNGOLD Calf Club ONLINE at www.wynnstay.co.uk/calfclub.html and get the chance to WIN A HEATWAVE MILKWARMER! Alternatively fill in the form below and return to the address provided: Just answer these 5 questions: 1. How much colostrum should a 40kg calf consume in the first 6hrs of life?................................................................................................................

2. What would hinder absorption of the antibodies?.................................................................................................................................................................

3. What do you think is the most important factor in terms of calf environment?........................................................................................................

4. How much powder /day (minimum) would you feed a Holstein heifer on an accelerated rearing programme?..........................................

5. What 3 criteria would you use when deciding to wean a heifer?....................................................................................................................................

Name................................................................................................................. Wynnstay Account number (if known).................................................................

Address.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................Postcode...........................................................................................................................

Email Address................................................................................................Mobile Number..............................................................................................................

How many calves do you rear annually?..........................................................................................................................................................................................

What kind of system do you have?

Rearing replacement dairy heifers

Block calving

Contract rearing

Buying in calves

Do you use whole milk or milk replacer currently?..............................................What is your average calving age?...................................................

Tick here if you would like to receive future promotional correspondence from Wynnstay Group Plc.

Please fill in and return to Wynnstay Marketing Department, Unit 4 and 5, Glovers Meadow, Maesbury Rd Ind Est, Oswestry, SY10 8NH by the 31st August 2015

Wynnstay Group Plc

Focus on Calves 2015

15

CONTACT US Wynnstay Calf Team: Steve Brown - Ruminant Feeds Product Manager m: 07774 855026 steve.brown@wynnstay.co.uk @sirbilly55 Gill Dickson - National Calf Specialist m: 07971 296702 gill.dickson@wynnstay.co.uk @Healthycalves Rebecca Richards - Calf Specialist m: 07881 093633 rebecca.richards@wynnstay.co.uk Wynnstay Arable.....................................01939 210555 Wynnstay Feeds......................................01691 828512 Wynnstay Retail......................................01691 662690

Wynnstay Stores Shropshire Astley, SY4 4RT......................................01939 210555 Craven Arms, SY7 9QQ.......................01588 672623 Newport, TF10 7BX..............................01952 820104 Oswestry, SY10 8NH............................01691 659251 Pontesbury, SY5 0UB...........................01743 791876 Whitchurch, SY13 1LT.........................01948 662061 South Wales ­Llangadog, SA19 9LT...........................01550 776120 Tanygroes, SA43 2JS............................01239 810101 St. Clears, SA33 4DY............................01994 230208 Llandeilo, SA19 6ST.............................01558 822207 Pensarn, SA31 2NG..............................01267 236794 Llandovery, SA20 0AW.......................01550 720347 Cardigan, SA43 3AL.............................01239 810083 Haverfordwest, SA62 4BW................01437 761480 Crosshands, SA14 6RE........................01269 845445 Mid Wales Aberystwyth, SY23 3JQ.......................01970 625368 Dolgellau, LL40 2YU............................01341 422253 Llanfair Caereinion, SY21 0SG...... 01938 810525 Llanidloes, SY18 6DF...........................01686 412696 Llansantffraid, SY22 6AQ...................01691 827125 Newtown, SY16 1ET.............................01686 626379 Tregaron, SY25 6HY.............................01974 298107

@richardscalf1

Tywyn, LL36 9BG...................................01654 710233 Welshpool, SY21 7AY.........................01938 552591 Welshpool (Hardware),.........................01938 554672 North Wales Gaerwen, LL60 6DP..............................01248 421253 Llanfachraeth, LL65 4UP....................01407 741918 Llanrwst, LL26 0PQ...............................01492 640397 Penygroes, LL54 6NW.........................01286 880234 Rhosfawr, LL53 6NF..............................01766 810526 Ruthin, LL15 1NQ..................................01824 704900 Sarn, LL53 8ER.......................................01758 730212 St Asaph, LL17 0LT................................01745 582527 Hereford & Worcester Droitwich, WR9 7DZ............................01527 821485 Leominster, HR6 0QF...........................01568 615666 Pontrilas, HR2 0EL.................................01981 240051 Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5NB......................01989 768394 Gloucestershire Tetbury, GL8 8LD....................................01666 502366 Lancashire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire Kendal, LA7 7FP.....................................015395 66003 Lancaster, LA1 3JQ................................01524 62480 Skipton, BD23 1UD..............................01756 709662 Staffordshire Uttoxeter, ST14 8AE.............................01889 564844 Stafford, ST16 3SU................................01785 250595 Oxfordshire and Warwickshire Banbury, CV47 2BB..............................01295 770707

For the latest information from our dairy team...

Wynnstay (Agricultural Supplies) Ltd • Eagle House • Llansantffraid • Powys SY22 6AQ Registration No: 5009019 • Telephone: 01691 828512 • Fax: 01691 828690 • Email: info@wynnstay.co.uk • www.wynnstay.co.uk Part of Wynnstay Group Plc • Registration No: 2704051 • Registered in Wales and England • Vat Reg No. 168 7221 87