The best-quality colostrum is thick, creamy, and has a beautiful golden color, right? Not necessarily, according to Danish veterinarian and researcher Hanne Skovsgaard Pedersen.
Young animals often benefit from stemmy, lower quality forages. WIth regard to nutrition, this may seem counterintuitive but research indicates that's the case.
It’s important to stay abreast of new research that can influence dairy management practices. That’s what happened recently at Rosy-Lane Holsteins, Watertown, Wis.
In the quest to find alternatives to antibiotics to fight disease in dairy calves, essential oils are the subject of a growing body of calf health research.
Access to livestock drugs through over-the-counter (OTC) channels was curbed considerably starting in 2017. Soon, OTC antibiotics may no longer be available through traditional channels at all.
A researcher explores the intricacies of fecal pH and explains how changes in the metric can be an early signal of digestive and health disruptions in dairy cows.
A protocol overhaul helped the team at Singing Brook Farms, Imler, Pa., up their game in colostrum delivery. Two of their key managers share how they now seamlessly deliver high-quality colostrum to every newborn calf.
It is well-known that sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is a harmful and costly condition for adult dairy cows. But when calves get SARA, is it bad news for them, too? A Canadian researcher’s conclusion: maybe not.
Providing free choice water to newborn calves has been shown to deliver a wide array of benefits in terms of calf health and performance. But it’s also a huge challenge for some farms in the winter.
Dr. Donagh Berry wanted to answer the question some producers are asking their veterinarian: Does carrying a beef-sired calf have any impact on the subsequent performance of the dam?
TMR consistency and composition are important to efficient and reliable nutrient delivery in lactating cow rations. But the impact of those factors actually can span much further.
A research team, led by Walter Verhoef with the Bureau Vétérinaire de Richmond, Richmond, Quebec, Canada, evaluated three different, commercially available calcium boluses. Here are their conclusions.
The dairy, beef, and veal sectors are collaborating to form a first-of-its-kind program to promote the health and welfare of calves throughout the supply chain.
Habits formed early in life – whether good or bad – often carry through to adulthood. Like little children, calves, too, need to be trained on positive behaviors, including the way they eat.
Breakdowns in the global supply chain are hitting home for U.S. livestock producers and the veterinarians who serve them, in the form of shortages of commonly used medications.
As feed prices currently challenge U.S. livestock producers, Feedipedia can be a resource for incorporating non-traditional feedstuffs into innovative rations.
The natural inclination to manage calf diseases solely with a needle and a bottle is trumped by a host of other care methods that can guide calves on the road to recovery.
About 1% of pregnancies annually is the standard of acceptable herd-wide loss, according to Cameron Knight, veterinary pathologist at the University of Calgary.
A record 4.3 million people quit their jobs in the United States in August 2021, a historic high that has far-reaching effects on American life in general, and agriculture specifically
“The more we understand about how specific nutrition components influence health and performance responses, the more we can support cows in their production cycles.”
If a way could be devised to shut down immune system activation, and thus reduce the detrimental effects of inflammation at its root cause, cows in transition may remain healthier.
Growing the ideal heifer is an ever-changing goal. A research team from Penn State University and the University of Florida recently explored the impact of bodyweight at first calving on milk yield and herd longevity.
A team of Brazilian researchers recently conducted a study on the longer-term impact of colostrum on calves’ ability to tolerate cold and regulate their body temperatures.
Want to keep disease out of your calf barn? If so, it might be prudent to take a page from the biosecurity measures of our pig-and-poultry-raising kin, and set up a “Danish entry.”
As awareness of animal welfare grows, new methods of detecting and evaluating stress and pain in calves are being evaluated. Researchers are exploring heart rate variability as an accurate, non-invasive assessment tool.
Penn State Dairy Extension specialist Virginia Ishler said current conditions are mimicking those of 2012, when feed prices soared to unprecedented highs.
Most businesses currently are fighting the uphill battle of finding and retaining reliable, productive workers. In this environment, employers should not limit their thinking to compensation that is purely financial
Moving to 100% polled genetics is an air-tight method of dispelling consumer concerns about dehorning pain. But the wheels of genetic progress turn relatively slowly in cattle.
If you sell your bull calves shortly after birth, it’s tempting to send them down the road with no colostrum. But those animals will be far better served if you take the time to get them the colostrum they need.
If you watch carefully, you can tell a lot about a cow by reading her face. Know the telltale facial expressions of cows in the early stages of pain and sickness.
Reproduction clicks along like a well-oiled machine at Schanbacher Acres near Atkins, Iowa, thanks in part to the farm’s routine use of blood pregnancy tests for the past 17 years.
When consumers think about dairy farming, one of their greatest concerns are the calves. That can be a good thing because farmers have a great story to tell. But it also may require some flexing of rearing practices.
Using pain mitigation techniques when disbudding or dehorning is now the standard of care for U.S. cattle veterinary and quality assurance organizations.