Dairy Calves - News & Insights
Stay updated on the latest dairy calf management strategies. Explore expert advice on colostrum management, calf nutrition, disease prevention, and the beef-on-dairy trend to ensure a healthy, productive future for your herd.
Could increasing colostrum volume delivery help calves better navigate cold stress? Brazilian researcher Carla Bittar shares her insights on adjusting colostrum dosage for winter-born calves.
If you are experiencing a shortage in your straw supply, here are six bedding alternatives to consider.
Bloody scours in calves is never a welcome sight, but diagnosing the source can help with treatment and prevent future cases.
Maximizing pleasure and satisfaction in dairy calves isn’t required. But it does make them happier, and helps the dairy industry share a positive picture with the consuming public, according to University of Wisconsin animal behavior researcher Dr. Jennifer Van Os.
The runaway dairy heifer and calf markets of 2024 have cooled a bit at summer’s end.
Non-salable milk from antibiotic-treated cows – sometimes accompanied by pasteurization – has been a calf dietary staple on dairy farms for decades. But how do those traces of antibiotics influence the digestive microflora of the calves that consume them?
The Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program has released an updated version of its Animal Care standards.
Among the mix of technologies, management factors, and strategies to raise healthy calves: genetics. There is growing evidence that calves can inherit the ability to resist calfhood diseases like pneumonia and scours from their parents.
Holstein springers tread into $3,000 per head territory again this month, roughly double year-ago values.
Modern Holstein cows have an average gestation length of around 276 days, several days shorter than current references typically suggest.
Rumen-protected choline has been shown to produce a host of benefits for transition cows, from improved liver function to better immunity and higher milk production. New research shows it can help build better calves, too.
Beef-cross calves continue to fetch astounding values of more than $1,000/head in some markets.
As beef-dairy crossbred calves become a more widespread industry staple, they present their own set of specific benefits and challenges to the marketplace. A recently published study by Iowa State University researchers explored both.
Having the right tools for the job can improve any management scenario. When it comes to raising calves, 5 helpful tools were emphasized at the recent Dairy Calf and Heifer Association Annual Conference.
Skills learned in a beef feedlot serve dairy heifer grower Erik Mohrlang well as he manages 14,000 dairy heifers at a Colorado custom-rearing yard.
As temperatures begin to creep their way higher, consider these strategies to help keep calves cool and healthy during the heat of the summer.
The SENSEHUB monitoring ear tag incorporates a blinking LED light so workers can quickly and easily locate those animals and apply appropriate interventions.
The goal of formulating milk replacer is to as closely as possible duplicate – and even improve upon – whole milk. A team of researchers is exploring how to do that based on fat source choices and fatty acids.
Bacteria, viruses, and protozoa all have crafty methods of making preweaned calves sick. Veterinarian Don Sockett shares his advice on fighting these organisms through effective cleaning and sanitation routines.
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.
Numerous studies have now shown that feeding colostrum replacer to mimic transition milk has beneficial effects for preweaned calves.
If you want to stay ahead of calf health and catch sickness in its earliest stage, University of Minnesota Graduate Student Abbigail Prins offers a handy detection tip.
Housing calves with at least one companion can improve animal welfare, calf growth, and consumer perception. But there are challenges, too.
Though maternity pens can sometimes feel chaotic to manage, there are additional ways to help minimize stress and create a calmer calving environment for both cow and calf.
Higher prices for beef calves are incentivizing dairy producers to breed crossbred bull calves
Whether you’re building a new calf barn or retrofitting an existing structure, there are measures that can be taken to ensure the best possible calf comfort, welfare, and health.
Gene editing has been used experimentally to produce polled calves and calves with lighter-colored haircoats. Now, USDA researchers, have produced a calf with reduced susceptibility to bovine viral diarrhea virus.
No matter when beef cross calves are being sold, steps can be taken to make them more marketable.
Cryptosporidia is one of the most common scours-causing pathogens in preweaned calves, and, unfortunately, it strikes in the early weeks of life when calves are most vulnerable.
Routinely monitoring transfer of passive immunity is an effective way to evaluate colostrum management and identify calves with failure of passive transfer.