Healthy Calf Conference
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Housing
Good air quality leads to healthy animals and a productive animal facility. The goal of ventilation is to provide adequate fresh air that is free from dust and drafts. The air should be reasonably free from pollutants such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and air–borne pathogens. Moisture accumulates and humidity rises when animals are confined without […]
Considerations for Managing Group Housed Calves
Managing pre-weaned calves in group housing is different than managing young calves in individual pens or hutches. Assessing things like the amount of milk, water or solid feed consumed, or manure passed is much simpler when calves are housed individually, however some auto-feeders do monitor milk intake. Despite this, producers can successfully raise healthy and […]
Calves housed individually can be easier to monitor than pair or group-housed calves, but individual housing does not reduce the risk of disease transmission among calves. Calves are a social animal, so pair or group housing allows them to express normal social behaivour and fulfill their need for social contact. Current research recommends housing calves in […]
Cleaning calf housing is one of the best things we can do to keep calves healthy. Considering the fragile nature of a newborn calf’s immune system and that many calf sicknesses are a result of contagious diseases, it is hard to justify skimping on cleaning and disinfection.
Don’t forget that calves can also experience stress when the temperatures start to rise. When it is over 25 degrees Celsius, calves may need special attention to keep cool, healthy, and productive. Are flies bugging your calves?From May to October, flies can be a problem for your livestock operation, with peak levels occurring from mid-July to […]
When temperatures fall below 15°C, calves less than three weeks will start to use energy to keep warm. Calves older than three weeks start to use energy to keep warm when the temperature is below 5°C. This means if producers do not offer calves more milk (energy), the milk calves are given will be used to […]