The management of calves in the first weeks of life has a significant impact on their lifetime production, and with replacement heifers, impact their long-term profitability. The average cost of rearing a heifer to 24 months is estimated to be circa €1,553, with a significant percentage of that cost incurred during the start of life/calf-rearing period. However, regardless of spend, the first 6 months of life is crucial as during this short time a calf will reach ~ 25% of its mature weight – highlighting the importance of ensuring optimal nutrition.

Research has shown that calves reach similar weight gains on milk replacer as they do while being fed on whole milk. However, this is on the basis that the milk replacer is formulated, using high quality dairy ingredients and that feeding instructions are followed. Milk replacer labelling can, at times, be confusing, with large differences in specifications and price available on the market. However, it is important to keep several factors in mind when selecting a milk replacer to fit your system and to avoid any confusion.

The first 6 months of life is crucial as during this short time a calf will reach ~ 25% of its mature weight – highlighting the importance of ensuring optimal nutrition.

Protein Sources

Many questions centre around the percentage of protein on the label of a bag of milk replacer, which is important, but more emphasis needs to be placed on the origin of said protein %. As we are trying to replicate the role of whole milk, as much of the protein as possible should be coming from a milk/dairy-based source, relative to vegetable/plant-based sources. In a young calf’s first few weeks of life, dairy sources are much more digestible and result in greater performance. Plant-based or vegetable protein sources are cheaper alternative sources of protein and where inclusions are high, similar levels or performance to whole milk should not be expected in early life. Increased fibre content can often be indicative of plant derivatives being used in milk replacers.

Manufacturing Processes

Another often less considered factor in overall digestibility of a milk replacer is the quality of the raw dairy materials used. Low heat-treated milk powders will have natural immunoglobin content available in the product and have no protein denaturisation, relative to high heat-treated skim or whey. Low heat-treated milk products are often more expensive on the market, but again lead to increased performance/digestibility.

Fat Sources

Fat percentage and sources of fat in milk replacer are also important, as fat is the main source of energy to the calf. Coconut and palm fat are the more common sources, with great digestibility and energy respectively for young calves.

Feeding Rates

The percentage of solids in whole milk is typically 12.5% (approx), hence it is also the most common feeding rate of milk replacer on farm. This is calculated by adding youe % fat, protein and lactose in the bulk tank analysis. Fed at 6L, a calf will be consuming 750g of milk replacer daily, replicating milk solids intake from typical whole milk.

Accelerated feed programmes are often used on farm where higher Average Daily Gain (ADG) is being targeted with replacement heifers – this would include feeding a higher concentration of milk replacer (15% milk solids) or increased volumes. Once-a-day feeding schedules are becoming increasingly popular. However, once a day feeding should only ever be considered once calves are greater than one month old.

Weaning should be gradual and only ever considered once a calf is consuming more than 1.5kg/hd/day in group pen scenarios. At this point, a calf is independently consuming enough dry matter from straw & concentrate to allow for a stress-free weaning period.

For more advice on calf milk replacers, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor here. 

The ultimate goal of calf rearing is to set up a heifer to achieve target weights over her lifetime in order to maximise profitability. These targets will include doubling her birthweight at the point of weaning, achieving 60% of her mature weight at breeding, and calving down at 24 months at 90% of her mature body weight.

To reach such targets, replacement heifers need to achieve a steady gain of approximately 0.75 kg/day from birth. Interruptions to performance over the calf-rearing period may offset such target weights being achieved. Therefore, adopting best practice calf rearing advice and protocols are of key importance over the next few vital weeks.

3-2-1 Rule

Good colostrum management is the most important factor in calf health and survival. Over the last 3-5 years, 70% of calves that presented for a post-mortem at regional veterinary laboratories, were found to have received either poor quality or insufficient quantities of colostrum.

When feeding colostrum, it is essential that the 3-2-1 rule is adhered to. This includes providing the calf with at a minimum of 3 litres (or 5-6% of a calf’s birth weight), within 2 hours of birth, using colostrum from the cows first milking. This process should then be repeated 8 hours later, however it is important to note that by the second milking, the dam’s immunoglobulin content will have halved.

Cleanliness of colostrum is a huge dictating factor, as the amount of dirt particles or contamination to the colostrum before entering the calf will limit the amount of immunity absorption available. Feeding pooled colostrum to calves is also not recommended as it can lead to major risk factors including increased disease risk and poor-quality colostrum entering the pool.

With this in mind, it is essential to ensure that all utensils are sterile and that milking protocols and good colostrum harvesting hygiene are applied.

Calf Hygiene and Facilities

Facilities ideally should be clean, dry, draught free, with good ventilation. A new-born calf will spend over 80% of their time lying down, therefore it is imperative to provide a deep, warm, dry bed always.

Calves should spend minimal time periods in the calving-pen to avoid picking up infection or disease. To avoid carrying disease into the calf shed over the peak calving months, set-up a wash point at the entrance to the calf shed for staff, vets, etc. Early detection of sick calves and isolation to avoid spreading bacterial infections, is also of high importance.

Rumen Development

Once a calf starts to intake water and starter concentrates/ration, we introduce healthy bacteria into the rumen which will kick-start rumen development. Starter concentrates and ad-lib fresh water should be available to the calf from three days of age. A clean source of long roughage/fibre (e.g. straw) should also be available at all times to promote dry matter intakes This forage should be offered above ground level in racks/mangers.

Weaning should only ever be considered once calves are consuming 1.5 kg of concentrates/day. Weaning calves on a weight basis, compared to an age basis, will result in a more uniform batch.

Milk Replacer Choice

When it comes to milk replacer, the three main benefits include:

1. Cost effectiveness
2. Reduced risk of disease transfer in the herd
3. Consistency in the calf’s diet

Milk replacer should be dairy derived and contain a high dairy content. Dairy proteins are more easily digestible and available to the calf compared to plant-based proteins. Both Vitalac Red and Blue Calf Milk Replacers contain a 90-95% dairy content.

Milk replacer should replicate the role of good quality whole milk, typically offered at 12.5% milk solids (E.g. 125 g powder, into 875ml clean water to make 1 litre of milk). Feeding a calf twice-a-day at 6 litres/day would result in offering the calf 750 g of powder/day.

When mixing, adhere to the milk replacer guidelines outlined below using fresh clean, warm water and sterile mixing and feeding utensils. The optimal drinking temperature of the calf milk replacer is 39°C. To prepare the milk, dissolve the powder in two-thirds of the amount of water at 55-60°C and add the remaining water at room temperature until the optimum drinking temperature is reached.

See typical milk replacer feeding guidelines below:

More Information:

For more information, browse our Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer page or download the Agritech-Milk-Replacer-Brochure (2.5MB).

Calf rearing is a time consuming and labour-intensive task for any farmer, and it happens to occur at the busiest period on most farms. The workload is usually split into two which means the time for feeding ends up taking longer than anticipated.

To help spread the workload on farms, many Irish farmers are opting to use once-a-day (OAD) calf feeding. It can be implemented with no cost and does not compromise calf health or performance. 

Take a look at some of the benefits below:

• Feed calves at a time that suits your workload = Significantly reduced labour
• Encourage the calf to eat more concentrate = Reduced total calf rearing cost and early weaning
• Vitalac Blue is tailormade for once-a-day feeding = calves nutrient milk requirements satisfied
• A potential feed cost saving of up to 25 cent per calf per day = increase cash flow and profit
• Opportunity to use sheds away from calving /parlour. This helps reduce stocking rates, hence reducing disease risk = healthier calves with better daily live-weight gain

To find out more about our Vitalac Blue, click here.

Our team are available to help you achieve optimum results from your calf rearing system. To find out more, contact your local Agritech sales representative/distributor or click here.

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As we await the arrival of an ever superior generation of calves over the coming months, it is now worthwhile to take a closer look at young calf nutrition when planning ahead for the busy season.

Members of the Agritech team recently attended a Calf Performance Conference at the Blanca Research Facility in Spain which featured presentations from many renowned researchers, including Professor Alex Bach.

According to Agritech’s Sales Director, John Kenny, “From the conference, it became clear to me that at a level, we are significantly restricting the potential of our calves in this country with the level of milk replacer we feed to them. While this is fine for young calves which are destined for beef, it is totally uneconomical to take this approach with dairy female calves.

Feed efficiency runs at the rate of 60% in a young calf compared to just 7% in a pre-calving two year old heifer. I believe that our national dairy herd has much more to gain by taking a closer look at this area going forward.”

Pre-Weaning  

Farmers today are very well informed when it comes to the area of managing and feeding adequate amounts of colostrum to the new born calf in a timely manner. However, the benefits of achieving maximised weight performance from day two to weaning are far less documented in Ireland.

Let’s take an example of the calf’s mammary gland. When a dairy heifer calf is born, its mammary gland constitutes just 1% of its total body weight. If the daily live-weight gain of this calf is inadequate up to weaning, this key organ will most likely remain at this percentage. However, if calf performance is raised up to as near as possible to 1kg per head per day, the cells in this key gland will continuously split and multiply to the extent where the mammary gland will increase to approximately 2% of the calf’s body weight at 9-10 weeks of age.

While the above example highlights the mammary gland, the benefits of accelerated growth pre-weaning are applicable to all of the key organs in the young calf’s body, including heart, lungs, kidneys etc. The long term benefits of achieving a better developed calf at weaning with bigger and stronger organs are proven to deliver significant lifetime benefits through increased daily yields and improved disease immunity. It is also now widely accepted that the effects of increased growth pre-weaning on first lactation alone is circa +300 litres milk yield.

John states that that there is no such thing as compensatory growth with this approach to calf rearing. “Once the cells in each organ stop dividing at in or around the nine or ten week stage, they grow in line with the rest of the animal’s body thereafter. Farmers will only get one chance in a calf’s lifetime to secure this advantage.”

Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer

Agritech work with leaders in calf nutrition to bring a calf milk replacer range which will encourage accelerated growth and performance. Agritech’s Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer Range from Nukamel offers a well-balanced level of highly digestible fat and protein via carefully selected, high quality ingredients. These quality ingredients are further enhanced through the use of advanced techniques and technology such as Emulsizym and Spray Cooling Technology. 

Tried and tested by Teagasc at Grange Research Institute, Vitalac Milk Replacers for calves showed increases in live weight gain and concentrate intakes of 8% and 10% over other leading brands on the market. Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer is highly soluble and suitable for both bucket and/or automatic feeding systems.

For more information on the Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer Range and calf rearing, contact your local distributor or click here. 

Following on from a successful show at EuroTier 2018, we are delighted to be back on home soil for the return of the Royal Ulster Winter Fair which takes place at the Eikon Exhibition Centre, Balmoral Park, Lisburn, next Thursday, 13th December 2018.

We will be exhibiting at Stand EK96, so be sure to drop by as our the team will be on hand to provide information about the Agritech product range including our Vitalac Milk Replacer, Sanitise Bedding Conditioner and Welmin Mineral Range. The team will also be advising on queries regarding calf rearing, housing management, mineral supplementation and many more.

If that’s not enough, we will also have our brand new Welmin Mineral brochure on display as well a very special 2019 Wall Planner giveaway … the perfect way to prepare for the New Year!

Looking forward to welcoming you all.

Quality ingredients in calf milk replacer can have a huge influence in optimising the performance and growth rate of calves. Highly digestible ingredients of fat and proteins, with a broad range of trace minerals, vitamins, prebiotics and probiotics are of paramount importance to exploit the full genetic potential of the calf.

Agritech’s Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer range from Nukamel, the original company who developed calf milk replacers in 1954, has placed an importance on how these quality ingredients are manufactured.

According to Bil Ryan, Business Development Manager at Agritech, “Milk Replacers are produced by two distinctly different processes including spray cooling and spray drying”. The benefits of Nukamel’s patented spray cooling technology include improved fat digestibility, improved feed intake and improved milk powder solubility.

A trial by Nukamel on calf performance to compare the two differing manufacturing methods, showed that calves fed on the spray cooled product showed a significant 7.5kgs extra liveweight gain compared to those fed on the spray dried product.

Bil concluded, “We have seen first-hand how the Vitalac range from Nukamel is driving herd profitability. We are delighted to be able to confirm that the spray cooling technology is contributing to calf performances in a significant way further enhancing the high quality of the ingredients in Vitalac Calf Milk Replacers”.

For further information on the Vitalac range and general calf management tips, talk to your local distributor. To find your local distributor click here or go to the Vitalac page on our website.

We’re putting together a series of Management Guidelines for advice on topics including Mineral Supplementation, Grass Management and Calving. The latest ones we’ve added to our website focus on Calf Management, Milk Replacer Feeding Guidelines and the technology behind our Vitalac range of Milk Replacers.

Successful calf rearing requires an understanding of the basic principles, as well as experience and good observation skills. At Agritech, we understand the challenges of the newborn calf and work with leaders in calf nutrition to bring an excellent range of calf milk replacers for the stable and efficient rearing of calves. The Vitalac range from Nukamel offers a well-balanced level of highly digestible fat and protein via carefully selected, high quality ingredients.

Milk Replacer is a consistent quality feed to meet the growth and development targets of the young calf. It reduces disease risk to the calf from antibiotics/mastitis milk, prevents disease transmission (Para-tuberculosis, Salmonella, Mycoplasma Bovis), ensures the calf gets probiotics, and the vitamins and minerals needed for maintaining healthy tissues, immune response and growth.

Table: Nutritional composition of Calf Milk Replacer vs Cow Milk (As % DM)

We’ve also come up with a Healthy Calf Checklist (0.4MB Download) to use when purchasing calves.

See our full list of Management Guidelines.

For more information about our products or to talk to us, contact our Head Office or your local Agritech Distributor.

We are going to be at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair at the Eikon Exhibition Centre, Balmoral Park, Lisburn on 10th December 2015. This is Northern Ireland’s premier indoor event in the dairy farming sector and we’re excited to welcome you to our stand.

There will be strong messages coming from exhibitors at this year’s Winter Fair on all topics of high priority in our modern farming systems for increased milk yields, greater production efficiencies, and optimum herd health. Farmers demand more from their stock and recognise that this can only be achieved through expert management techniques and quality inputs. And that’s where we can help you.

Calf Health

At Agritech, we continue to introduce improved products to our portfolio in response to farmer’s requirements and herd health is at the centre of our universe. Herd health must begin from the moment the calf is born and that is why we have dedicated so much effort to bring a high quality Milk Replacer such as Vitalac to the market. Tried and tested by Teagasc at Grange Research Institute, Vitalac showed increases in live weight gain and concentrate intake of 8% and 10% over other leading brands on the market. The Vitalac range of Milk Replacers are whey-based, recommended for the stable and efficient rearing of dairy calves. Come find out more about the Vitalac range at our stand.

Housing management

We have also developed products outside of feeding supplements and recently introduced ‘Sanitise’ to the market which we will be demonstrating at the Winter Fair. Sanitise Bedding Conditioner is a housing and bedding conditioning solution to promote a dry hygienic environment in the bedding of all livestock. The importance of a dry lying area has been the force behind development of this product and is the foundation for success in the fight against disease causing bacteria which are present in the animal lying areas from leaked milk, uterine discharges, urine, faeces, animal perspiration and humidity. In addition, this product goes above and beyond traditional methods due to the inclusion of essential oils, a hoof conditioner and a low application rate.

Many of our representatives will be on the stand at Pavilion 2, Stand number 227 so be sure to pop in for a chat on 10th December. Team Agritech look forward to seeing you.