GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR CALF REARING IN SUCCESSFUL DAIRY FARM IN INDIA
Dr Manoj jha
Dairy Nutritionist,New Delhi
Good management practices in Calf rearing is most important for a successful Dairy farm as 70% calf die due to mismanagement ,so here are some tips useful for innovative dairy farmers
Introduction:
Well-grown dairy calves and heifers play an important role in the future success of all dairy farms.
The replacement heifers and bulls are crucial for the profitability of dairy farms. Therefore, the success of dairy enterprises depends to a great extent on the proper management and care of the calves.
Rearing of Dairy Heifers-—
A heifer is defined as any female calf up to her second calving. Dairy replacement heifers are usually separated from their mothers (dams) within two days of birth and managed to achieve specific growth rates throughout the rearing period until calving at the planned age, weight and body condition. The progressive dairy farmer of today realises more and more that heifers have to receive the correct type and amount of feed if a high quality dairy cow is to be produced at a relatively early stage. The progress of the herd depends largely on the way in which heifers are raised for replacement purposes. A sound herd cannot be establishment by the continual purchased of new heifers of whose history not much is known. The costs are relatively low when compared with prices at which heifers are sold. The best way in which the dairy farmer can determine the efficiency of his managerial programme is by measuring the performance of his heifers in accordance with accepted standards. Rearing replacement heifers has not always been seen as a fundamental part of the dairying enterprise but, when correctly planned and when specific feeding programmes have been used overall improvement in herd longevity and farm profitability results. Feeding and managing replacement heifers must be given as much priority as dealing with the milking cow. Rearing heifers must be seen as an investment in tomorrows profit generators. They represent the highest genetic potential in the herd, so the opportunity for continued productivity should not be wasted
Care to be taken at birth ——————
• At the time of parturition the cow should be attended for any assistance.
• Let the cow lick the calf or otherwise wipe and clean the mucous from the nostril and body of the newborn.
• Keep both the cow and calf warm by providing dry and clean bedding materials.
• Cut the naval cord of the newborn calf with a sterile scissors or knife leaving at least 1-2 inch from the naval area. Dress the cut end with 10% iodine solution and let it dry.
• Record weight of the calf for future purposes
Colostrum Feeding-———-
• The newborn calf should be fed colostrum during the first few days after birth for reducing health problems and ensuring better growth.
• The calf may be allowed to suckle the mother’s udder or may be pail or bottle fed within one hour of birth. The calf is needed to be trained for pail feeding as follows:—-
At the beginning offer a finger to the calf for suckling and then slowly dip the finger in the milk pail. Subsequently the finger has to be lowered and gradually taken out of the pail till the calf begins to drink directly from the pail.
• Pail feeding is suggested for the organized dairy farms to inhibit the development of mother neonate bonding so that the cow can be milked without the calf.
• A newborn calf ideally should receive 10% of their body weight, the fresh, creamy colostrum during its first 24 hrs of life.
Feeding of Calves Colostrums-———-
It will vary with the system followed, but whatever system may be practiced, the calf must receive the first milk which the cow gives after calving and is called colostrums. Be sure to feed the calf enough of colostrums between 2 to 2.5 liters daily for the first 3 days following its birth.
Any excess colostrums may be fed to other calves in the herd in amounts equal to the amount of whole milk normally fed. If possible where a cow is milked before calving, freeze some of the colostrums for later feeding to the calf. None of it should be wasted. The digestibility of colostrums increases when it is given at a temperature between 99oF and 102oF. The importance of colostrums can be felt more from the following virtues.
The protein of colostrums consists of a much higher proportion of globulin than doe’s normal milk. The globulins are presumed to be the source of antibodies which aid in protecting the animal from many infections liable to affect it after birth. Gamma – globulin level in blood serum of neonatal calves is only 0.97 mg/ml at birth. It increase to 16.55 mg/ml level after first colostrums feeding at 12 hr and subsequently on the second day shows a peak of 28.18 mg/ml. This level more or less persists till the reti-culoendothelial system of the calf starts functioning to produce antibodies.
• The protein content of colostrums is 3 to 5 times as that of normal milk. It is also rich in some of the materials, of which copper, iron, magnesium and manganese are important.
• Colostrums contain 5-15 times the amount of Vitamin A- found in normal milk, depending upon the character of the ration given to the mother during the rest period.
• Colostrums is also superior to milk in having a considerably greater amount of several other vitamins which have been found essential in the growth of dairy calves, including riboflavin, choline, thiamine and pantothenic acid.
• Colostrums act as a laxative to free the digestive tract of faecal material.
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Feeding whole milk-———-
In feeding whole milk, calves may be fed as per feeding schedule. While feeding whole milk the following points should be remembered.
• As far as possible provide milk from the calf’s mother.
• Feed milk immediately after it is drawn.
• The total amount of milk may be fed at 3 or 4 equal intervals up to the age of 7 days and then twice daily.
Feeding skim milk-————-
On many farms, large quantities of separated milk are available for feeding to calves and other livestock. Excellent dairy calves can be raised by changing them from whole milk gradually after two weeks of their age. Here again the feeding schedule should be followed.
Feeding dried skim milk, whey or buttermilk-———–
The above dried products are mixed with water at the rate of 1 kg to 9 kg of water and then it is fed as skim milk. To avoid digestive troubles the mix should always be fed to calves after warming it up to 100oF.
Feeding calf starters-————
Calf starter is a mixture consisting of ground farm grains, protein feeds and minerals, vitamins and antibiotics. After a calf attains the age of 2 weeks the amount of whole milk given to it may be cut down. One should then rub a small amount of starter on the calf’s mouth, after each milk feeding for a few days when the calf will be accustomed to it. When they reach four months of age, one should then transfer the calves to a “growing” grain ration.
Feeding grain mixture-—————
Better growth and greater resistance to calf ailments result from consumption of grain and milk by the calf then when the calf is fed only on milk. At the age of 7-15 days the feeding of grain mixtures may be started. In order to get calves accustomed to grain mixtures, place a small handful of grain mixture in the used pail. As the calf is finishing its milk it may consume a portion, or one may offer a little in the hand immediately after feeding milk.
Feeding of Calves
Excessive protein rich grain mixture is not desirable as milk is already rich in proteins. A medium protein grain mixture is most suitable when milk is fed freely. A grain mixture of oats – 35 percent, linseed cake – 5 percent, bran – 30 percent, barley – 10 percent, groundnut cake – 20 percent may be fed to the calves. Another good mixture consists of ground maize – 2 parts, wheat bran – 2parts.
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Table 1. Feeding schedule for calves up to 6 months
Age of calf Approx. body weight (kg) Quantity of milk (kg) Quantity of calf starter (g) Green grass (kg)
4 days to 4 weeks 25 2.5 Small qty. Small qty.
4-6 weeks 30 3.0 50-100 Small qty.
6-8 weeks 35 2.5 100-250 Small qty.
8-10 weeks 40 2.0 250-350 Small qty.
10-12 weeks 45 1.5 350-500 1-0
12-16 weeks 55 – 500-750 1-2
16-20 weeks 65 – 750-1000 2-3
20-24 weeks 75 – 1000-1500 3-5
Calf starter is a highly nutritious concentrate mixture containing all the nutrients in proper proportion required for optimum growth and is used as a partial substitute for whole milk in the ration of calves. Since quality of protein is very important to calves until their rumen is fully functional, animal protein supplements such as fish meal should be included in calf starters. Urea should not be included in calf starters.
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Feeding of growing animals (From 6 months onwards)-—————-
For calves below one year of age it is always desirable to give sufficient concentrates in addition to good roughage so that they make optimum growth. Feeding concentrate can be considerably reduced in the case of calves over one year of age fed on high quality roughage. A judicious mixture of roughage and concentrate is essential for obtaining optimum growth without undue fat deposition. From six months onwards, calves can be given the same type of concentrate mixture (14-16% Digestible Crude Protein and about 70% Total Digestible Nutrients) as used for adult cattle. Examples of concentrate mixtures are given separately.
Table 2. Feeding schedule of growing animals from 6 months onwards
Age (months) Approximate body weight (kg) Concentrate mixture (kg) Grass (kg)
6-9 70-100 1.5-1.75 5-10
9-15 100-150 1.75-2.25 10-15
15-20 150-200 2.25-2.50 15-20
Above 20 200-300 2.50-2.75 15-20
Feeding Schedule-———- •
Generally calves are fed milk upto 3 months of age .
• Milk may be substituted gradually with milk replacer/substitute that has to be equally nutritious as milk.
• A well balanced milk replacer developed at National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal consisting of wheat flour 10 kg, fish meal 12 kg, linseed meal 40 kg, coconut oil 7 kg, linseed oil 3 kg, butyric acid 0.3 kg, citric acid 1.5 kg, molasses 10 kg, mineral mixture 3 kg, aurofac 0.3 kg (antibiotic), rovimix 15 g and milk 13 kg ( 21% crude protein, 13.5% ether extract, 4% crude fibre, 50% nitrogen free extract and 11.5% ash) has been found to give satisfactory growth and health. This milk replacer has to be diluted with clean water at the ratio of 1:8 prior to feeding • Feeding calf with milk replacer saves milk and renders more profittothe farm.
• Fresh, cleanand good quality water should be made available for drinking throughout the day.
Growth performance ———–
• The potential for attaining optimum body weight is an important factor that affects the economy and success of a dairy farm.
• Growth parameters at an early age can be used as one of the important selection criteria. The ideal birth weight of a calf may range between 15 to 35 kg depending on the breed and sex.
• The body weight of calves should be recorded at weekly intervals.
• Under adequate nutrition, dairy calves gain 400 to 500 g live weight per day, which is adequate for attaining satisfactory body weight at the end of six months .
Weaning–————-
• Weaning or discontinuing milk feeding in calves is a major challenge. The primary criteria for determining weaning of calves are age, grain intake and body weight gain.
• Depending on various factors and preferences, in a dairy farm, calves are weaned between 4 to8 weeks of age. • The most important point is that the calf should be healthy enough before weaning and should be able to consume at least 0.5 to0.8 kg of concentrate in a day.
Health and Disease prevention –————-
• Calfhood diseases have major implications on economic viability of a dairy farm.
• The calf has to be observed for scouring and concomitantly the dam has to be observed for mastitis.
• The complications of calf scours are dehydration that may lead to stunting growth and impairment of immune system resulting in respiratory complications like pneumonia and finally death.
• Calves essentially require a constant supply of readily digestible energy when combating diarrhea and dehydration.
• Calves should receive ample amount of water till four weeks of age that facilitates adequate consumption of calf starter, lessens few scouring days and accelerates body weight gain. It is also very essential to follow a routine deworming and vaccination schedule given below.
Care and management immediately after calving—
1. Cleaning the udder and hind quarters of cattle.
2. Mucus removal from the face and nostrils of calf and induction of respiration.
3. Allowing the calf to suck the colostrum.
4. Naval cord ligation.
5. Watching of cow for placenta expulsion.
Essential requirements in a calf house—-
1. Dry bedding.
2. Well ventilated environment.
3. A specific minimum cubic air capacity per calf.
4. A draught free environment at calf level.
Floor space requirement for calves
Age of calves (months) Covered area( m2) Open area(m2) No. of calves/pen
0-3 1.0 2 24 / pen
3-6 1.5 3 16/ pen
6-12 2.0 4 12/pen
Feeding and watering space requirements for calves
Feeding space (cm) Watering space (cm)
50 / calf 50 / calf
Feeding schedule for calves
Age of calf Body weight (kg) Quantity of milk(kg) Concentrates Green fodder
From birth to 4h week 25 2.5 Smaller rate Smaller rate
4 to 6th week 30 3.0 50 to 100 grams Smaller rate
6 to 8th week 35 2.5 100 to 250 grams 500 grams
8 to 10thweek 40 2.0 250 to 350 grams 750 grams
10 to 12thweek 45 1.5 350 to 500 grams 1.0 kg
12 to 16thweek 50 – 500 to 750 grams 1.5 kg
16 to 20thweek 55 – 750 to 1000 grams 2 kg
20 to 24thweek 60 – 1 to 1.25 kg 3 kg
6 to 9thmonth 70 to 100 – 1.25 to 1.5 kg 5 to 8 kg
9 to 15thmont5h 100 to 150 – 1.5 to 2.0 kg 8 to 15 kg
15 to 20thmonth 150 to 200 – 2.00 to 2.25 kg 15 to 20 kg
Above 20 months 200 to 300 – 2.25 to 2.50 kg 20 to 25 kg
Vaccination particulars for your calf
Age Vaccination
8 weeks before weaning Black quarter (1st vaccine)
2-4 months FMD first vaccine
6-8 months FMD booster vaccine
6 months Anthrax
Black quarter (2nd vaccine)
Hemorrhagic septicemia vaccine
4-8 months Brucella vaccine
Early once FMD vaccine
Deworming of calves—
1. Deworming should be started from the first week of calf.
2. A single oral dose of 10 g piperazine adepate is recommended for the calves preferably in the first week of life to control neonatal ascariasis especially in buffalo calves.
3. Deworming should be done every month for first 6 months, thereafter once in three months.
4. The deworming drugs and dose should be consulted with qualified veterinary doctor.
5. Over dose and under dose of deworming drugs should be prevented to check the side effects.
Diseases of young dairy calves-——
All calves are exposed to a variety of micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa as soon as they are born. These micro-organisms are part of the environment in which cattle live and calves have to develop an immunity to them.
Keeping calves healthy requires good calf management which includes selecting robust calves to rear, ensuring the calves have received adequate colostrum within 6 to 8 hours of birth, having access to shelter and ensuring the calves receive appropriate feeding.
The two major types of problems seen in calves are:——
1. 1.Gut problems leading to scouring
2. 2.Pneumonia
These two problems account for over 80% of all losses in calves, with scouring being the most common. Bloat, navel-ill, accidents and poisoning make up most of the rest.
1.Gut problems (scouring)————-
These can be divided into four major causes:
1. E. coli (white scours)
2. Salmonella
3. Rotavirus
4. Cryptosporidia
All these can occur separately or together. The visible signs as seen by the owner are scouring, a dry coat, the calf is dull and listless and in many cases dies in a short time.
Scouring is the result of changed gut function; that is, the germ makes the gut stop digesting, which increases the amount of manure and fluids the calf passes. Calves on a milk diet normally pass only a small amount of droppings. If the gut is affected, the amount passed can increase markedly. For example, the amount of water passed in a scouring calf can be 20 times normal. This extra water is mixed with salts and other food, so the calf is losing more than it can eat.
The loss of water and salts leads to dehydration. This causes shock and death. In other words, the germ that started the scour is usually not the direct cause of death. It is the shock caused by the loss of body water and salts that is the actual cause of death.
E. coli or white scours. The germ produces a poison that makes more fluid pass out than normal. This causes the shock mentioned above. On post-mortem, a calf that died from E. coli scours will often show no visible signs of having an infection.
Salmonella. These cause marked reddening of the gut by invading the gut wall. The result of this invasion is damage to the tissue, so that water and food cannot be absorbed. Salmonella can readily invade the rest of the body, causing blood poisoning and rapid death.
Rotavirus and Cryptosporidia. These agents damage part of the gut so that food is not used. This particularly applies to milk, which then goes sour in the gut. The germs normally present in the gut multiply rapidly in this sour milk, producing poisons, and so the gut works more rapidly to remove them hence the scouring. The water and food is also lost.
Prevention of scours-——–
• The most important method of prevention is to provide adequate colostrum (beestings) in the first few hours after birth. It is only in the first few hours or so after birth that a calf can absorb the antibodies from the colostrum it drinks to give it immunity to many infections present in the herd. A calf needs about two litres of colostrum milk. Remember that heifer cows that do not mix with the herd may not have enough antibodies in their milk to provide suitable protection to their calves. To overcome this, and problems with sick cows or cows dying at calving, a store of frozen colostrum should be kept if a freezer is available. Remember that colostrum is more potent than any drug a veterinarian can sell.
• Provide adequate housing or shelter from the weather to reduce stress. Stress is important in allowing scours to develop.
• Maintain a suitable management and feeding system. Overfeeding and sudden changes of diet can cause further stress.
Treatment of scours——–
The most important thing to do is to replace the lost body water and salts. This is done by using electrolytes in their correct concentration. The earlier this is done, the better the response. Antibiotics can be used if necessary.
A treatment program could be:
1. Replace all the milk with electrolyte.
2. Use antibiotic if necessary (on veterinary advice).
3. Gradually replace electrolyte with milk over several days.
If calves are severely affected and will not drink, it will be necessary to call your veterinary practitioner to treat the calves with intravenous fluids. Force feeding can result in pneumonia, because very sick calves cannot swallow properly. Make sure affected calves are warm and dry. Exposure to the weather when sick will make things worse.
2.Pneumonia–————–
Pneumonia is infection of the lungs and has many causes. Lung worms can play an important role in allowing infection to enter the lungs. A calf that survives pneumonia takes a long time to recover. This usually means stunted growth and poor production as an adult. Prevention is most important and this is by having suitable housing with adequate ventilation. Stress caused by exposure to cold, wet conditions, overcrowding and inadequate feeding can allow a calf to pick up pneumonia.
Treatment depends on the cause of the infection. If pneumonia is occurring, consult with your veterinarian for a diagnosis (which is often difficult as several causes may be occurring together). They will recommend a treatment program.
Other causes of deaths
There are many other causes of losses in calves but they tend to be isolated. Sometimes these losses may be severe on individual farms and immediate help should be sought in identifying the cause.
Things like plant poisoning, lead poisoning, leptospirosis, incidental infections and so on may all occur, because calves are curious and lick or taste any object lying around. Make sure that nothing is available to calves that may result in illness.
NB-—
1) The Naval should be tied about 2-5 cms away from the body and cut 1cm below the ligature and apply Tincture Iodine or Boric Acid or any other antiseptic agent. 2) Wash the cow’s udder and teats preferably with diluted potash solution and dry it before feeding the colostrum. 3) Feed colostrum i.e. the first milk of the cow for the first 3 days @ 1/10th of body weight of the calf. 4) Dehorn the calf within 7-10 days. 5) Deworm the calf at 10th , 40th, 70 and 90 days of age followed by six months interval regularly. 6) At 8-9 weeks of age, male calf should be castrated, if not required for breeding purpose
Reference :On request.
GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR SUCCESSFUL DAIRY FARMING IN INDIA : A PRACTICAL APPROACH
