9®—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 11,1978 Once-a-day in By GREGORY SOLT Former Leb. Co. Extension Agent LEBANON - There was a time when all calves were allowed to nurse their dams or were fed whole milk three or four times a day. Many farmers, maybe your fathers or grandfathers, had a hard time believing then calves could survive being fed just twice a day. Today, that is standard procedure on most dairy farms. When milk replacer first ap peared, few thought it could replace nature’s best but it has done so on many farms. More recently, fermented colostrum has become common as a calf feed. However, there still are farmers who can’t believe the calves really like that “smelly stuff.” Whether a new feed or feeding system for calves is easily believable is not important. Rather, the important thing is that it works and saves time, energy, or money. Then it will be adopted. Many attempts have been made over the past few years to change the traditional twice-a-day feeding of calves to a labor saving once-a-day feeding program. When whole milk . or milk replacers were used, these attempts failed because the dilated nature of ~the products didn’t allow the calf to consume enough nourishment in one meal, and the calves’ systems were too easily “flooded” causing scouring. In recent years, the use of fermented colostrum to feed young dairy calves has increased markedly. Two properties of fermented colostrum allow it to be adapted to a once-a-day feeding program. Those properties are its con centrated nature (about 16 per cent solids versus 13 per cent for whole milk) and its anti-scouring factor which inhibits scouring even when the calf is maximum fed. It’s easy to see that labor can be cut in half when feeding calves once a day rather than twice a day. What may be hard to believe is that calves will grow as well and be as healthy being fed once a day as twice a day. Studies at Penn State on about 150 calves showed once-a-day feeding to work on the university herd. In February of 1977 two Lebanon County dairymen in cooperation with the Lebanon County Exetnsion office began a field trial to see if once-a-day feeding of fermented colostrum would work on the farm. The results are now tabulated. Feeding fer mented colostrum once a day does work on the farm. It saves labor and money and produces excellent results. For example, Victor Ziegler and family farm 500 acres south of Myerstown in Lebanon County. The Zieglers own 350 acres and milk over 500 Holstein cows feeding from five trench and two tower silos. They had been feeding fermented colostrum before starting the once-a-day program. Says Ziegler, who has been on the program for nearly a works Victor Ziegler, dairyman from Lebanon County, feeds his calves fermented colostrum on a once-a-day schedule. year, “Labor’s the big thing. Every time you have to go through the motions twice, it costs money. Once a day saves you money.” He tries to calve in pasture when possible and move the calves to calf hutches in three or four hours. He feeds warm fresh colostrum twice a day for three days, then fermented colostrum once a day. The Lebanon County dairyman keeps a complete feed and waier in front of the calves from day one and weans at four to five weeks, or when the calves are ready. The fermented colostrum is stored in plastic garbage pails next to the milk house and used when it’s about a week old. Temperatures range from 35*F in Winter to 85*F in Summer. They feed two quarts of straight fer mented colostrum on the average once a day, cutting back for smaller calves and giving a bigger measure to larger calves. They found no difference in health and found no problems in getting a calf to drink. Ziegler says, “The calf knows no difference. It’s harder to convince the man than it is the calf that the stuff is good.” Ziegler and his family feed fermented colostrum in the morning and grain and water in the evening. They believe m checking calves twice a day. “We had some problems Although feeding the calves on a once-a-day basis works for Ziegler, he feels it is necessary to check the animals twice a day for fevers or other problems. calf feeding Leb. Co. n‘ <*■ 0 * x this last busy season. We left the calf caretaker out on the tractor and lost some calves. Now, if it’s the last thing we do, we walk up and down the calf hutches and get the calves’ attention. If she raises her ears or looks at you, okay! If she doesn’t, you better look at her. She has a fever or something’s bothering her. You have to train yourself to look. ” This dairyman has a tip for those with school age help. “With once-a-day, if kids are in school, let them always feed between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. so you can balance your labor and not have them rush in the morning.” Ziegler would recommend the program to anybody. “If a person’s retired and wants to waste time, then you go to twice-a-day feeding for cheap entertainment But, if you’re in it for business, you can’t beat the' savings of once-a-day.” Finally, Victor says the overall word for the program is, “Simple, I like it cause it’s so simple.” Enos Zimmerman and family farm about 220 acres on two farms north of Ann ville in Lebanon County. At present they’re milking 85 Holsteins. They use calf hutches now but when they started feeding once-a-day all their calves were housed in a converted bank barn. Zimmerman was not on a fermented colostrum program at all before starting on the once-a-day program. “We wanted to get started on fermented colostrum - we heard a lot about it. And once-a-day was a big thing too. It could cut your time in half,” he recalls. Calves are bom on the home farm and are tran sferred at three days of age to a second calf and heifer barn. ' The fermented colostrum is stored in plastic garbage pails in the calf bam and fed as needed at about six to 6.5 pounds per calf once a day. Zimmerman, > , weans calves at six. weeks or when ready. Storage problems put then), back on milk replacer for a few months last Summer. This Lebanon County dairyman likes the way his calves grow. “They go on feed sooner than if fed milk - replacer twice a day, and they even seem to grow out a little better.” Zimmerman has a calf caretaker living at the calf farm who checks the animals several times a day. Before going on fermented colostrum, Zimmerman raised only the heifers. Now both heifers and bull calves are raised out. He feels it’s “one of the cheapest ways” to feed a calf. Zimmerman also recommends once-a-day feeding to cut costs. As he puts it “it worked out swell.” Once a day feeding works. (Turn to Page 100) ADAMS CO. O.C. RICE. INC. Biglerville, PA 717-677-8135 YINGLING'S IMPLEMENT RDI Gettysburg, PA 717-359-4848 N.H. FLICKER & SONS, INC. Maxatawny 215-683-7252 STANLEY A. KLOPP.INC. Bernville.’PA 215-488-1500 MILLER EQUIPMENT Bechtelsvilie, PA 215-845-2911 SHARTELSVILLE FARM SERVICE RDI, Hamburg, PA 215-488-1025 H. Daniel Wenger, Prop. 1 ZIMMERMAN'S FARM SERVICE Bethel, PA 717-933-4114 BRADFORD CO. CARLL. PIERCE RD2, Columbia Cross Roads, PA 717-297-3513 WYNNE'S GARAGE Canton, PA 71/-673-8456 CJ.WONSIDLER.BROS. Trumbauersville Road Quakertown, PA 18951 215-536-1935 PAULHISTANDCO., INC 397 North Main Street Doylestown, PA I* AG INDUSTRIAL H' EQUIPMENT CO. c' Rising Sun, MD 301-658-5568 CHESTER CO. CHAS. J. McCOMSEY &SONS Hickory Hill, PA 215-932-2615 t STOLTZFUS FARM SERVICE Cochranville, PA 215-593-5280 M.S. YEARSLEY & SONS West Chester, PA 215-696-2990 CLINTON CO. DUNKLE & GRIEB Mill Hail, PA 717-726-3115 COLUMBIA CO. ORANGEVILLE FARM EQUIPMENT Orangeville, PA 717-683-5311 WILLIAM F.WELLIVER Jerseytown, PA 717-437-2430 :UMBERLANDC( ERNEST SHOVER FARM EQUIPMENT 19 West South St. Carlisle, PA 717-249-2239 DAUPHIN CO. SWEIGARD BROS. RD3, Halifax, PA 717-896-3414 FRANKLIN CO CHAMBERSBURG FARM SERVICE, INC. 975 S. Main St. Chambersburg, PA 717-264-3533 MEYERS IMPLEMENTS, INC. Greencastle, PA 717-597-2176 LEBANON CO. A.C. HEISEY FARM EQUIP!., INC. RDI, Jonestown, PA 717-865-4526 LOOK FOR BERKS CO. BUCKS CO. UMBERGERSMILL RD4, Lebanon (Fontana), PA 717-867-5161 LANCASTER CO. ROYH. BUCK, INC. Ephrata, RD2 717-859-2441 A.B.C. GROFF. INC. New Holland, PA 717-354-4191 A.L. HERRIBRO. Quarryville, PA 717-786-3521 LANDIS BROS., INC. Lancaster, PA 717-393-3906 LONGENECKER FARM SUPPLY Rheems, PA 717-367-3590 N.G. HERSHEY & SON Manheim, PA 717-665-2271 LEHIGH CO. C.J. WONSIDLER BROS. Jet. Rt. 309 and 100 Pleasant Comers, PA 215-767-7611 LYCOMING CO. RICE FARM SUPPLY, INC. Jersey Shore,'PA 717-398-1391 MONTGOMERY CO. WENTZ FARM SUPPLIES Route 29 Palm, PA 215-679-7164 NORTHAMPTON CO GEORGE V.SEIPLE& SON Easton, PA 215-258-7146 NORTHUMBERLAND CO L . MECKLEY’S LIMESTONE PRODUCTS. INC. Herndon, PA 717-758-3915 SCHUYLKILL CO. " LL. ECKROTH FARM EQUIP., INC. New Ringgold, PA 7T7-943-2367 STANLEY’S FARM SERVICE RD, Klingerstown, PA 717-648-2088 ~ SNYDER CO- ROYER’S FARM SERVICE RD 1, Winfield New Berlin-Middleburg Hwy 717-837-3201 TIOGA CO. CANYON IMPLEMENT, INC Mansfield, PA 717-724-2731 WAYNE MARSHALL MACHINERY Honesdale, PA / 717-729-7117 * WYOMING CO. ACE-JURISTA, INC, Tunkhannock, PA 717-836-2610 YORK CO. AIRVILLE FARM SERVICE Airville, PA 717-862-3358 GEORGE N. GROSS, INC RO 2, Dover, PA 717-292-1673 M&R EQUIPMENT, INC. New Park, PA 717-993-2511 CARROLL CO.. MD WERTZ GARAGE, INC. 4132 E. Main St. , Linboro, MD 301-374-2672 lARFORD CO.. MD , WALTER G. COALE. INC. Churchviile, MD 21028 301-734-7722
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