0;
12—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 6,1984
Oahy
Pipeline
By
Glenn A. Shirk
Extension
Dairy
Agent
Give ‘Em
A Chance
Your young heifers of today or
tomorrow have the opportunity
of becoming your good herd of the
future if you give them the op
portunity! You’ve probably heard
me say this before, but I’ll repeat it
again, “genetically, the best
animal in your herd should be one
of your present calves, and that
calf deserves the same very best
care and attention that you give to
your very best cow! ”
Even though a heifer is not
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producing milk and not earning
you a monthly milk check, she still
deserves proper care and at
tention. If you’ve been using good,
plus-proven bulls, she has the bred
in potential to produce. Don’t put a
lid on her ability to produce and to
stay in the herd by neglecting her
as a heifer.
Your aim ought to be to raise
healthy, heifers that are growthy
enough to breed at an early age so
they will be ready to calve and
start earning you can income by 24
months of age. You should also be
striving to breed them to a good,
plus-proven bull. Granted, it will
be costlier to raise heifers in this
fashion, but they’ll still be more
profitable.
If you are short on facilities, feed
and labor, then it would be wise to
raise only your best heifers, and
only as many as you can care for
properly. This is better than trying
to raise more than you or your
facilities can handle.
Crucial Times
The two most difficult times to
keep calves going is 3-4 days after
birth, and the first month after
weaning.
A lot can be done to minimize
stress, and to help the calf through
its first week. First of all, provide a
clean sanitary maternity area and
a clean, dry, draft-free place for
the calf, a place that is away from
older herdmates; at this young
susceptible age, the calf is not
prepared for breathing air laden
with germs from older animals.
Also be sure the calf consumes
colostrum milk within a few hours
after birth, and dip the calf’s naval
cord in tincture of iodine. These
are the calf’s first lines of defense
against invading organisms.
At weaning time the calf is ex
posed to many stresses; the
change from a liquid ration to a
dry ration, competition in a group
pen, change in feeding techniques
(water bowls and mangers vs.
;ile,
ical
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buckets, etc.), exposure to more
germs from other animals,
dehorning, parasites, vaccines,
etc. Your challenge is to ease the
calf through these stresses as
gradually as possible.
Check with your veterinarian to
see what shots a calf might need
before and after weaning. Be sure
the calf is consuming dry feed
before weaning. Keep the calf in its
pen or hutch about 10-14 days after
weaning. Restrict the number of
calves in the first group pen to
about 5; ideally, this first pen
should be away from older animals
to give calves ample opportunity to
build-up some resistance to herd
organisms.
Don’t forget deworming. Calves
are particularly susceptible to
worms, and should be dewormed
about every three months; older
heifers at least twice yearly.
Feeding
Heifers, like cows, need a
balanced ration, too. Remember,
you want them growthy not fat,
not stunted.
Rumensin is a feed additive that
has been approved for use with
heifers. It’s been used for a
number of years to increase weight
gains and feed efficiencies in
slaughter cattle. Research data
indicates that when used on
heifers, it can increase daily
weight gains 0.2 lbs. and reduce
age at first calving by 3.8 days.
That’s worth considering.
To feed Rumensin, you’ll also
need to feed some grain too, but
that is good. A little grain is one
way of force feeding heifers the
vitamins and minerals they need
for good growth.
Acclimating heifers to grain
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may also help reduce foot
problems and off-feed problems
following calving. Too many good
heifers have left herds a lew
months after calving because of
these two problems. Keeping the
heifers’ ration balanced, ac
climating them to grain, avoiding
sudden changes in the feeding
program, and not pushing heavy
grain feeding too soon before nor
too soon after calving may help
reduce these costly problems.
1 mentioned vaccination of
calves earlier. I also want to
emphasize the importance of
working with your veterinarian to
develop an immunization program
for your herd for cattle of all ages.
Also talk about other preventive
practices, including foot care.
And, don’t overlook the im
portance of proper housing as a
vital part of a preventive care
program. Give heifers a dry place
to lie down where they have shade
in summer and where they can be
protected from cold drafts and
from adverse weather. Avoid
overcrowding, and provide clean
feeding facilities.
If heifers are raised in con
finement, be sure the bam is well
ventilated. In winter, be sure
young calves have a dry, protected
bed and an adequate intake of
energy; cold, wet surfaces can
draw a lot of heat out of a calf’s
body.
Remember, a well-bred growthy
heifer, calving early at the proper
weight has great potential for
becoming a profitable cow; she’ll
almost always produce better and
last longer than a neglected heifer.
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