Br l Brockett’s Ag Advice
Kr « By John E. Brocket!
|HL V Farm Management Agent
■HiT Lewistown Extension Office
Problems
As I visit farms, I have made a
lot of observations on calf and
heifer raising. It is surprising that
more farmers do not have more
in raising calves
problems with their calves-I mean
death losses and health problems.
They do have growth and ap
pearance problems which will
eventually transfer into economic
problems.
Look at this partial list of
problems then ask yourself if you
are guilty of some or all oMhese:
• Hay racks that allow large
quantities of hay to fall on to or be
pulled on to the floor. This leads to
dirty feed, possible disease, and
generally internal parasites. Hay
racks should be constructed so
very little hay ever leaves the rack
unless it is going into the animal’s
belly.
• Dirty water or a water tub that
is shared with mature animals.
Either case usually means reduced
consumption of water or parasites
or disease or a combination.
• Dirty and/or wet bedding-this
is a major problem of our dairy
farms. Results in lack of comfort
usually most of the heifers try to
get into the driest area. However,
some or all of them often will wind
up in the wet. l>ack of comfort,
parasites, respiratory disease,
feed energy going into fighting cold
and wet are all uneconomical
measures
• Draft and I’m not talking about
a gentle breeze on a hot, summer
day, but rather a cold charge of air
playing its disastrous tune over
that defenseless baby. The draft
could also be warm air movement
over that calf such as some people
cause when they put the vent fan in
the calf area with the mistaken
belief that they are doing the
calves a favor. Actually they are
pulling all of the warm but
moisture filled and germ laden air
from the barn over those poor little
critters.
• Dirty feed boxes-dirty from
stale feed or from manure or from
cat hair or from wet bedding. To
compound the problem the person
feeding the calif then dumps fresh
grain on top of this mess. Result is
a big problem. Stale feed or dirt in
the box should be very unap
petizing to you as a person. Don’t
you think the calf reacts to the bad
odor and taste just like you would 9
CHEAP FEED: One of my
biggest gnpes-we have a milk
surplus but dairymen still try to
buy milk replacer based on cost as
the sole factor. That is ridiculous.
Personally, I feel that all
Dairymen should use sour
colostrum and/or whole milk. Do
any of you feel that you can buy a
superior feed for your calves 9 I
know some of you operate on the
basis that you can save a few bucks
with replacer, even though I doubt
the savings is as much as you
think. If you are going the replacer
route, then buy the best quality
replacer you can get (it will be a
milk-based replacer)
• Dirty freshening conditions
surprisingly this is one area where
you as dairymen have improved.
That doesn’t mean it is all peaches
and cream with freshening con
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ditions because I just said un
proved, not become great. There
are still a lot of rather sad
situations for freshening. They are
guaranteed to give that poor little
baby two strikes before she even
comes to bat. To aggravate the
problem, the raw umbilical cord is
allowed to hang in wet, dirty
bedding sucking up all kinds of
disease organisms Finally as a
crowning gesture to assure that
calf a handicap some of you make
little effort to get colostrum into it
until it is convenient. By the way,
spraying iodine on the outside of
the cord is not too worthwhile
because any diseases that are
going to enter the body enter via
the straw-like interior of the cord,
not the outside surface.
• Parasite Control. Many
dairymen who routinely deworm
cows never even give their calves
and heifers a second thought.
Why? Calves and heifers should be
wormed at least twice a year
Many herds could probably
eliminate worming cows if they
practiced a good calf worming
program. Furthermore it is a lot
less expensive to worm young
cattle than cows. I would agree
that it takes more work. Then let’s
not forget the external parasites.
Your young cattle could still get
lice. It is quite easy to check them.
Just grab a tuft of hair over the
pins-if they have lice you will see
the hair come off as if it was
chewed off, which it was. Treat
them if you see this problem.
• Improper use of calf hutches:
Calf hutches can be lifesavers if
they are used properly. They
should be moved periodically to a
new location. That will help
prevent a buildup of disease
organisms. Some farms have been
using hutches for a number of
years without repairing or
maintaining them. Jagged nails,
such as I saw recently because of a
pulled off board, could result in a
cut for either the calf or the calf
feeder Hutch roofs that are caved
in or have holes should be fixed
otherwise the calves will get wet.