Raising healthy and strong calves is essential for any farmer looking to ensure the future productivity of their herd. Here’s a short guide on how to rear calves properly:
When a calf is born, the first and most important factor is that the calf must suckle on the cow's teats to get colostrum.
What is colostrum?
It is rich in vitamins and minerals, but most importantly, it is loaded with antibodies against germs and bacteria. Colostrum can only be absorbed within the first 24 hours after birth.
Rearing calves on the farm when the cow has no milk or has died is not as complicated as we think. Here is a short checklist of items required to raise them right.
| 1 | F10 Disinfectant |  |
| 2 | Latex calve teat |  |
| 3 | An empty bottle example 2L Coke bottle |  |
| 4 | Surrogate milk (NeWean/Liptosa/Blossom/Suromel) |
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| 5 | Protexin powder |  |
| 6 | Rumen Optimizer pellets |  |
| 7 | M&B Tablets |  |
| 8 | Disulfox L.A |  |
Once you have acquired the checklist products, you will be ready to start rearing calves!
Firstly, clean and wash the bottle and teat in the F10 disinfectant water solution to kill off all germs and bacteria; remember to do this before and after each serving of milk. Also, once the bottle and teat are dry after washing them, please place them in a cupboard so no flies can sit on them and keep them sterile. Once the bottle is clean and dry, add milk powder. The milk mixture is mixed as follows: Mix 150g Blossom powder with 850 ml water for 1 litre of milk replacer. Add 2 litres of milk replacer to your bottle. Put on the teat, and you will be ready to provide the milk to the calf. Note that the water used for mixing the milk power must be the same temperature.
It is essential to keep a basic routine when giving milk to calves. If the required feeding time is 2x minimum per day, a producer must give milk each morning at 09h00 and afternoon at 16h00. Once these times have been established, a producer must maintain the same daily routine. If the routine is not constant, the calve will get diarrhoea.
This will be the calf's only feed source for the first 14 days. From there, the producer can give the calf Rumen Optimizer pellets. While the calf is suckling on the milk, pull out the teat and place a few pellets in the calf's mouth to introduce the calf to Rumen Optimizer. Also, place a small feeding trough with Rumen Optimizer pellets in the holding area of the calf so the calf can feed on the pellets. The feeding trough must be placed in such a way that the feed stays clean. This will take a few days to encourage the calf to eat the pellets.
Why do we give Rumen Optimizer pellets?
Rumen Optimizer promotes the growth of the rumen, ensuring that it develops earlier and more efficiently so that the calf can better digest feed. If the rumen is produced, the calf can digest the feed and get maximum nutrition to grow faster.
Once the rumen is developed, the calf can start grazing on pasture at 2 months of age. Note that the weaning period of a suckling calf is around 4 months. If the calf eats Rumen Optimizer and starts grazing, the milk can be reduced to only one daily feeding.
Rumen Development
| 1. Only Milk | 2. Milk with Rumen Optimizer | 3. Milk and hay |
Rumen Optimizer helps develop the rumen to be more efficient. The rumen of the calf that is created is up to 40 times bigger than that of the calf that only suckles on milk, giving the calf an advantage over the calves that only get milk.
Basic animal health:
If your calf is sick or starts having diarrhoea, give it either the Disulflox LA or the M&B tablets; follow the instructions on the bottle to ensure the correct dosage.
Keep sick calves away from the healthier calves and provide enough shade. Keep calves calm in a stress-free environment.
For more information regarding rearing your calf the correct way, contact any of Feedmaster's Technical Advisors.
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