Troubleshoot calf-feeding practices
How you feed calves from the moment they hit the ground determines their
lifetime health and productivity
By Sam Leadley
If raising healthy calves were as simple as tossing some food in front of them, every calf
would become a healthy, productive cow in your milking string. But nothing’s simple,
especially calf-feeding practices.
Diligence pays off when it comes to everything from colostrum and starter grain quality
to clean feeding equipment.
Cleaning vs. bacteria control
Cleaning calf-feeding equipment should control bacteria growth. If it does, calves are
more likely to get clean, nutritious feed and to stay healthy. Following four steps ensure
thorough cleaning:
1. Rinse off any organic material – leftover milk or colostrum and manure, urine and dirt in
lukewarm water, between 105 and 110 degrees. The presence of organic matter rapidly
weakens the bacterial destroying ability of chemicals in wash water.
Lukewarm water rinses feeding equipment better than hot water, which changes the
physical composition of the proteins in milk and colostrum, causing them to stick to
equipment.
2. Wash feeding equipment with a good quality chlorinated cleaner and hot water, between
140 and 180 degrees, to kill bacteria. Soap lowers the surface tension in the water and dirt
comes off easier. Chlorine kills bacteria.
If equipment isn’t rinsed thoroughly, the organic load in the wash water builds up and
neutralizes the bacteria-killing ability of the chlorine.
If the wash water temperature falls below 120 degrees, milk fat and other substances in
the solution begin to redeposit on equipment, even as it’s washed.
3. Use an acid solution in the post-washing rinse, at 110 to 150 degrees. The acid solution
rinses off some soap and, more importantly, lowers the pH on equipment surfaces for 12 to
14 hours below a level that most bacteria find acceptable for growth.
4. Let equipment dry between uses to remove moisture, which fosters bacteria growth.
Water for growth
Few calf raisers like to feed water. So, why do it?
Lack of water, not the liquid in milk or milk replacer, slows down the fermentation
process of starter grain in the developing rumen. The less fermentation, the slower the
rumen lining develops and the longer it takes before calves can safely be weaned.
The lack of water also reduces the level of feed conversion, requiring more pounds of dry
matter intake to add a pound of growth. It’s estimated that efficient conversion of feed into
growth requires about 4 pounds of water for each pound of feed calves eat.
The smaller a calf’s body mass, the greater the benefit of feeding water at body
temperature. Regardless of the water’s temperature when it’s drunk, it will be at the same
temperature as a calf’s body (102 degrees) within an hour. Milk replacer and water fed at
105 degrees reduces the amount of body reserves used to warm liquids.
Age and stage of development determine how much water calves require:
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From one to six days of age, calves may drink large quantities of water when it’s
first presented. This novelty water consumption pattern rarely persists more than a
day or two as long as water is offered free choice.
Calves less than three weeks old don’t need a lot of water, just a steady supply of
clean, fresh water.
Between three weeks and partial weaning, calves’ water consumption usually
increases if they’re weaned following this procedure: dropping one of two daily
feedings and cutting normal quantity fed in half for two feedings. At the same time,
starter grain intake may jump.
At this stage, calves often drink more than 10 quarts of water daily. To deal with
increased water consumption, some dairies clip 5-gallon pails to hutches or pens
around weaning time for once-a-day watering.
To prohibit algae and mold growth during the summer, some dairies keep extra
water pails on hand. For 50 calves on milk, 10 extra pails are enough. Each day, the
calf raiser distributes 10 clean pails and scrubs the 10 used pails. In five days all the
pails have been cleaned, and algae and mold are controlled.
Balance starter grain and milk
Calves need adequate amounts of milk or milk replacer long enough to mature rapidly.
But feeding too much milk replacer for too long delays starter grain intake and rumen
development. Calf raisers must match the calf ration for different stages of development.
Until the rumen lining develops enough to absorb nutrients from grain fermentation, a
calf must live on milk or milk replacer. That rumen growth process takes a minimum of
about three weeks. That’s three weeks after a heifer starts eating a handful of grain daily and
has access to water.
Observations on a New York dairy show that this three-week countdown can start at
different times depending on milk replacer intake. Calves fed about 20 ounces of milk
replacer powder daily probably may begin regular starter grain intake around 14 days.
But this varies. Some calves on the dairy started eating grain regularly at a week old.
Others on the same milk ration didn’t begin regular intake until nearly three weeks.
At 30 ounces of milk replacer powder daily, significant grain intake didn’t occur until 18
days, on average. At 46 ounces, the average date for regular starter grain intake wasn’t until
26 days.
Even with delaying starter grain intakes until 26 days and adding 21 days from beginning
grain intake required for rumen development, calves can still be weaned successfully at
seven to eight weeks of age.
This variation supports the importance of observing calves individually. When weaning a
heifer, it’s important to know that she has regularly eaten some grain for at least three
weeks. Only then will a calf have the rumen competence to switch to dry feeds without
excessive stress.
Test starter grain quality
The tag for a bin or bag of starter grain tells only part of the quality story. Pellet quality
and the proportion of grain made up of fine particles are important quality indicators.
Pellet quality. Most of dry starter grain depends on pellets to deliver coccidiostat
medication and vitamin, mineral and concentrated protein supplements. If pellets don’t
retain their shape long enough to be eaten, calves get shorted on starter grain’s necessary
nutrients.
Pellets must come out of the bin or bag whole, or at least in large pieces. As fed, at least
three-quarters of the pellets must retain their shape one day after starter grain is placed in the
pens or hutches.
To measure this, scoop up leftover grain from a number of grain pails, using a milk
replacer measuring cup. Mix the samples. Remove one cup of the sample and weigh it on
scales used for doing forage dry matter samples. (I like to weigh in grams to avoid having to
convert pounds and ounces.)
Sort out the recognizable pellets and pieces, then weigh that. Divide this by the total
amount to determine the proportion of remaining pellets.
Repeat the process with a sample directly from a bin or bag to determine if the day-old
proportion is at least three-quarters of the proportion of pellets from the bin or bag.
Young calves eat fines last. Fines may have important ingredients, such as protein,
needed for a nutritious ration, but calves won’t be getting them if starter has a high amount
of fines.
To measure the amount of fines, place a piece of window screen on a secure support. Put
paper below it to catch the screenings. Particles about 0.7 and 0.9 mm will fall through the
screen.
Weigh about 250 grams (a half pound) of starter grain directly from the bin or bag on the
scales used to sample forage dry matter. Pour it slowly onto the screen and sift it five times
left to right and five times forward and back. Repeat the “five-and-five” once more.
Weigh the screenings. If you started with 250 grams of grain, you should have less than
10 to 15 grams, or 4 to 6%, of fine screenings. Some inexpensive starter grains often contain
up to 20 or 25% fines.