Table of Contents
In order for a dairy development programme to be successful, young calves must be maintained and managed properly.
Growing faster and starting puberty earlier are influenced by optimal nutrition in early life of the calf.
The goal is to have the calves achieve 70-75 percent of their mature body weight by the time they reach puberty, thereby attaining the optimum weight.
When young calves are not adequately fed, their first calving age is higher and they will be less productive throughout their lifetime.
In this regard, dairy producers should be aware of the implications of improper feeding of young calves.
The calf is functionally a monogastric animal. At birth all four compartments of ruminant stomach except abomasum are non-functional, undeveloped, small in size and disproportionate to the adult digestive system
Rapid rumen development in calves brings about important changes in metabolites that may have synergistic effects on growth. Development of the rumen is an important physiological challenge for young ruminants
A number of factors are necessary to trigger the development of the rumen, including the establishment and stimulation of the rumen microflora, solid feed intake, fermentation processes and absorption mechanisms.
Signs of a healthy calf
The healthy calf will have bright eyes, a shiny coat, and be hungry and curious.
Healthy calves are very playful.
A healthy calf will have bright red mucous membranes in the mouth and the inner side of the eyelids. It will smell and look normal when a healthy calf defecates
Signs of sick calf
An unhealthy calf will have dull coat colour, droopy ears and the dull eyes.
The calf will respond to cold quite immediately because of low immunity and might also show the signs of shivering.
A sick calf is not very playful. It tends to spend a considerable amount of time lying down, even at the time of feeding.
It can even have breathing issues and wont show much interest in eating or drinking.
An anemic calf will have pale mucous membranes in the mouth and eyelids.
If a calf is sick, it is likely to pass unpleasant-smelling, runny stools.
Colostrum for new born calf
What is Colostrum?
Colostrum is a fluid secreted by cows/buffaloes’ mammary glands after calving and is an excellent source of protein, fat, minerals, and antibodies.
It is best to give colostrum within 1-2 hours of birth of a calf.
Within the first hour following birth, the calf’s ability to absorb maternally-derived immunoglobulins (antibodies) is maximum and remains relatively high for six hours. Following this, it becomes increasingly difficult for the calf to absorb colostrum antibodies.
The colostrum is one of nature’s most precious gifts to newborn calves. Colostrum contains almost 10 times vitamin A, 4-5 times more protein and an abundance of minerals when compared to regular whole milk.
Additionally, colostrum acts as a mild laxative, helping to remove digestive residues and muconium from newly born calves’ intestinal tracts.
When colostrums are not available due to accidental death of the mother or agalactia, a colostrum replacement can be administered. 2 whole eggs can be used in a litre of milk along with 30 ml of castor oil to prepare the colostrum replacement. Calves should be given this three times a day.
Difference between Colostrum and milk
| Colostrum (%) | Milk (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Total solids | 28.3 | 12.86 |
| Total Protein | 21.32 | 3.34 |
| Albumin | 1.5 | 0.54 |
| Globulin | 15.06 | - |
| Casein | 4.76 | 2.8 |
| Lactose | 2.5 | 4.8 |
Milk replacement for calf
Newborn calves are primarily fed milk or milk substitutes. In contrast to feeding it to a calf, milk producers prefer to sell it to meet their daily needs, increase revenue and profit. Because of this, calves are severely deprived of milk and suffer from stunted growth and maturation. Cattle’s productive lives are shortened as a result.
For at least two months, young calves should be fed two liters of milk per day, gradually replacing the milk with a high-quality calf starter.
Using milk replacer is thought to be an economical alternative to milk for young calves, containing ingredients like skim milk powder, soybean meal, groundnut meal, oil, grains, vitamins, mineral mixture, and preservatives. With milk replacer and calf starter, one can reduce maturity age of a calf by up to 12 months.
Liquid feed (milk) has limited effects on rumen development due to its chemical composition and shunting effect on the esophageal groove.
Limited metabolic activity in their rumen epithelium occurs when neonatal calves are exclusively fed milk or milk replacer, which hampers their proper development and results in minimal fatty acid absorption.
Calves fed only milk or milk replacement have underdeveloped rumen function, even though rumen size increases with age. Therefore, although milk-based diets promote rapid and efficient growth in young animals, they do not contribute to preparing them to consume solid diet.
Additionally, the composition of the type of liquid feed utilized may affect plasma levels of IGF-1, insulin and other growth factors, all of which may play a role in the stimulation of rumen epithelial cell proliferation.
Role of calf starter in rumen development
What is calf starter?
Calf starter is an essential part of the development of the rumen. Calf starter consists of ground cereal grains, protein supplements, minerals and vitamins, and is a balanced concentrate mixture.
In fact, feeding starter to a four-week-old calf is crucial, as it has been shown to have a better rumen than a twelve-week-old calf who does not receive starter.
Calves do not have a functional reticulo-rumen, so calves should not be fed ruminant roughages because they cannot utilize cellulose-rich roughages.
By feeding calf starter and good quality leguminous hay from an early age, rumen papillae (rumen wall), which are essential for rumen function, are stimulated, promoting digestion of higher proportions of fodder early in life of the calf.
Calf starter should be replaced after about six months with Calf growth meal, which is more cost-effective for growing calves. On a dry matter (DM) basis, the following table shows the composition of calf starter meal and calf growth meal.
| Calf starter meal (%) | Calf growth meal (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Crude protein, min. | 23 | 22 |
| Crude fat, min. | 4 | 3 |
| Crude fibre, max. | 7 | 10 |
| Acid insoluble ash, max. | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Iodised common salt, max. | 1 | 1 |
| Calcium, min. | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Available phosphorus, min. | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Urea, max. | NIL | NIL |
Microbiota in the rumen produces butyrate and propionate, which stimulate the rumen development. Feed composition and fermentation end products affect rumen epithelial development greatly.
Butyric acid provides energy for rumen development through thickening of the rumen wall, formation of papillae, and increasing capillary development
Corn is one of the most commonly used grains in calves’ starter diets because of its capacity to increase VFA production and to reduce the pH of the rumen, which stimulates the growth of papillae in the rumen.
A smooth transition from liquid feed (milk or milk replacer) to solid feed (grains or forage) is a key factor in minimizing mortality and morbidity losses with diseases and increasing daily weight gains
Solid feed also minimizes the chances of weight loss of the calf and the distress at weaning.
Nonprotein nitrogen sources should not be added to calf starter. Typically recommended ingredients for calf starter include soybean meal, decorticated cotton seed meal, wheat bran, rice polish, crushed maize, etc. These ingredients are not only traditional but very palatable also.
In addition to promoting the growth of the muscle layer of the rumen, roughage also contributes to the healthy function of the epithelium. The chewing and ruminating of fibrous feed stimulate saliva production. Saliva contains urea and minerals such as sodium bicarbonate that aid in maintaining healthy rumen microbial growth and development.
Unfortunately, these feeds lack sufficient amounts of volatile fatty acids (VFA) necessary for the development of the rumen mucosa. Despite the fact that forage intake contributes less to the formation of rumen papillae, it is still important to maintain the integrity and health of the rumen wall.
Water is essential to the survival and development of rumen bacteria. Free water intake is largely responsible for the formation of rumen liquid. Calf should have access to fresh, clean, free-choice water from three days of age.
Good practices to raise a healthy calf
- To raise healthy, productive replacement animals that enter your milking herd, proper feeding and care of young calves are imperative.
- To provide calves with essential nutrients and antibodies, feed four quarts of high-quality colostrum within the first eight hours of the birth of a calf.
- Start the calf on palatable calf starters after 3 days of birth to spur rumen development and facilitate weaning by 4 to 6 weeks.
- It is important to remember that calves’ health and growth are not solely dependent on nutrition. Calf health is equally dependent on clean, dry, draft-free housing that protects the calf from the scorching sun in the summer and cold winds in the winter. Making sure that the calf is under a shed for the first 3 weeks is vital.
- Develop treatment protocols for sick calves with the help of your veterinarian. Make sure calves receive adequate vaccinations.
- Raising calves of different age is not advisable in the same pen. Separate the calves based on the age. Calves with almost the same age (±7 days) should be kept together.
- It is also advisable to have a space of 1.5 to 2 square meter in the pen for each calf.
- A good ventilated pen with good drainage is a must for increasing the chances of survival of the calf. This ensures removal of gases and ammonia. Ammonia can cause pneumonia in new born calf.
- General thumb rule of the amount of calf milk replacer to be fed to the calf is 10% of the calf’s body weight. For example, a 45 KG calf should be fed 4.5 kg of milk replacer.
