A total of 195 calves have been weaned off milk on the ABP Demo Farm as of Wednesday, April 1, and while the calf-rearing season is not over yet, “the calf rearing has gone relatively well so far on the farm this spring”, according to the ABP Food Group Advantage Beef Programme Farm liaison officer Sean Maher.
He said: “The first 80 calves we reared were split in two groups and were fed two different types of milk powders. These were fed twice a day (TAD) as a trial.
“The ABP Demo farm has been feeding calves once a day (OAD) for a number of years, now but it’s always good to keep your options open.”
The table below outlines the performance results from the two groups of calves that were fed TAD on the farm this spring:
Powder A
(Fed TAD)Powder B
(Fed TAD)Arrival weight 58kg 54kg Weaning weight 84kg 86kg Average daily gain (ADG) 0.61kg/day 0.62kg/day Days on milk 41 days 50 days Total kg of milk powder consumed 31.2kg 32.9kg
Commenting on the results, Maher said: “The two powders compare quite well with similar average daily gains (ADG) and weaning weights.
“The amount of powder used is higher than what we normally use on the farm and we would have expected higher ADGs in return.”
The remainder of the calves that have been weaned to-date were fed OAD, which is the standard practice on the farm.
The table below outlines the performance results from the group of calves that have been weaned and were fed OAD on the farm this spring:
OAD feeding Arrival weight 62kg Weaning weight 88kg Average daily gain (ADG) 0.6kg/day Days on milk 42 days Total kg of milk powder consumed: 24.4kg
Sean Maher said that from the results of the trial conducted on the farm this spring, “we’re very happy with the calf performance from the OAD feeding system once again”.
He emphasised that when calves are being fed OAD in the mornings, it is essential to monitor calves closely in the evenings also and identify high-temperature calves or dull calves and treat these in a timely manner.
“All calves have now received three pneumonia vaccines (one intranasal and two pasturella) two clostridial disease shots and some have been vaccinated for ringworm, as a trial.”
The table below outlines calf performance by breed based on all the calves weaned off milk on the ABP Demo Farm to-date this spring.
Angus Belgian Blue Friesian Hereford Limousin Arrival weight 59kg 60kg 59kg 61kg 61kg Weaning weight 87kg 86kg 83kg 88kg 84kg Average daily gain (ADG) 0.61kg/day 0.62kg/day 0.58kg/day 0.63kg 0.53
The Advantage Beef Programme farm liaison officer added: “There will be another 100 calves weaned off milk in the coming week – all going well.
“This will leave us with the final 100 calves being fed milk for another few weeks.
“This will significantly reduce the workload and allow us turn our attention to turning out calves to grass. The demo farm has no calves turned out to grass as of yet,” he added.
“The wet and unsettled weather has the potential to undo all our good work in the rearing process this year.”
He explained that once the weather picks up, they plan to let calves out by day and house them by night.
“This will allow us to limit the amount of grass in their diet and smoothen their transition to grass.”