On many dairy farms, calves are sold-off farm starting from around two-weeks-of-age, so presenting them in good health is important.
In recent years, there has been a strong focus on having a healthy, fit calf to bring to the mart and hopefully achieve a fair price.
This is still the case, but increasing the saleability of your non-replacement animals has moved on somewhat.
With the introduction of the Commercial Beef Value (CBV), buyers will now have a better understanding of the genetic potential of the calves you are selling.
Although this may be the case, human nature is still going to place importance on the visual appear of the calf.
Calves being brought to the mart for sale or being sold off farm should be:
- Bright;
- Responsive;
- Alert;
- Mobile;
- Have clear bright eyes and ears that are alert;
- Interactive with their environment, playful and inquisitive.
Although you may see a change in the prices being paid for some of the non-replacement animals this year, it is still important that you get the basics right.
Colostrum
Calves should be fed adequate amounts of high quality colostrum irrespective of their breed or sex.
Ensuring that they get sufficient amounts of colostrum can have a positive impact on the future health of the animal.
Calves are born with no immunity and obtain material antibodies from colostrum, until they develop their own.
A calf that does not get enough colostrum is going to be at higher risk of scour, pneumonia and other diseases.
Although it would be impossible to tell which calves have gotten adequate colostrum in the ring of the mart or on a farm purchasing animals – the performance of the animal as they grow could be an indicator.
People purchasing calves will often return to the same buyer if they are getting healthy animals, but they will not if the calves are more prone to sickness.
Housing
Although the feeding of colostrum has an important role to play in preventing sickness in young calves, it is not a silver bullet.
Housing can have a major impact on the health of young livestock. All calves on your farm should be housed in a building that is fit for purpose, which is free of draughts.
In sheds where draughts can be an issue, bales of straw can be used as a way of blocking the wind.
Calves should be bedded on a deep bed of straw, which helps them to maintain body heat and put energy into growth, rather then keeping warm.
The bedding needs to be changed regularly and pens disinfected. This is especially important later in the calving season, when infection pressure is going to be higher.
Calves
Calves should be grouped as soon as possible. Non-replacement animals of a similar age should be kept together and ideally, sold together.
This should reduce the level of stress placed on the calves.
This should be done whether they are being sold from the yard or are going to be sold in the mart.
Before a calf leaves for sale or are sold from the farm, they should also be offered a feed before they leave the farm. Healthy, well-grown, full looking animals are more likely to catch the eye of buyers.
This should result in better prices being paid for your calves.
Calves that were sick should be not sold until they are fully recover and are visually in good condition for sale.