A key area that farmers can focus on to improve calf health is the calf shed.
The spring-calving season is a busy time on most farms, with a return to milk production, calving of cows and rearing of calves – along with a host of other jobs.
The spring is already a busy time and adding sick animals to the mix only increases stress levels and workloads.
Calf shed
To reduce the amount of sickness that occurs, there are a number of consideration that farmers must keep in mind.
The majority of the issues with disease or sickness will occur in the calf shed, so it should be kept in the best condition possible.
When reviewing the status of your shed, first look at having a disinfectant point at the entrance to the calf shed and controlling access to the shed.
Anyone that doesn’t need to be in there shouldn’t be, as they can potentially be a source of infection.
When in the calf shed or working with the calves it is also important that clean clothing is worn.
Ideally, the calf shed would be treated like a clean room in a lab. On nearly every farm this is not possible, but you should try your best to treat it as so, and avoid introducing any potential contaminants.
Calves
When it comes to the management of young calves, it is important to ensure that all calves get adequate amounts of high-quality colostrum
Where possible, the mixing of older and younger calves should be prevented, and feeders should be removed from pens after feeding.
Calf feeders should also be washed after each use in order to prevent bacteria from building up.
Pens should not be overcrowded either; it is recommended to provide 2.0-2.3m2 /calf.
It is also important that the shed has good ventilation to ensure air is fresh, but that there are no draughts.
Young calves cannot regulate their own body temperature, they also spend 80% of their time lying down, so ensuring that they have clean, dry bedding is important too.
Calves perform best at 15-20°; however, well-bedded calves are comfortable down to about 8°.
Bedding should be freshened regularly and the shed should be cleaned out on a regular basis.