Putting his faith in one brand of calf milk replacer (CMR) for 15 years has helped an award-winning calf rearer to develop a dairy herd that delivers on efficiency, performance and longevity.
Chris Catherwood manages the dairy herd at The Cannons at Newtownards, Northern Ireland, where his focus on rearing starts from the moment a calf is born, particularly in terms of rumen development health.
The average lifetime production on the farm is almost 3.25t of milk solids per cow.
Newborn calves are fed colostrum from vaccinated cows followed by transition milk when available. Shine Original is introduced once the milk can be sold.
Chris had tried several CMRs but was not happy with the results, and then, in 2008, he discovered Shine Once-a-Day, now marketed as Shine Original.
His main reasons for making the switch was to aid labour and improve calf rearing, and 15 years on, it remains an important part of his system.
Quality milk replacer
Shine Original is formulated with low heat buttermilk and skim milk to aid calf development, allowing calves to be weaned with good rumen and digestive tract development.
It helps their digestive systems and microbes to digest concentrates and forage and is one of the reasons Chris’ cows perform – and last.
For the last three years he has sold an average of more than 600kg of milk solids per cow per year – as high as 614kg in 2022 – and up from 512kg in 2011. This is produced from a concentrate intake of 1.42t per cow.
Cows achieve a mature weight average of 620kg and remain in the herd for an average of 5.2 lactations.
Chris says most of those cows could achieve further lactations but he firmly believes that 5.2 is the optimal time to replace.
Cows are inseminated with 100% sexed semen in the first 18 days of the breeding season followed by beef semen.
Heifers are given one cycle of sexed semen before they run with two Aberdeen Angus stock bulls. Heifers calve from February 6.
Calf mortality
Total calf mortality, including stillbirths is less than 3% up to three months, falling to less than 0.5% after three months.
As well as colostrum and cow transition milk, Chris also feeds Transformula, a transition milk replacer manufactured by Bonanza Calf Nutrition, as the season nears its end and his own stock of natural cow transition milk is on the wane.
Transformula, he says, is “priceless’’ for keeping scours at bay and calves healthy and thriving.
Calves then move on to Shine Original. On this system, total feed intake – CMR and dry feed – is 10% higher pre-weaning than standard CMR.
This keeps calves healthy and performing well before and after weaning, thanks to the low heat buttermilk and skim milk in the formula.
In 2023, heifer calves were weighed on May 22 and they averaged 106kg.
In 2011, The Cannons farm won the national Heifer Rearing Competition when calf management was one of the criteria it was judged on.
It is no wonder that Chris has loyal buyers from around the whole country that are keen to source heifers from The Cannons.
Shine Original
According to Joe Murphy of Bonanza Calf Nutrition, the secret to Shine Original is its milk protein content and available amino acids.
A unit of crude protein costs less than 20c/bag to include, but a unit of milk protein costs more than €2/bag.
Joe explained that maximising the level of amino acids available to the calf by using low heat-treated ingredients is better for calves for three reasons.
It reduces the energy required to excrete waste protein and the amount of water the calves need to drink to do this.
It also improves calf health and performance by making more space in the diet for other essential elements, like energy.
Finally, as in seen in other farm animals, reducing crude protein makes animals more content and improves dung quality.
For more information about Shine Original, click here.
