CALF CARE FROM BIRTH TO WEANING

INTRODUCTION

Heifer calves are raised as replacements for lactating cows and are essential to the successful future of the dairy. The greatest mortality and morbidity period for dairy cattle is from birth to weaning. Management goals for the first 6 to 8 weeks of a calf's life should be to minimize disease and mortality by providing a suitable environment, establishing a quality nutritional program, and implementing a preventive health care plan.

FACILITIES

Health and survival of the newborn calf depend on its care and environment. Designs for calf-rearing facilities range from complete barn enclosures to minimum shelters. A wide range of acceptable housing facilities exists within California. Calf housing should provide an environment that is clean and dry and will minimize stress. Protection from heat, cold, wind, and rain is important. Adequate space, animal comfort, and proper ventilation are important in designing a facility. Facilities should be accessible for thorough cleaning and disinfecting on a regular basis to reduce the number of pathogens.
Placing the facility upwind from corrals and cow traffic decreases dust problems. Housing calves between hay stacks, barns, or other large structures that impede air movement should be avoided. This is especially critical during the summer.
Facility features which are desirable but do not necessarily influence calf health include: design for labor efficiency, conservation of space, esthetics, and location for easy access by dairy personnel but not the public. Calf theft is common, and easy public access enhances rustling potential. Storage facilities for supplies, equipment, and sanitizing materials as well as access to refrigeration for milk and health care products are also important considerations in calf housing design. These features assist in developing and maintaining a successful calf raising program.

Individual Pens

Individual pens separate calves and reduce the spread of communicable diseases and make it easier to observe behavior, feed consumption, and fecal and urine production. Changes in feed consumption and fecal consistency can be early indicators of disease.
Many calves are successfully raised in 2-foot by 4-foot expanded metal or slatted wood, elevated pens. More hock, leg, and joint problems are associated with expanded metal floor pens than with other systems. Plastic coated expanded metal may reduce these problems. Calves may suffer from cold stress in elevated pens because they provide little shelter from drafts and cold in the winter. Pneumonia may also be associated with these pens when they are placed over a flush system for cleaning since pathogens can be aerosolized during the flushing procedure. Recommended modifications of the elevated pen are to double the pen size and include a bedding box filled with straw or other materials to allow for more comfort and fewer leg and foot problems (University of California, Cooperative Extension Leaflet #2327).

Hutches
Individual, outside hutches predominate in California. Most are approximately 4-foot by 8-foot wooden hutches, although other materials are used. Slightly smaller individual hutches grouped in units of three are commonly used in southern California. Hutches are more labor intensive than elevated metal pens, but they allow for complete separation of unweaned calves. Because hutches rest on the ground, calves are better insulated from drafts than in elevated pens. Hutches can be moved and modified to adjust for temperature, sunlight, predominating winds, and direction of inclement weather. Hutches are easy to move or lift for cleaning. Fiberglass and polyethylene hutches are easier to sanitize than wooden hutches or metal pens, but these should be opaque to reduce heat from the sun.

Cold Housing

Open-sided pole barns containing individual pens are referred to as "cold housing." Cold housing is adequate in most California conditions. Wind barriers, such as plywood or roll-up snow fencing material, can be used during the winter.

Closed Housing

Closed housing consists of an enclosed barn containing individual pens. The most critical aspect of closed housing is adequate ventilation. Accumulation of moisture and manure gases, such as methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia, increase the potential for respiratory disease. Environmentally controlled, closed housing is expensive to construct and operate and is difficult to manage.