We're taking a different approach with this edition of Vita Plus Starting Strong Calf Chat with Ann. Instead of focusing on calves, we're going to take a moment to focus on people and the steps you can take to ensure your calf care team has a safe and comfortable environment to work in as the winter months are upon us.

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Trans Ova Genetics:  Outstanding Care for Calves with High Genetic Potential

Drive past Trans Ova Genetics in Sioux Center, Iowa and it looks like any calf-raising facility with rows of calves in hutches.  Spend any time there and you’ll quickly realize it’s a unique place to be.

Trans Ova Genetics provides reproductive services for dairy and beef herds. These services include embryo transfer (ET), in-vitro fertilization (IVF), sexed-semen, genetic preservation and cloning.  Clients bring their animals to Trans Ova Genetics to “advance and extend superior genetics.”

Live calf program

The hutches at Trans Ova Genetics are home to animals in the company’s live calf program.  Through this program, embryos are implanted into beef recipients that have been tested for several diseases, including BVD and Johne’s Disease, and gestated to full-term onsite.  Immediately after birth, calves are transferred to their own pens and receive four packs of colostrum replacer, equaling 240 grams of Ig.  Once they are dry, they are moved to an outdoor hut. 

For the first 10 days, the calves are fed two quarts of Calf’s 1^st Choice milk replacer twice daily.  They’ll transition to three quarts per feeding after 10 days.  They are also introduced to a 22-percent starter and water immediately.  Through the live calf program, producers are guaranteed a live calf at 30 days of age.  They are available for pick-up by the customer when they are still on the bottle, between 30 and 45 days of age.

Managing calves with high genetic potential

The live calf program is managed by two calf program managers, five bottle feeders, three cow handlers, a night observer, and five to 10 part-time assistants.  Employees at Trans Ova Genetics understand the immense responsibility they have for caring for these calves with high genetic potential.  That’s why team members are onsite 24/7 and veterinarians are always on-call. 

Employees pay specific attention to the basics of calf raising.  Small wheels fastened to the outside of each hutch help monitor intakes.  Purple tags attached to the hutches indicate when calves are bumped up to the bigger feeding.  Sanitation is also a key factor.  All bottles are sanitized between feedings.  In addition, hutches remain empty for at least a week to prevent any potential spread of pathogens between calves.

New facilities

Although Trans Ova Genetics has multiple locations throughout the U.S., the live calf program will only be offered at the Sioux Center, Iowa facility in 2012.  Situated on the plains of western Iowa, calves have little to no natural wind blocks to protect them from the elements.  To lower the incidence of frozen ears, provide additional calf comfort and offer employees a more comfortable work environment, Trans Ova Genetics is transitioning to new calf barns for the live calf program.

Four new barns were custom designed to fit Trans Ova Genetics’ needs.  They measure 128 feet long by 32 feet wide with 60 individual pens per barn.  Sand bedding is placed over 3 inches of pea gravel and 9 inches of red gravel.  Between calves, the top 2 inches of sand will be removed, a layer of lime applied and 2 inches of new sand added.  Deep straw bedding is placed on top to allow for nesting.

A gap between the pens and the sidewall allows for ventilation at the calf level without worry of an outside draft negatively affecting calves.  A vent in the ridge of the barn allows for an air exit and tube ventilation keeps wind velocity between 60 and 80 anemometers at the calf level to promote good respiratory health.  An electrical outlet can be accessed from each pen to hang heat lamps if necessary.

“Multiply Success”

Although the science is complicated, the vision of Trans Ova Genetics is rather simple:  “Multiply Success.”  Five values guide Trans Ova Genetics’ business and team member actions:  customer satisfaction, integrity, excellence, teamwork and balance.  From attention to detail to state-of-the-art facilities, the innovative company has a policy of continual improvement as employees work toward the mission “to become the global leader in the application of innovative genetic and reproductive technology.”

In this edition of Starting Strong A Day in the Life of a Calf Raiser, Cathy Speirs of Shiloh Dairy LLC gives an insider's tour of Shiloh's maternity facility and walks us through newborn protocols. She also shares how her management practices change with cold weather.

Long, cold winters are hard on everyone and it is always a constant struggle to keep vital areas of your dairy operation warm. One of these important pieces is baby calves. Many people rely on heat lamps to keep newborn calves from catching a chill once they are born. But, are heat lamps really a calf’s best friend?

The Good

“The most common time to use a heat lamp is immediately after the calf is born,” says Dr. Steve Hayes of Day 1 Technology. “The calf is still wet, but we want to pull the calf away from the cow without it getting chilled.”

The calf is often placed in a warming area or in a warming box with a heat lamp to keep it warm and facilitate drying during cold months. By providing this warm environment, we can pull the calf away from the cow quicker, reducing exposure to manure in the maternity pen.  It can also prevent the calf from getting hypothermia.

The Bad and Ugly

While heat lamps serve a purpose on many Midwestern dairies, it is important to remember a few important tips when using them.

“Because heat dissipates quickly, it is important to have the heat lamp close - but not too close - to the calf to be most effective,” recommends Hayes. “Having the heat lamp too close can burn the calf.”

Flammable materials, including dry bedding, should be kept away from the heat lamp to prevent fires. Hanging a heat lamp can be tricky, so use something stable. A piece of twine or wire is not the best method to hang a heat lamp.

Another problem with using a heat lamp or a warming box is bacteria growth. This is often overlooked as the first goal is removing the calf from the bacteria in the calving pen as soon as possible.

“It is essentially summer in those types of environments,” Hayes says. “Even if the calf is in there for a short period of time, there are bacteria there all the time.”

That is why cleaning out these areas where heat lamps are on a regular basis is very important to using heat lamps successfully. The exposure to the large number of bacteria right after birth is dangerous to the calf’s health.

Getting By

“There are a lot of people in cold climates that get by without using heat lamps,” Hayes says.

Many alternative methods are available to keep calves warm, offers Hayes. To dry a calf, rub it vigorously with a towel after birth.  Having adequate bedding, especially long-stemmed straw, provides insulation for the calf and allows the calf to nest in a hutch or pen.

Using heat lamps can be effective when raising calves during this winter season, but be sure to use them safely and investigate alternatives. Of course, keeping the calf healthy is the most important consideration.

Failure of passive transfer is one of the biggest factors affecting calf health and mortality. Not only is it important to make sure your calves are getting colostrum in a timely manner, but it is also important that the colostrum you are feeding is of the highest quality. How do you evaluate colostrum quality? Several great devices are available to make sure the colostrum you are feeding your calves is getting them off to the right start.

Colostrometer

Currently, only about 13 percent of U.S. farms perform any type of colostrum quality evaluation with the colostrometer being the most commonly used type of evaluation.

A colostrometer is a glass hygrometer that is placed in a sample of colostrum at room temperature. The instrument measures the specific gravity or density of the colostrum. A dense colostrum sample will have a higher concentration of important immunoglobulins. Depending on the density, the colostrometer will either sink or float. The tube is color-coded, so you can easily see whether the colostrum is good (green) or not-so-good (red). 

However, colostrometers can be inaccurate if the temperature of the colostrum is not at room temperature. If the colostrum is warmer than room temperature, there can be false negative readings and a lot of high-quality colostrum can be discarded.

The popularity of colostrometers is fairly high because they are easy to use and inexpensive. But, colostrometers are incredibly fragile and break easily when used on-farm. That, coupled with the temperature sensitivity problem, makes colostrometers less than ideal for on-farm evaluation.

Brix Refractometer

A newer product to the market is the Brix refractometer. Unlike the colostrometer, the Brix refractometer is not temperature sensitive. It measures the total solids content in colostrum, which is directly correlated to the amount of IgGs present.

“A Brix measurement of at least 22 percent solids best predicts high-quality colostrum,” says Sandra Godden, a professor with the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Recent research has shown that although Brix refractometers are not perfect, they offer improved accuracy over previous colostrum evaluation techniques. Refractometers can be as cheap as $50 and top-of-the-line digital models can cost more than $150.

Clean Matters

While these devices are valuable estimating colostrum quality, it is still important to properly harvest and store colostrum, otherwise quality colostrum can be compromised.

“Clean matters,” says Godden. “Dirty, contaminated equipment is one important source of colostrum contamination.” 

A second contamination source is bacterial growth during storage.

Properly cleaning and disinfecting the teats and milk equipment during the milking process and transferring colostrum into clean containers are two of the easiest ways to keep colostrum clean. Stored colostrum should either be frozen or refrigerated immediately and used up over a couple days post-collection.

By Ann Hoskins, Vita Plus calf products coordinator

I recently had a very interesting discussion with a producer’s calf, and she asked if she could share her “Dear Santa” letter with me. Brought to you right from Cali the Calf:

Dear Santa,

Santa, I have been very good this year.  I drink my milk and water, eat lots of grain and I even try to keep my hutch clean.  Seeing as how I have been such a good calf, I have a Christmas wish list for you.

• Can you please bring us an easy winter? I know we’ll have snow and I know we’ll have cold days, but maybe there just don’t need to be as many as last year. For those days when it does snow, how about a new shovel?
• I would like my home to be filled with lots of straw so I can nestle in and keep warm on the cold days that will inevitably come.
• A new calf jacket would be supreme. It really does break the wind, keep the snow off my back and protect me from Mother Nature.
• I would like my pail filled with extra calories as I need them to keep growing big and strong and be healthy to get through the winter. (Santa, feel free to talk to my nutritionist as they can give you some tips to help you fill my pail.)
• I would like my meals to be the same every day. I know it sounds very boring, but I lead a simple life. I like to eat and I like to rest. So it would be great if you could guide my caretakers in a scheduled routine. I would like my milk, grain and water to arrive the same time every day and be exactly like it was the feeding before.
• A shiny new thermometer and scale in the mixing room would help create consistency in mixing and feeding temperatures.
• I would like warm water in my pail as cold water just isn’t very good when it is so cold out. It takes a lot more energy to drink cold water versus warm water. Please keep it coming twice a day.
• How about some new pails, bottles and nipples under the Christmas tree? You see, mine are getting a little scratched and they just don’t seem to be as clean as what I like. With that, include a brand new set of brushes to clean my eating utensils.
• For my caretakers, I’d like new jackets, insulated bibs, stocking hats, gloves and a good boots. If they are all bundled up for winter, it sure will make taking care of me much easier.
• I could use a scale. (Yes, a scale.) I would like to know just how much I am growing and if I am keeping up with my counterparts and neighbors.

And finally, Santa, I hope you bring all my friends, neighbors, caretakers, suppliers, and all those who help me grow into a great cow a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season.

With Love,

Cali

Every once in a while, it’s beneficial to leave the farm and take in the big picture of the dairy industry.  More than 400 producers, industry partners and Vita Plus employee owners did just that at the recent Vita Plus Dairy Summit 2011.  

During his kick-off presentation, Al Gunderson, Vita Plus vice president of sales and marketing, challenged dairy producers to take advantage of new opportunities to learn how global events and economies can impact their everyday decisions on the farm.

Click here to read more about Gunderson's presentation.

We track growth when we’re looking at calf performance, but it sometimes slips our mind when it comes to the simple things. 

Remember, calves grow quickly and the calf jackets and collars (for autofeeders, tethering, etc.) they received on day 1 might not fit as nicely a couple of weeks later.  Once a week, make it a point to look closely at calf jackets and collars and make sure they aren’t too snug.  If they are, take the time to adjust them to keep those calves comfortable.