Welcome to The Dairy Mail

by Izak Hofmeyr

No, says Cobus Behrens of Waterbron Jerseys in Ventersburg in the Free State, the title is incorrect. There is no secret to successful calf-rearing. It is simply about good management and an effective immunisation programme.

“This may sound arrogant, but we don’t lose calves, so to ask me what our mortality rate is, is difficult to answer. If a calf dies, it is due to accident or injury.”

The success of a calf-rearing programme, he says, begins with a good dry cow programme. He believes in well cared-for dry cows and the correct immunisation programme.

“If you do lose a calf, go to the trouble of finding out what caused its death. The vet must perform a post mortem and it is imperative that you get an answer to the cause of death to avoid being caught unawares the next time around.”

Start with the mother
Cobus’s immunisation programme for dry cows comprises the following ingredients: Pfizer’s Scourguard against E. coli; Pfizer’s Cattlemaster against BVD; Onderstepoort’s Leokopast3 against Pasteurella; vitamin A to prevent retained afterbirth, and Multimin with chromium for trace elements.

“About 60 days before calving, when the cows are dried off, they are given rations of only hay and water. During this week they are immunised with all the vaccines. Once they are dry, which can take a week or ten days, they go out to pasture with the other dry cows, with a dry cow lick, until it is time for them to be closed up, about four weeks before calving.

At that stage they are again immunised according to the full programme as well as vitamin A and Multimin. In the closing-up process they are given a dry cow ration until they calve.”

First steps
“The calf is taken away from its mother within four hours of birth, and receives a dose of vitamin A. It immediately receives two litres of colostrum from its mother. After this she receives more colostrum until she has ingested at least five litres, which is usually after about three feeds. Good colostrum is important for the new calf, as it gets all its antibodies from this. In the winter we use a calf blanket to counter temperature fluctuations.”

For the first four weeks of the calf’s life she lives in an individual pen inside the calf housing, where she receives calf starter meal from Meadow and water ad lib. Together with this, it receives milk twice a day – 1,5 litres at a time at the same temperature – mixed with Acidpack 4-Way from Alltech.

“Because cows calve every day, we have enough colostrum for all our calves for the first six weeks. We do not use milk substitutes.

“The calves are weaned and dewormed at age six weeks and then moved outside for the first time, still in individual pens. The pens are moved around, depending on the season, following the sun in the winter and the shade in summer.

“They remain there until the age of 8-10 weeks. Here they receive calf growth meal and clean water, but now good hay is added to their diet for the first time. At this time they are also immunised against brucellosis with RB51 from Intervet Schering-Plough.

At ten weeks they are placed in groups of 25 in larger pens on a ration of calf starter pellets, hay and water. At six months they are immunised for the first time with Pfizer’s BVD-vaccine, Bovi-Shield FP 4 + L5.

Calf immunisation programme
It all really revolves around the correct immunisation programme, coupled with good management. The immunisation programme is as follows:

· Vitamin A injection at birth.
· Brucellosis (RB51) at six weeks.
· From four months they start with anthrax, blackquarter, botulism and three-day stiffsickness, about two weeks apart.
· BVD vaccine at six months.
· A repeat of anthrax, blackquarter, botulism and three-day stiffsickness inoculations at 12 months.
· Every six weeks they are also treated against external parasites.
· Just before AI the heifers are again immunised against BVD, which is then repeated annually.