Play Behaviour In Dairy Calves
Speaking at the Boehringer Animal Well-Being conference held in Barcelona, Margit Bak Jensen from the University of Aarhus, Denmark looks at play behaviour as an indicator of welfare in dairy calves. Charlotte Johnston, TheCattleSite junior editor reports....

The Effect of Transport On Weanling Heifers
In the present study, the inflammatory, adrenocortical, metabolic and behavioural responses of weanling animals to transport were studied in 40 transported and 20 control heifers. The results of the study showed that transportation of weanling animals...

Veal Calves In The Netherlands
Veal is produced in the Netherlands according to stringent regulations. In 2008 the existing IKB quality scheme for veal calves was updated. IKB stands for Integrale Keten Beheersing – total surveillance of animal production. There are two separate schemes...

Microbial Risks In Feeding Colostrum To Calves
Microbial contamination of colostrum can contribute to calfhood disease and can interfere with passive absorption of colostral antibodies, producers should adopt management strategies to reduce bacterial counts in colostrum fed to calves. S Godden from...

Effects Of Heat Stress On Dairy Calves
The objectives of this study by D. M. Meyer, M. J. Brouk, and L. C. Hollis were to investigate the possible effects of heat stress on calf growth and the development of active immunity.

Welfare Issues Associated With Calving
Speaking at the recent British Cattle Veterinary Association conference John Fishwick from the Royal Veterinary College discusses welfare issues associated with calving and how the veterinarian can help reduce potential problems. Charlotte Johnston TheCattleSite...

Cold Stress And Newborn Calves
Calf survival in northern climates can be a challenge, according to Lanette Butler Extension Educator, Russ Daly Extension Veterinarian, and Cody Wright Extension Beef Specialist.

Calves And The Cold
Frost bite, freezing to death and hypothermia are common causes of death of young animals from the cold. Dr W Dee Whittier, Extension Veterinarian at Virginia Tech looks at how, with appropriate management, these losses can be avoided.

Dehorning Of Calves
Neil Anderson, a lead veterinarian with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture looks at the benefits and practice of disbudding and dehorning of calves.

Reducing Calf Mortality
Two factors are key to determining a calf's health and survival during the first weeks of life - its immune system and its gut microflora, according to Andrieu Sylvie.

Scours In Fall-Born Calves
Wet weather can cause calf scours to become a problem in fall-born calves, according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

Contract Rearing Replacement Heifers
Rearing heifers off-farm will free up time and labour allowing farmers to focus on dairying at home, however there is a risk of diseases. For rearers it allows extra income and a challenging new enterprise.

Freshening The First Calf Heifer: Opportunities And Challenges
The first-calf heifer must successfully adapt to numerous physiological and behavioral changes at calving. Strategies that reduce stress prior to calving should optimize the chance for success, says Noah Litherland, Dairy Nutritionist, University of Minnesota,...

GPS the Pneumonia Problems in Your Dairy Calf Enterprise
Some farmers use a tractor-mounted Global Positioning System (GPS) – a constellation of earth-orbiting satellites – to help determine how much fertilizer and herbicide to apply in a specific location in a field when combined with other information such...

Creep Feeding Calves
Creep feeding is the practice of providing supplemental feed to calves before weaning, says the Government of Alberta, Agriculture and Rural Development.