Managing the calf on arrival

A large proportion of calf purchases will be made through marts. This can be a strenuous and stressful time for calves.

Even with farm-to-farm movements, the change of environment and upset of the normal daily routine will have an effect on the young calf.

Stress must be kept to a minimum for calves. A stressed calf will have a weakened immune system, which in turn provides the opportunity for disease to set in.

Purchasing calves from multiple sources can also challenge the immune system of the calf as they settle into their new surroundings and get used to their new pen mates. The first 48 hours on farm is the highest risk period.

Electrolytes

Take, for example, calves arriving to your farm from the mart in the late afternoon or evening. The first feed you offer those calves should be electrolytes.

The idea behind this is to rehydrate the calf, replenishing fluids and electrolytes that will have been lost during the movement period.

The following morning, offer milk replacer, followed again that evening with an electrolyte solution. Repeat this for a third day prior to moving to twice-a-day milk from day four onwards.

Thermometer

Having a digital thermometer in your top pocket at all times was the number one tip from John Hally, Thrive programme farmer, from Cashel, Co Tipperary, when talking about his experience of rearing calves.

A calf’s temperature is a quick tell-tale sign if things are not right. While temperature can vary slightly, it should be between 38.5°C and 39.5°C. Anything outside this range should be investigated.

If the calf’s immune system is challenged in any way, its core body temperature will typically increase in an attempt to kill off any infection.

As with all illnesses, early intervention is critical. This is why carrying a thermometer with you at all times can be the difference between success and failure.

Spend time observing calves at various times of the day. Investigate any calf with drooped ears or sunken eyes, calves that are sleepy or lethargic looking and lying away from the rest of the group.

Quarantine

While you may strive to have all your calves home in one go, in reality it may take a couple of weeks to get all calves purchased and brought home.

Where calves are arriving weeks apart, you should try to keep these batches separate for at least a week to 10 days. This will reduce the risk of introducing any disease to calves that you have already settled on-farm.

Keeping the same groups of calves together throughout the rearing period will minimise stress on the calves, as each time they are mixed it causes a re-ranking of the herd demographic.

If calves do have to be rebatched, do it as little as possible and try to put them in the batches they will graze in through the year.