Beef Management: rearing calves, turnout and vaccinations

Adam Woods takes a look at some of the detail around rearing dairy calves, a smooth turnout and keeping vaccinations up to date.

Adam Woods

5 March 2025

Beef Management: rearing calves, turnout and vaccinations

Cows should receive their annual booster at least two weeks prior to the onset of breeding for both BVD and lepto. \ Odhran Ducie

Buying in dairy calves: With a lot of dairy calves moving from farm to farm, and mart to farm, over the next few weeks, it’s important that these calves get a really good start. Reducing stress levels is key to this. Before purchase, take a good look at calves, look for bright eyes, no signs of scours and check for navel infections. If buying calves in a mart, aim to get the calves home as quickly as possible. Standing around a mart all day and then going on a long journey isn’t ideal from a health point of view. Make sure that calves are transported in a clean trailer with loads of straw.

Before purchase, take a good look at calves, look for bright eyes, no signs of scours and check for navel infections. If buying calves in a mart, aim to get the calves home as quickly as possible. Standing around a mart all day and then going on a long journey isn’t ideal from a health point of view. Make sure that calves are transported in a clean trailer with loads of straw.

Ideally, talk to the dairy farmer who is selling the calves to find out about the management practices and vaccinations on the dairy farm. On arrival, calves should receive a light feed, don’t overdo the milk replacer in the first few feeds, some farmers will feed electrolytes in the first feed.

Talk to your vet about a vaccination programme. Intranasal vaccines will work quicker and provide the calf with cover against most of the pneumonia strains.

Don’t skimp on straw and make sure the calf has a dry warm place to lie. Heat is important for young calves. Big open sheds aren’t the best for calf rearing. Some farmers will construct a sheltered area at the back of pens with sheets of plywood to create a micro climate.

Know the signs of a sick calf. Calves should get up and stretch and appear hungry for food. A calf’s temperature should be 37-38°C. Avoid dehorning until the calf is settled in and use anaesthetic and a painkiller when carrying out this task.

There is a huge interest in rearing calves again this spring with many farmers who reared calves last year getting on very well with sales of 12-month-old cattle at the moment.

Vaccinations: Cows should receive their annual booster at least two weeks prior to the onset of breeding for both BVD and lepto. For bought-in animals or maiden heifers that require both courses of a two-shot programme, the primary shot should be administered about six weeks prior to breeding, with the booster administered two weeks prior to the start of breeding. It’s important that the bull receives his booster shot also, and that bought-in bulls are given an initial shot and the booster shot. Vaccinations should be timed with other management tasks to avoid unnecessary handling of animals.

Turnout: Cattle continue to be turned out with a dry week helping ground conditions in many parts of the country. Herd closely for the first few days at grass. It can be a big change to adapt going from a warm shed to a big open field. Watch cows and calves especially closely and make sure calves are getting up and stretching and that they are following their mothers. Check drinkers in fields that they are full, clean and working properly. Tetany control measures should also be in place for the high-risk unsettled weather period that will more than likely come before spring is over. Make sure you have provisions made if cows and calves have to come back into the shed at some stage and that includes having enough fodder for a rough spell of weather.