With over 10 years of experience rearing calves, Co Armagh-based Gary Fitzpatrick and John Toland have a defined system in place with a clear focus on calf health and welfare, with the ultimate aim of delivering profit.
The calf rearers were one of three farmers visited last week as part of a series of farm tours organised by the National Beef Association (NBA), ahead of the NBA Beef Expo held at Dungannon Mart earlier this week.
The Fitzpatrick and Toland business has grown steadily in recent years, with a number of units both here and in England. Around 1,000 calves are on-farm at any one time. Since 2012/13, they have supplied Hereford cross calves on contract for Dunbia, but also rear other breeds, including Holstein calves.
Mechanical ventilation is crucial to air flow on the calf rearing unit of Gary Fitzpatrick and John Toland.Mechanical ventilation is crucial to air flow on the calf rearing unit of Gary Fitzpatrick and John Toland.
With calves bought from multiple sources, the risk of disease spread is high. To mitigate the risks, good management is in place across four key areas:
Ventilation in the calf shed: conventional cattle housing often relies on the ‘‘stack effect’’, where warm air from the cattle rises out through a ridge in the roof, and which acts to draw in fresh air from side inlets. However, calves are unable to create enough warm air for this to work. Instead, Gary and John have tried various systems including flaps on the side of the house that can be opened in suitable weather. In the end, their experience has been that a mechanical ventilation system using fans works best. A future development might be to install a heater in a mechanical ventilation system for use when it is very cold.Straw bedding: as well as providing a calf with a place to lie that is free of draughts, Gary and John emphasise that the bed must also be dry at all times. Calves are kept on a deep bed of straw.Vaccination: all calves get Bovipast on arrival, with a second dose three to four weeks later. An IBR vaccination is also given when calves are around six to eight weeks old. Stocking rate in pens: when Gary and John first started rearing calves, they worked with groups of around 25. “We ended up with eight good calves, eight screws and eight that were dead. So we quickly realised the benefit of working with small groups. A calf can deal with the disease challenge from seven other calves, not from 25 other calves,” said Gary. Calves are fed milk using teats and bucket feeders. An automatic calf feeder has been used in the past, and might save on labour, but it increases the risk of disease being spread among the group. The calves are fed a specific ration supplied by Masons Animal Feeds. It is based on a specification from a Spanish company, and came after Gary and John sent calves to Spain in 2008. “The performance of the calves in Spain would have blown you away. We asked for a bespoke ration, and Masons now make it. We know it is working for us,” said Gary.
Absorption of
colostrum antibodies
Conducting a workshop at the Fitzpatrick/Toland calf rearing unit was Ian Stewart from Parklands Veterinary Group. As well as highlighting the importance of vaccinations, ventilation and calf comfort, he urged farmers to make sure that calves are given sufficient colostrum after birth.
A calf should receive 10% of its bodyweight in colostrum within the first six hours of life. He said the ideal scenario (leading to the best absorption of colostrum antibodies) was that the calf was born in a field (low disease challenge) and received the colostrum by sucking the cow directly.
The next best scenario is from a bottle and a teat, followed by using a bucket and your finger to get the calf to suck. “The least favoured option is the stomach tube. It is not natural, and the calf will not absorb antibodies from the colostrum as well as it does from sucking. Sometimes you have no other option, but I would rather be using the stomach tube to top up a calf after it has sucked the cow,” advised Ian.
Read more
Simplifying the calf-rearing system
Calf rearing – do you have what it takes?
With over 10 years of experience rearing calves, Co Armagh-based Gary Fitzpatrick and John Toland have a defined system in place with a clear focus on calf health and welfare, with the ultimate aim of delivering profit.
The calf rearers were one of three farmers visited last week as part of a series of farm tours organised by the National Beef Association (NBA), ahead of the NBA Beef Expo held at Dungannon Mart earlier this week.
The Fitzpatrick and Toland business has grown steadily in recent years, with a number of units both here and in England. Around 1,000 calves are on-farm at any one time. Since 2012/13, they have supplied Hereford cross calves on contract for Dunbia, but also rear other breeds, including Holstein calves.
Mechanical ventilation is crucial to air flow on the calf rearing unit of Gary Fitzpatrick and John Toland.Mechanical ventilation is crucial to air flow on the calf rearing unit of Gary Fitzpatrick and John Toland.
With calves bought from multiple sources, the risk of disease spread is high. To mitigate the risks, good management is in place across four key areas:
Ventilation in the calf shed: conventional cattle housing often relies on the ‘‘stack effect’’, where warm air from the cattle rises out through a ridge in the roof, and which acts to draw in fresh air from side inlets. However, calves are unable to create enough warm air for this to work. Instead, Gary and John have tried various systems including flaps on the side of the house that can be opened in suitable weather. In the end, their experience has been that a mechanical ventilation system using fans works best. A future development might be to install a heater in a mechanical ventilation system for use when it is very cold.Straw bedding: as well as providing a calf with a place to lie that is free of draughts, Gary and John emphasise that the bed must also be dry at all times. Calves are kept on a deep bed of straw.Vaccination: all calves get Bovipast on arrival, with a second dose three to four weeks later. An IBR vaccination is also given when calves are around six to eight weeks old. Stocking rate in pens: when Gary and John first started rearing calves, they worked with groups of around 25. “We ended up with eight good calves, eight screws and eight that were dead. So we quickly realised the benefit of working with small groups. A calf can deal with the disease challenge from seven other calves, not from 25 other calves,” said Gary. Calves are fed milk using teats and bucket feeders. An automatic calf feeder has been used in the past, and might save on labour, but it increases the risk of disease being spread among the group. The calves are fed a specific ration supplied by Masons Animal Feeds. It is based on a specification from a Spanish company, and came after Gary and John sent calves to Spain in 2008. “The performance of the calves in Spain would have blown you away. We asked for a bespoke ration, and Masons now make it. We know it is working for us,” said Gary.
Absorption of
colostrum antibodies
Conducting a workshop at the Fitzpatrick/Toland calf rearing unit was Ian Stewart from Parklands Veterinary Group. As well as highlighting the importance of vaccinations, ventilation and calf comfort, he urged farmers to make sure that calves are given sufficient colostrum after birth.
A calf should receive 10% of its bodyweight in colostrum within the first six hours of life. He said the ideal scenario (leading to the best absorption of colostrum antibodies) was that the calf was born in a field (low disease challenge) and received the colostrum by sucking the cow directly.
The next best scenario is from a bottle and a teat, followed by using a bucket and your finger to get the calf to suck. “The least favoured option is the stomach tube. It is not natural, and the calf will not absorb antibodies from the colostrum as well as it does from sucking. Sometimes you have no other option, but I would rather be using the stomach tube to top up a calf after it has sucked the cow,” advised Ian.
Read more
Simplifying the calf-rearing system
Calf rearing – do you have what it takes?
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