Calving season is approaching fast, and the cold winter temperatures can cause a lot of complications this time of year. As such, cattle producers should prepare themselves now in order to avoid making common mistakes during winter calf care. Ben Ekern, Midwest sales manager of Calf-Tel by Hampel, said providing a warm environment should be the first step.
?Some common mistakes for winter calves here include limited energy intake- so increase your energy intakes for wintertime- or not enough bedding,? Ekern said. ?So, increase your bedding to have a nice nesting score of three, so the calves are deeply bedded and stay warm that way. Utilizing calf jackets would be another thing that’s not done in wintertime on some farms as well, too.?
Ekern said calves need energy to stay warm and grow, so that?s why it?s important to provide enough energy for calves.
?Calves need so much energy to stay warm and to grow,? Ekern said. ?The first energy is going to go to keep them themselves alive, just like lactation for cows, energy goes for maintenance before it goes for lactation and milk production. For calves too, if you want that calf to grow and get the gains, you need more energy, more calories to burn. The calories will come from milk and grain for the calves primarily.?
When it comes to bedding, Ekern referred to the ?score of three.?
?When you look at your calves and they’re laying down in their hutch or their pen, make sure that you can’t see their legs very well,? Ekern said. ?I mean make sure that their knees and their hoofs are in the straw, so that way it?s a nesting score of three. If it’s laying on a concrete floor for example it?s a nesting score of one, there’s no insulating properties on that. So, two is somewhat covered and three is a deeper nesting score, so it’s kind of like nestling in a, in a nest.?
Ekern added that, if you?re using calf jackets, it?s important to make sure they?re being used correctly.
?Put it on after the calf is dry, don’t put on a wet calf because that moisture would stay on that calf, so after the calf was dried off,? Ekern said. ?Usually within a number of hours is fine, and then get it on there so it’s loose but not too loose. Adjust the straps, got adjustable straps on the calf jacket as well too. And biggest question might be when to take that jacket off. So, when to take that calf jacket off, one is temperature. So, when you put your hand underneath that calf jacket and it’s sweaty, it’s probably warm enough for the calf and then you can take that calf jacket off on those average days. Age wise, once your intakes are up their energies are going to be high and the calories will be high, so it’s better to take it off. Baby calves, they need that extra installation, keep them growing keep them warm.?
For more information, visit https://calftel.com/.
