Menu

Know How / Dairy / Youngstock management

Youngstock management is a crucial part of dairy herd profitability with replacement heifers key to the future milking herd and dairy-bred beef a vital source of income. Read advice on newborn calf care, disease prevention, genetics, growth rates, replacement heifer policy and first-time breeding protocols.

Must reads

Case studies

See all

WHATS IN YOUR LIVESTOCK SHED

What’s in Your Livestock Shed? visits a converted calf shed

Historically, a high incidence of pneumonia had impacted calf health at The Brook, Tybroughton, near Whitchurch, Shropshire, and there were consequences for performance when animals joined the milking herd. In…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Beetle-friendly parasite policy saves £8 a cow

An environmentally conscious dairy farmer has cut youngstock treatments by 70% thanks to a pioneering multi-pronged approach to parasite management including dung beetles. Spring block-calver Bruce Thompson at Camcloon Dairy,…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Why vaccination is not a silver bullet for calf pneumonia

Calf pneumonia prevention relies on high standards of housing, nutrition and husbandry. Lara Robinson-Fletcher of Daleside Veterinary Group offers her expert advice. See also: How to make routine dairy tasks easier…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Feeding transition milk to calves cuts mortality by 68%

Feeding transition milk to newborn calves in their first 10 days and enriching it according to their immunoglobulin G status have helped a Pembrokeshire dairy farm slash pre-weaning mortality rates…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Cornish chemist-turned-farmer crowned Calf Rearer of the Year

Cornish farmer Andrea Semmens has been crowned Calf Rearer of the Year at the inaugural award presentation at this year’s National Youngstock Conference in Devon. The award, sponsored by Wynnstay,…

CALVING

Why portable milkers can ease stress at calving

Using a portable milking machine in the calving pen is the easiest and fastest way to harvest a cow’s first colostrum and avoid having to move a newly calved cow.…

Practical advice

See all

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Tips on teat cleaning – for calf feeding equipment

Feeding milk to calves through a teat meets the calf’s biological need to suckle, but excellent standards of hygiene are needed to avoid digestive upsets and disease spread. Daily cleaning,…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Advice on how to avoid heat stress in calves

Although heat stress is more common in adult cows, calves can suffer in a hot summer too. Following a few simple rules will help protect health and performance. Calves have…

LIVESTOCK

Tips on using and cleaning a milk pasteuriser correctly

Pasteurising whole milk for calves kills major pathogens while protecting useful antibodies – but it is not a remedy for unhygienic practices. Keeping the machine clean inside and out, and…

DAIRY

7 ways to prevent colostrum contamination

Colostrum cleanliness should be given as much attention as immunoglobulin levels if farmers are to optimise calf health and performance. This is according to vets in a Glasgow University Veterinary…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Why it is important to calibrate a Brix refractometer

Cleaning and calibrating a Brix refractometer every time it is used will ensure that colostrum quality is measured accurately and consistently. This will confirm whether the farm’s colostrum protocol is…

LIVESTOCK

5 early-life heifer nutrition tips to drive milk production

Following basic principles of good colostrum management and feeding elevated levels of milk could pay dividends for herd performance. Dairy heifers fed the correct amount of good-quality colostrum at the…

Insights

LIVESTOCK

Why a congenital defect could cause calf losses

Ask a dairy or beef farmer if they have ever had a calf born with atresia, a condition commonly known as “waterbelly”, and the chances are they will say no.…

LIVESTOCK

Benefits of giving dairy calves toys on farm

Giving dairy calves plastic “toys” to play with helps them express their natural behaviour which, in turn, benefits their mental wellbeing. As a result, they are less likely to display…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

How a ‘big squeeze’ could help dummy calves to suck

Neonatal maladjustment syndrome in calves – also known as “dummy calf” syndrome – can be a challenge for dairy farmers to manage, often requiring extra labour to tube-feed youngstock. Typically,…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Lack of heifer weight data costs US dairies

Timing first service in a maiden heifer to when she has reached a given percentage of mature bodyweight (not just her age) is essential to maximise genetic potential and future…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Trial compares performance of whey protein v whey powder

Using a whey protein-based milk replacer, over a whey powder-based alternative, could increase saleable milk yields by almost £500 a heifer. This is according to research presented by Volac’s global…

FEED AND NUTRITION

Excess copper found to impair liver function in heifers

Feeding excess copper to dairy heifer calves can compromise liver function, leading to poorer fertility and lower milk yields in first lactation. This is according to AHDB-funded research at Harper…

DAIRY

How early life calf nutrition affects long-term metabolism

Researchers are discovering more about early life programming and how critical this is for adulthood, according to Trouw Nutrition’s Dr Leonel Leal. This starts with colostrum, but also includes feeding…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

4 ways to improve on 60-day calf mortality rate

Healthy calves can achieve growth rates of 1,080g/day, but just one day of diarrhoea reduces this by 80g. A calf with respiratory disease will lose 180g/day off its growth rate…

LIVESTOCK

Consumers' views could influence end of cow-calf separation

Cow-calf separation is “contentious” and a growing concern for consumers around the world. And while they do not understand what dairy farmers do, they will step in and regulate because…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Calf monitoring and health plans key to future performance

Some 90% of farmers want to make changes to improve the future sustainability of their youngstock management in the next 12 months, according to a Farmers Weekly exclusive survey. Yet…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Coccidiosis project raises hope for new treatment

Coccidiosis is a perennial parasitic problem in growing lambs. It presents some difficulties in diagnosis, treatment and prevention – but good news could be around the corner.  Lambs and calves…

LIVESTOCK

Calf bottles and tube feeders on test

It is unsurprising many farmers are switching from bottles to buckets with teats for feeding milk to older calves. Our test, carried out over a four-month period at my family…