THIS PROMOTIONAL FEATURE WAS PROVIDED BY AGRIVANTAGE
Growing better calves comes down to better nutrition; that’s what dairy farmers Sam and Jo Spencer-Bower learned last season.
Owners of Claxby Estate near Rangiora, the Spencer-Bowers milk 2,000 cows and rear approximately 500 replacements annually. They also rear 300 wagyu calves to 7 days.
Pre-season, AgriVantage’s Cheryl Farrar and (Animal Nutrition Consultant) Natalie Chrystal mapped a new calf rearing protocol for Sam and Jo. Their objective was to grow the replacements well. Challenges included the need to move calves outside at three weeks, due to restricted space in the rearing shed, plus achieving a good weaning weight quickly.
“We found that the calves were quite stressed, especially when transitioning to once a day at three weeks” explains Sam. “About 25 per cent of them would scour. Then, come weaning, they struggled with the transition from meal to rich pasture.”
Natalie explained how developing a calf earlier, through a higher plane of nutrition, was better for growing more resilient calves. And better lifetime production.
The new protocol began with colostrum. If brix testing showed the milk solid content of maternal colostrum to be under 22%, Natalie advised fortifying with Launchpad18. Should colostrum run short, they were to use Launchpad18 as a replacer. Finally, colostrum feeds on day one were increased from two feeds of 2L maternal colostrum to two feeds of 3L.
On the milk feeding front, 2L twice daily was increased to 3L twice daily for the first two weeks. From week three, Natalie recommended fortifying the whole milk with Sprayfo Blue milk replacer—to increase the concentration of milk solids. Five weeks prior to weaning, the calves were transitioned from fortified milk to just Sprayfo Blue milk replacer, the whey-based milk replacer being ideal for enhancing rumen development.
Biopect prebiotic was introduced at the three-week transition period. A proactive solution for using when animals are stressed, Biopect works to optimise bacterial flora in the gut and provide an energy boost, helping to prevent scours.
A new biosecurity protocol was detailed for the shed—using Stalosan F in conjunction with disinfectant spray. Absorbing up to 400% of its weight in moisture and ammonia, Stalosan F is a highly effective solution for improving the rearing environment.
Finally, Sam and Jo were advised to wean their animals at 100kg rather than 85kg, and to continue feeding meal for longer after weaning.
Sam observes that this new rearing protocol was “a game changer.”
“Feeding more milk at the early stages boosted our calves. They were healthier, more resilient and transitioned through the different rearing stages so much more easily” he said.
“Sprayfo Blue seems to have helped with getting the rumen development we were after. We had no issues come weaning, which we put down to the rumen functioning better. And adding Stalosan F made the calf shed noticeably drier.
“All in all, using this protocol, we have grown better calves. At 9 months old (in May 2024), our calves are 50kg ahead of target weight.”
Sam adds that he and Jo had experimented with other milk replacers in the past.
“Sprayfo is much easier to mix, and it stays in suspension. We like the quality and consistency of the product.”
AgriVantage’s Launchpad18 whole colostrum, Sprayfo milk replacers, Biopect prebiotic and Stalosan F biosecurity product are available through Ruralco. Ask in store.