Focus On Calf Health, Warmth During Winter Months

Calves are the future generations of any beef or dairy operation.  Dr. Bethany Dado-Senn, a dairy calf and heifer technical specialist for Vita Plus, said it’s always more of a challenge caring for calves during the winter months.

"So, what we want to do in the winter is add as much energy-in as we possibly can and reduce the energy that's coming back out, and there are lots of different ways to do this," she said.  "I like to talk about energy out first, because this tends to be a little more economical, right? We don't have to put our dollars and cents into putting more energy in. We can just reduce the amount that she's sending back out. So, this looks like really practical things, like making sure that she has ample dry bedding. I tend to recommend straw bedding for that, because it's the most insulative. We recommend a nesting score of three with that. So, especially for newborns, that means that they're sitting inside that straw, and you can't see their feet and legs.”

Don't Forget A Jacket

Calf jackets are a good option for keeping the little ones as warm as possible.

“You probably hear a lot about calf jackets this time of year as well," Dado-Senn said.  "Really, any of the jackets out on the market are doing a pretty great job of insulating that calf and, again, reducing that energy that's going out.”

Air Quality Also Key For Calves

And she said proper ventilation is another thing to consider.

“If you are housing in a calf barn, it's really tempting to just close that barn up tight, right, to reduce that energy out," Dado-Senn noted.  "But we also have to balance that with air quality. We want to target about four to six air changes per hour in our calf barns this time of year to make sure that we're not generating a lot of ammonia or moisture that leads to respiratory disease. So, it's kind of a balancing act of making sure our curtains are working properly and that we're using something like positive pressure to ventilation in order to reduce the drafts but still keep fresh air in.”

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