Gut Health Key For Dairy Success

Dairy calves are an investment in the long-term success of an operation; that's why the industry spends so much money each year researching genetics and nutrition. But one area that is often overlooked by producers is gut health.

"When we talk about gut health, especially in the calf space, what I like to talk about and really have our producers understand is the fact that when we are raising that very young animal, we are essentially determining how that gut is going to function for the rest of that animal's life," said Olivia Genther-Schroeder, Senior Technical Innovation Manager for Dairy and CMR and Purina Animal Nutrition. "So the gut is a huge portion of the immune system. It's a barrier. And so we're developing all of that structure and really what the microbiome is going to look like for the rest of their life."

Be Consistent

Genther-Schroeder stressed compared to older animals, the bodies, the gut, of calves can be molded and shaped much easier, and it's important producers use those early formative months to their advantage. But, what are those building blocks to make sure those calves have the best gut health when fully grown?

Genther-Schroeder said it's critical to practice consistent management.

"Like I mentioned, calves do not like change and so anything that we do that changes their day-to-day might set them off a little bit," she said. "We want to pair that with really good quality nutrition. Remember, we are building the microbiome so if we give them great quality colostrum, probiotics that make sense for calves, good quality nutrition, all of those things are going to start building the microbiome. But the other things that might influence it are also whatever's on the maternity barn floor or dirty feeding equipment. And so we want to make sure that we're sanitizing what we're doing to make sure that we're building the microbiome the way that we want because again we have that opportunity to change it now that we will not later."

Gut Health Helps Determine Productivity

Genther-Schroeder added the way these calves are raised early on will determine how productive they are in the long run, whether for dairy or beef-on-dairy.

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