The management of calves in the first weeks of life has a significant impact on their lifetime production, and with replacement heifers, impact their long-term profitability. The average cost of rearing a heifer to 24 months is estimated to be circa €1,553, with a significant percentage of that cost incurred during the start of life/calf-rearing period. However, regardless of spend, the first 6 months of life is crucial as during this short time a calf will reach ~ 25% of its mature weight – highlighting the importance of ensuring optimal nutrition.

Research has shown that calves reach similar weight gains on milk replacer as they do while being fed on whole milk. However, this is on the basis that the milk replacer is formulated, using high quality dairy ingredients and that feeding instructions are followed. Milk replacer labelling can, at times, be confusing, with large differences in specifications and price available on the market. However, it is important to keep several factors in mind when selecting a milk replacer to fit your system and to avoid any confusion.

The first 6 months of life is crucial as during this short time a calf will reach ~ 25% of its mature weight – highlighting the importance of ensuring optimal nutrition.

Protein Sources

Many questions centre around the percentage of protein on the label of a bag of milk replacer, which is important, but more emphasis needs to be placed on the origin of said protein %. As we are trying to replicate the role of whole milk, as much of the protein as possible should be coming from a milk/dairy-based source, relative to vegetable/plant-based sources. In a young calf’s first few weeks of life, dairy sources are much more digestible and result in greater performance. Plant-based or vegetable protein sources are cheaper alternative sources of protein and where inclusions are high, similar levels or performance to whole milk should not be expected in early life. Increased fibre content can often be indicative of plant derivatives being used in milk replacers.

Manufacturing Processes

Another often less considered factor in overall digestibility of a milk replacer is the quality of the raw dairy materials used. Low heat-treated milk powders will have natural immunoglobin content available in the product and have no protein denaturisation, relative to high heat-treated skim or whey. Low heat-treated milk products are often more expensive on the market, but again lead to increased performance/digestibility.

Fat Sources

Fat percentage and sources of fat in milk replacer are also important, as fat is the main source of energy to the calf. Coconut and palm fat are the more common sources, with great digestibility and energy respectively for young calves.

Feeding Rates

The percentage of solids in whole milk is typically 12.5% (approx), hence it is also the most common feeding rate of milk replacer on farm. This is calculated by adding youe % fat, protein and lactose in the bulk tank analysis. Fed at 6L, a calf will be consuming 750g of milk replacer daily, replicating milk solids intake from typical whole milk.

Accelerated feed programmes are often used on farm where higher Average Daily Gain (ADG) is being targeted with replacement heifers – this would include feeding a higher concentration of milk replacer (15% milk solids) or increased volumes. Once-a-day feeding schedules are becoming increasingly popular. However, once a day feeding should only ever be considered once calves are greater than one month old.

Weaning should be gradual and only ever considered once a calf is consuming more than 1.5kg/hd/day in group pen scenarios. At this point, a calf is independently consuming enough dry matter from straw & concentrate to allow for a stress-free weaning period.

For more advice on calf milk replacers, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor here. 

The management of calves in the first few weeks of life has a significant impact on their lifetime production, and with replacement heifers, impact their long-term profitability. The average cost of rearing a heifer to 24 months is estimated to be circa €1,553, with a significant percentage of that cost incurred during the start of life/calf-rearing period. However, relative to spend, the first 6 months of life is crucial: in just 7% of its lifetime, the calf will reach 25% of its mature weight – highlighting the importance of ensuring optimal nutrition.

Research has shown that calves reach similar weight gains on milk replacer as they do while being fed on whole milk. However, this is on the basis that the milk replacer is formulated correctly, using high quality dairy ingredients and that feeding instructions are followed. Milk replacer labelling and composition can, at times, be confusing, with large differences in specifications and price available on the market. However, it is important to keep several factors in mind when selecting a milk replacer to fit your system and to avoid any confusion.

Protein Sources

Many questions center around the percentage of protein on the label of a bag of milk replacer, which is important, but more emphasis needs to be placed on the origin of said protein %. As we are trying to replicate the role of whole milk, as much of the protein as possible should be coming from a milk/dairy-based source, relative to vegetable/plant-based sources. In a young calf’s first few weeks of life, dairy sources are much more digestible and result in greater performance. Plant-based protein sources are cheaper alternative sources of protein and where inclusions are high, similar levels of performance to whole milk should not be expected in early life. Increased fibre content can often be indicative of plant derivatives being used in milk replacers.

Manufacturing Processes

Another less considered factor in overall digestibility of a milk replacer is the quality of the raw dairy materials used. Low heat-treated milk powders will have natural immunoglobin content available in the product and have no protein denaturisation, relative to high heat-treated skim or whey. Low heat-treated milk products are often more expensive on the market, but again lead to increased performance/digestibility.

Fat Sources

Fat percentage and sources of fat in milk replacer are also important, as fat is the main source of energy to the calf. Coconut and palm fat are the more common sources, with great digestibility and energy respectively for young calves.

Feeding Rates

The percentage of solids in whole milk is typically 12.5% (approx), hence it is also the most common feeding rate of milk replacer on the farm. This equates to 125g of powder in 875ml water to make up 1L of feed. Fed at 6L, a calf will be consuming 750g of milk replacer daily.

Accelerated feed programmes are often used on farm where higher Average Daily Gain (ADG) is being targeted with replacement heifers – this would include feeding a higher concentration of milk replacer (5% milk solids) or increased volumes. Once-a-day feeding schedules are becoming increasingly popular. However, once a day feeding should only ever be considered once calves are greater than one month old.

Weaning should be gradual and only ever considered once a calf is consuming more than 1.5kg/hd/day in group pen scenarios. At this point, a calf is independently consuming enough dry matter from straw and concentrate to allow for a stress-free weaning period.

Learn more about our range of Calf Milk Replacers here. 

For more information, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor. 

The first 0-6 months in a calf’s life is crucial. According to Teagasc research, although the first 6 months of life only equates to 8% of that animal’s total life, it is responsible for 25% of its total growth in weight.

Sexual maturity in female replacement calves is also directly linked to weight of the animal rather than age. These two points are critical when we are talking about rearing calves. If calves don’t reach their target weights in the first 15 months of life, studies have shown that in the first lactation they will produce up to 156 litres less than their potential, and therefore longevity within the herd is compromised.

Choosing A Milk Replacer 

Selecting a high-quality milk replacer is vital in achieving these targets. When it comes to feeding milk replacer on farm, the three main benefits include:

1. Cost effectiveness relative to whole milk.
2. Reduced risk of disease transfer within the herd.
3. Consistency in the calf’s diet.

Milk replacer must be derived from and contain a high level of dairy content. Dairy proteins are more easily digestible and available to the calf, compared to plant-based proteins/plant substitutes. Agritech’s Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer Range offers a well-balanced level of highly digestible fat and protein, using carefully selected high quality dairy ingredients. These quality ingredients are further enhanced using advanced techniques such as Low Heat Spray Cooling Technology, meaning the ingredients do not suffer any denaturing during the manufacturing process.

Milk Replacer Feeding Guidelines 

Milk replacer should replicate the role of good quality whole milk, typically offered at 12.5% milk solids (Example: 125 g powder, mixed into 875ml clean warm water to make 1 litre of milk). Therefore, feeding a calf in a twice-a-day system at 6 litres/day would result in offering the calf 750 g of total powder/day.

When mixing, adhere to the milk replacer guidelines using fresh clean warm water and sterile mixing and feeding utensils. The optimal drinking temperature of the calf milk replacer is 39°C. To prepare the milk, dissolve the powder in two-thirds of the amount of water at 55-60°C and add the remaining water at room temperature until the optimum drinking temperature is
reached.

More Information

For more information on preparing for the upcoming calving period, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor or view our calf rearing guide here. 

As we await the arrival of an ever superior generation of calves over the coming months, it is now worthwhile to take a closer look at young calf nutrition when planning ahead for the busy season.

Members of the Agritech team recently attended a Calf Performance Conference at the Blanca Research Facility in Spain which featured presentations from many renowned researchers, including Professor Alex Bach.

According to Agritech’s Sales Director, John Kenny, “From the conference, it became clear to me that at a level, we are significantly restricting the potential of our calves in this country with the level of milk replacer we feed to them. While this is fine for young calves which are destined for beef, it is totally uneconomical to take this approach with dairy female calves.

Feed efficiency runs at the rate of 60% in a young calf compared to just 7% in a pre-calving two year old heifer. I believe that our national dairy herd has much more to gain by taking a closer look at this area going forward.”

Pre-Weaning  

Farmers today are very well informed when it comes to the area of managing and feeding adequate amounts of colostrum to the new born calf in a timely manner. However, the benefits of achieving maximised weight performance from day two to weaning are far less documented in Ireland.

Let’s take an example of the calf’s mammary gland. When a dairy heifer calf is born, its mammary gland constitutes just 1% of its total body weight. If the daily live-weight gain of this calf is inadequate up to weaning, this key organ will most likely remain at this percentage. However, if calf performance is raised up to as near as possible to 1kg per head per day, the cells in this key gland will continuously split and multiply to the extent where the mammary gland will increase to approximately 2% of the calf’s body weight at 9-10 weeks of age.

While the above example highlights the mammary gland, the benefits of accelerated growth pre-weaning are applicable to all of the key organs in the young calf’s body, including heart, lungs, kidneys etc. The long term benefits of achieving a better developed calf at weaning with bigger and stronger organs are proven to deliver significant lifetime benefits through increased daily yields and improved disease immunity. It is also now widely accepted that the effects of increased growth pre-weaning on first lactation alone is circa +300 litres milk yield.

John states that that there is no such thing as compensatory growth with this approach to calf rearing. “Once the cells in each organ stop dividing at in or around the nine or ten week stage, they grow in line with the rest of the animal’s body thereafter. Farmers will only get one chance in a calf’s lifetime to secure this advantage.”

Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer

Agritech work with leaders in calf nutrition to bring a calf milk replacer range which will encourage accelerated growth and performance. Agritech’s Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer Range from Nukamel offers a well-balanced level of highly digestible fat and protein via carefully selected, high quality ingredients. These quality ingredients are further enhanced through the use of advanced techniques and technology such as Emulsizym and Spray Cooling Technology. 

Tried and tested by Teagasc at Grange Research Institute, Vitalac Milk Replacers for calves showed increases in live weight gain and concentrate intakes of 8% and 10% over other leading brands on the market. Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer is highly soluble and suitable for both bucket and/or automatic feeding systems.

For more information on the Vitalac Calf Milk Replacer Range and calf rearing, contact your local distributor or click here.