Guide to raise healthy cattle calf
Healthy calves are critical to the success and sustainability of dairy farms and small farmers. Healthy calves develop into healthy, productive animals. Around 20-30% of calves die at an early age. 80% of calves die as a result of inappropriate diet and delayed deworming. It is vital to care for a newborn calf in order to promote its growth and immunity.
Steps to take care and raise a healthy calf
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Temperature control:
A calf under one-month-old has a lower critical temperature of 48°F, compared to 32°F for an older calf. When temperatures drop below the critical level, calves need more energy to keep their core temperature stable rather than for growth and their immune system. This results in less energy available for growth and immunity. Calves can try to thermoregulate by adjusting their behavior. For example, when a calf is cold, it may lie down more to reduce the amount of body exposed to the cold.
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Feeding: Colostrum is crucial for calf growth, providing essential nutrients and antibodies to boost their immune system and development.
Colostrum provides essential antibodies, energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals for the calf.
| Age of calf (days) | Milk (kg/day) | Calf Starter (kg/day) |
| 1 to 7 | colostrum |
- |
| 8 to 21 | 5 | handful |
| 22 to 42 | 6 | 0.5 |
| 43 to 56 | 5 | 0.5 |
|
57 to 63 |
4 | 1.0 |
|
64 to 77 |
3 | 1.0 |
|
78 to 84 |
2 | 1.5 |
- Calf Starter: Calves consume a small quantity of dry starter beginning in the 2nd week of life. This essential feed helps in their progression from a milk-based diet to solid feed.
- A calf starter should be highly palatable.
- It should contain high energy (75% TDN) with 14-16% digestible crude protein.
- Urea is not digestible for calves, so it should not be included in their starter.
Composition of Calf Starter
| Ingredients | Parts |
| Maize | 42 |
| GNC | 35 |
| Wheat bran or rice bran | 10 |
| Soyabean meal or almond meal | 10 |
| Mineral mixture | 2 |
| Salt | 1 |
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Deworming: Deworming calves can help them grow by improving their health and reducing the impact of parasites. Deworming is essential because Internal parasites impact the animal's nutrition in three key ways: reducing feed intake, decreasing nutrient absorption, and increasing nutrient requirements.
