Farming Connect recently visited a dairy farm in west Wales focusing on enhancing its calf rearing efficiency.
At Drysgolgoch, Llwyndrain, in north Pembrokeshire, Seimon and Eleanor Thomas have invested heavily in new infrastructure on their 700-acre dairy farm. A new 70-point rotary parlour was installed in the summer of 2015 alongside a purpose-built calf rearing shed capable of housing around 200 calves at a time.
The 730-head pedigree Dairy Shorthorn herd is split into two blocks, with 400 calving in the spring and the rest in the autumn. The cows average 6,000 litres a year at 3.45% protein and 4.5% butterfat on a forage-based diet, with concentrates only fed in the parlour.
All calves are reared on the farm, with the heifers kept for breeding and the bulls sold at market or privately at about three weeks old. This year, the calves are being reared on whole milk, rather than milk replacer.
Eleanor, who is in charge of calf rearing, says: “Having an A and B pricing structure means when the price is low like it is now, it doesn’t make sense to pay for powder.”
Colostrum management is the foundation of the calf rearing system. All colostrum is collected and calves are bottle fed four to five litres within half an hour after birth. They are then transferred to individual pens, where they are given two further feeds of first milk colostrum, before moving on to second or third milking colostrum, mixed with milk from the herd.
“The calves stay in single pens until they are strong drinkers and we know they are fit enough to go into a group,” says Eleanor.
The calves are moved into groups of 10 or 12 of similar age and fed three litres of milk twice a day for three weeks. The second feed is then reduced over a week and for the next five weeks they are fed five or six litres of milk once a day. Calves are weaned at nine to ten weeks, once they have doubled their birthweight and are eating about 1.5kg of cake.
“By weaning we will have reduced the milk down slowly until they’re having lukewarm water with just a dash of milk. This keeps the calves happy and content.”
The infrastructure in the new buildings also enhances calf rearing efficiency. The parlour is fitted with a transfer line which pumps milk directly into holding units in the calf shed. Eleanor then uses a mobile milk tank which can heat, pasteurise and accurately dispense the milk into a multi-teat feeder according to the age and number of calves in the group.
“This system enables us to feed a lot of calves in an economical way” says Eleanor. “We are in such a volatile market at the moment, you have to look at the most cost efficient way of doing things.”
Close monitoring of calves and stringent cleanliness are the key factors in disease management.
Eleanor says: “Keeping things clean is very important in calf rearing. We change the water in the pens every day, ensure the cake is fresh and keep the bedding clean. We make sure that first milk colostrum is harvested and stored in clean containers and also refrigerate or freeze colostrum as required. All the lines and jars are kept clean too, because that’s where any bugs will multiply.
“We don’t have many health issues and don’t vaccinate for anything as we don’t need to at the moment. We keep a close eye on the calves and isolate them if we notice anything like scours. Even though the calves are in groups, you have got to treat them as individuals.”
As well as reducing labour, Eleanor also believes the group rearing system is beneficial for the calves.
“This type of system has worked for us here for over 15 years and I think calves do better in groups like this. They can interact with each other better this way and run around, so it’s a healthier environment for them.”
Heifers enter the milking herd at two years old. Seimon and Eleanor believe giving calves and heifers a good start in life with proper care and feeding will help manage and grow the farm business.