Rhos y Madoc, Ruabon
Focus Site Project: Preventative Measures to Improve Calf Health
Project aims:
- This project will focus on disease prevention in calves and youngstock, looking at best practice and management tools to reduce respiratory diseases.
- The project will aim to identify early signs of respiratory disease in young calves, enabling the farmer to prevent the case developing into a potentially life-threatening disease.
- The current calf rearing process and housing will be analysed and a plan designed to increase calf health and production. Plans to expand and build a new calf rearing unit will be designed with consideration for water, drainage, draught and wind control for healthy, efficient calf-rearing facilities.
- Fever tags will be used as a management tool to reduce disease. All newborn female calves will be tagged with a fever tag, which record an animal’s temperature every 15 minutes. Any increase in temperature will trigger an alarm, enabling early identification and intervention of a health challenge.
- Calves will be weighed every month to compare how an improvement in environment and management can affect growth and performance.