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Early nutrition and hydration key to preventing calf stress, vet says

A veterinarian says farmers need to take some simple steps to prevent calf stress.

Dr. Tom Earlywine with Purina Land ‘O Lakes tells Brownfield calves, especially those born on dairy farms go through a lot of stress early in life. “They’re oftentimes sold day one and transported to a calf nursery, and then from the calf nursery, maybe transported again to a calf grower or a beef-on-dairy grower, and then either to another grower or onto the feed lot. All of those transits are a bit stress on the animal.”

Earlywine says 35% of these calves have health issues prior to weaning. “Whether it’s scours, whether it’s a respiratory issue, a naval infection, an ear infection, just like sick kids in a daycare.”

Earlywine says the key is to provide enough hydration and nutrition to young calves and keep them on their regular feeding schedule, and if possible, don’t rush to ween them. “You think about the beef-on-dairy animals as an example. When you compare it to the native beef animal, where that beef genetics comes from, those animals are being weened at six to eight months of age and we’re weening them at two months of age, maybe younger, even.”

Earlywine says stress can cause additional inflammation in the calf’s gut and gut permeability issues where bacteria leaks out of the gut into other parts of the body.  He says many calves they’ve researched were dehydrated when they arrived and gained early eight pounds per day for a few days until they recovered.