Calf Rearing Advice
Choosing Calf Feed
Great taste
Early feed intake is the key to good rumen development. Premium calf feeds are formulated to high nutritional standards, however if calves don’t like the taste, feed quality is irrelevant. Calf feed should smell fresh and taste great. To ensure calves continue eating, it is recommended staying with the same brand, making the transition from starter to post-weaning feed as smooth as possible.
Protein
High quality proteins are essential for calf growth, like: soya bean, cottonseed, sunflower and canola meals. These help build muscle tissue and are essential for many body processes. Low quality calf feeds may add urea to improve the protein percentage, however urea is not a ‘true’ protein as it does not provide amino acids which are building blocks for calf growth.
Fillers
Calves only eat a small amount of meal, especially when young, so it is important to provide the best ingredients. Low quality calf feeds sometimes include ‘fillers’ such as palm kernel, bakery and confectionary waste, which are high in either fibre or sugar. Fibre is important for rumen development but should be provided in the form of clean hay or straw.
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are essential for calves. Premium calf feeds are formulated by nutritionists to provide the ideal balance for calf health and development, e.g. calcium and phosphorus levels must be balanced to ensure good calf growth. Other vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin E and selenium, need to be included for immune function, to help fight off disease.
Coccidiostat
A coccidiostat, such as lasalocid (Bovatec) is essential to prevent coccidiosis, and must be included in calf feed at a rate to suit calf size. In order to ensure calves consume the required rates it is essential there is sufficient trough space for all calves to eat at the same time, otherwise some may gorge and therefore overdose, while others don’t get to the trough, and under dose.
Calf 20% Pellets 20kg
A pelleted feed, combining grains, vegetable protein meals and molasses with 20% crude protein and includes the SealesWinslow exclusive NuStart. The protein is sourced from a range of quality vegetable proteins to maximise lean tissue growth.
