Dr. Bob James presented this material in a DAIReXNET webinar on April 21, 2015. Please visit http://www.extension.org/pages/15830/archived-dairy-cattle-webinars for more information on the webinar.

1. Meeting Heifer Nutrition Goals

2. Goals of replacement program
• Optimum net profit
– Rearing cost
– Lifetime performance
• Interrelationship of:
– Feed resources
– Facilities
– Labor and management

3. Key Focus Areas
• Prepartum nutrition
• Colostrum management
• Preweaning nutrition
• Weaning management
• Post weaning
• Transition management

4. Prepartum nutrition
• Good body condition
• Attention to details
– Qualitative nutrition –
vitamins and trace
minerals
– Rumen health –
• Bulky diets - >40% NDF
• Free of molds
– Good DMI
• Goal: Production of
quality colostrum and
easy calving!

5. Colostrum management
• Quality
– >50 g IgG/liter
– < 100,000 cfu/ml
• Quantity
– >150g IgG
– 4 liters
• Quick – < 6 hours

6. Clean is important!
Colostrum and Environment
6
Excessive early intake of bacteria - particularly coliforms – from colostrum or dirty calving
environment reduces IgG absorption in the small intestine.

7. Impact of colostrum on growth
Variable Conventional Intensive
Poor Good Poor Good
Number of
calves
21 20 17 25
Mean serum
IgG – mg/ml
558 1793 609 2036
Average daily
gain – lb/day
1.17 1.09 1.39 1.63
Poor/good = Indicator of colostrum status; Cut point = 1,000 mg/dl serum
Conventional = 1.25 lb. 22:20 CMR/day ; Intensive = 1.75 – 2.5 lb 28:20 CMR
Osorio and Drackley, 2010

8. Other benefits of colostrum?
• Improved glucose absorption
• Improved growth of intestinal villi
• Absorption of immune cells from fresh and
calf’s maternal colostrum
– ++++ Immune response in later life.

9. Preweaning nutrition
and feeding management
• Feed calves to meet their nutrient
requirements for maintenance and gain
• Calves behavior and diet differ greatly during
the 1st weeks of life.

10. Are maintenance requirements the
same?
10

11. Critical temperatures for calves
42oF (> 21 d)
59oF (< 21 d)
42 °F (> 21 d)
82 °F
Thermoneutral zone
(energy use
at minimum)Lower CT Upper CT
Increased energy needed to stay
warm
Increased energy needed
to cool off
Effective environmental temperatures where
animals must expend energy to maintain body
temperature
2001 Dairy NRC
M. E. VanAmburgh slide

12. Energy allowable gain
whole milk vs. 20:20 CMR
Week 1
Calf Whole milk 20:20 Milk Replacer
68oF 32oF 68oF 32o F
80lb. calf –
week 1
1lb DMI - 4
qts
0.85 lb. day 0.19 lb./day 00.64 lb. /day No gain
Weight loss
80 lb. calf
week 1
1.5 lb DMI – 6
qts
1.67 lb. /day 1.15 lb./day 1.15 lb. /day 0.85 lb. /day
12
Additional challenges influencing nutrient requirements?
Temperature < 32oF
Bedding adequacy?

13. We need to feed more milk solids!!!

14. Additional challenges?
• Training calf to drink from a bucket?
• Intervals between feedings
– Confounded with amount of daily volume?
• Less than 4 qts / day – impact on metabolism during
long PM interval?
• More than 6qts/ day - Calves don’t consume all meal
after short interval.

15. How much energy/nutrients do these hold?
2 vs. 3 quart bottles?
Buckets hold more!

16. Challenge of buckets

17. Energy Content of Milk and Milk Replacer
Whole milk (26:31): 2.44 Mcals/lb DM, ME basis
Milk replacer (26:20): 2.2 Mcal/lb DM, ME basis
90 lb calf Maintenance requirement
68°F is 1.62 Mcal/d (ME)
0.7 to 0.75 lbs of milk or replacer (6 lb ) to meet requirements
20°F is 2.71 Mcal/d (ME)
1.2 to 1.3 lbs of milk or replacer (~10 lb)to meet requirements

18. We need to feed more milk solids!!!

19. Increasing intake of milk solids
• Increase feeding frequency??
• Sockett, D.C., C.E. Sorenson, N.K. Betzold, J.T. Meronek, T.J.
Earleywine 2011. J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 94 (Supp. 1):264
• 3 x vs 2x feeding per day
– 1.8 lb. powder 1st week
– 2.5 lb. powder wk 2 – 6
– 1.25lb. powder week 7
• Same amount of powder / calf / day

20. 3X vs. 2X daily Feeding Same Total Amount Daily.

21. Calf feeding management
challenges?
• Nutrient intake – amount of solids and consistency. –
weigh powder and water
– Measure temperature for proper mixing and to prevent
cold stress. - 101 – 105oF
• Environment optimized to reduce maintenance
expenses.
• Adjust for environmental temperature changes
– More solids – up to 15% DM
– More volume – extra feeding

22. How to feed more milk successfully
• From the calf perspective
– Higher intake without contributing to digestive
upsets – smaller, more frequent meals
• From the labor perspective
– Not feeding calves all day long
• From the owner perspective
– Affordable, return on investment

23. Alternatives for delivering more solids.
• Mob feeders • Acidified free choice

24. Alternatives for delivering more solids
Automatic calf feeders

25. Feeding Plan Example
Control daily allocation
Control meal size
Facilitate more gradual weaning
Record of daily intake and
drinking speed

26. Successful calf management
• Colostrum management
• Environment
• Enough solids
– Challenges of higher volume with 2 X feeding
– Labor challenges of 3 X feeding – group housing
alternatives.
• Records to evaluate management

27. Weaning?
• Preweaning liquid feeding programs influence weaning
• What are the goals?
• Traditional
– Limit feed liquid diets (~1 lb. DM) to encourage dry feed
intake and early weaning.
– Is this biologically normal?
– Feeding less than 1 lb. of milk or CMR solids places
metabolic stress on young calves less than 3 weeks of age.
• “Intensive” feeding programs - > 2 lb. dry matter
intake from liquid diets - delays starter intake.
– Is this a problem??

28. Weaning transitions
• Dietary
– Nutrient sources – highly digestible liquid feeds to
grains and forages.
– Fermentation of carbohydrates to produce butyric
acid appears to stimulate rumen development
• Behavioral - Individual to group housing?
– Group fed calves preweaning have advantage.
– Delay grouping until several weeks after weaning
if previously individually housed.

29. Weaning challenges
• High susceptibility to respiratory disease
• Minimize non-nutritional stressors within two
weeks of weaning.
– Movement from individual to group pens
– Movement to “new” group of calves.
• Environment – ventilation and moisture
control.

30. Weaning management and nutrition
• Issues influence weaning management
– Rate of liquid diet feeding – 1 lb. to 2.5 lb. of milk
solids
– Milk replacer or whole milk quality ??
– Calf starter dynamics
• Molasses level
• Fat level
• Starch source
• Corn processing
• Fiber level / physical form
– Forage source – pre / post weaning
– Facilities – individual or group housing preweaning?

31. Focus areas
• Maintain DMI
• Palatable, nutrient rich calf starter grain.
• Fermentable carbohydrates
– ~5% molasses
– 25 – 35% starch
• Particle size – no response to fine grinding
• Starch source - corn>wheat>oat>barley
– ~2.5 – 3% fat – no added fat – doesn’t support fermentation
• Forage fiber
– Not needed for papillae growth
– Clean, digestible fiber added @15% of DMI may have merit
• Early maturity grass or small grain hay.
• Protein sources – degradable to support rumen microbe
needs. 18 – 22% CP. Higher levels for intensive feeding
programs. Risk management.

32. Impact of liquid feeding
program on weaning
• 28:20 milk replacer - 22% CP Starter
• 20:20 milk replacer – 18% CP starter
• Wean @ 48 – 52 days
• Harvest calves at 4, 8 , 12 weeks
K. Daniels, 2012

33. K. Daniels slide

34. Weaning strategies
• Gradual or abrupt
• Sweeney et al , 2010 – four weaning strategies
– Abrupt, 4d, 10d, 22d
– High level of milk feeding < 12 kg/day
– 4 or 10 day weaning was optimal for energy intake
and body weight gain.

35. Energy intake
4 – 10 day weaning period – most consistent energy intake

36. Body weight
10 day weaning – best gains and less disruption
in energy intake at weaning.

37. Post weaning feeding management
What are the goals?
• Rate of growth which permits pregnancy at a
timely age of 12 – 14 months.
• Desirable composition of gain? Not too fat??
• Reasonable cost per unit of gain – resource
driven.
• Low morbidity and mortality

38. Key factors for success
• Resource driven
– Environment and land resource
• Extensive – pasture
• Intensive – confinement
• Grouping
– Post weaning – 2 months - adjust to group and new
forages
– Prebreeding
– Breeding
– Bred
– Transition

39. Post weaning
• Ration formulation based upon available
forage.
• Adjust for environmental challenges
– Confinement systems improve (12 – 25%) feed
efficiency depending upon body size
– Hair coat, mud, wind, temperature have great
impact on heifer nutrient requirements.

40. Ad lib or restricted DMI diets?
• Heifer diets > 8 months of age
• Limit feeding – Diets formulated to provide
adequate nutrients w/ intake at 1.5 to 2.0% of
body weight.
• Ad-libitum feeding – Use lower energy/higher
fiber feeds to limit over consumption of
energy - mostly for heifers > 8 months of age.

41. Limit feeding
• Lower DMI = higher concentration of nutrients = more
“concentrate” ingredients and less “forage”.
• Higher feed efficiency
– Greatest with restriction at 80 – 90% of ad lib intake
– Less manure production
• Must have adequate bunk space for all heifers to eat
• Metal fences and structures - heifers have “oral” needs
• More expensive rations / lb. of DMI. Overall feed cost
efficiency???

42. Ad libitum rations
• Well suited to older heifers > 12 months of
age.
• Use higher fiber feeds to prevent
overconsumption of energy.
• Utilize less expensive byproducts and higher
fiber feeds.
• Feed available at all times – less bunk
space/heifer needed
• More “normal” feeding behavior.

43. Feeding management
• Prepartum heifers – making the transition to
the milking herd.
• 30 – 60 days prepartum
• Dietary adjustment to milking herd forages
and to new environment.

44. Sound Nutrition Programs
• Meeting the nutrient requirements
• Focus on the young animal
– High risk – morbidity and mortality
– Impact on future performance
– Nutrition and environment
• Post weaning
– Utilizing available feed resources
– Delivery of nutrients in a labor efficient manner
– Adjusting for environmental impact on maintenance
requirements
– Records to monitor performance and management
decisions.

45. Sound Nutrition Programs
Combining Science and Management