Every successful cattle enterprise begins with a healthy calf. Whether you're managing a dairy herd, operating a suckler enterprise or rearing purchased calves, the decisions made before, during and immediately after birth can influence an animal's health, growth and long-term productivity.
Calving complications, inadequate colostrum intake, infectious diseases and poor housing can quickly turn an otherwise successful breeding season into an expensive and distressing experience.
One of the biggest mistakes farmers can make is assuming that a calf standing and suckling shortly after birth has automatically received everything it needs.
Effective calf rearing requires careful preparation, appropriate supervision, reliable feeding routines and early identification of health problems.
Five things every cattle farmer should prioritise:
- Recognising calving signs: Monitor cows approaching their expected calving dates. Udder development, changes around the tail head, restlessness and changes in behaviour can indicate that calving is approaching. Recognise abnormal progress and know when veterinary assistance is required.
- Colostrum management: Ensure every newborn calf receives sufficient good-quality colostrum as soon as possible. Follow a veterinary-approved feeding protocol appropriate to the calf's weight, breed and circumstances.
- Preventing and managing scours: Maintain clean calving areas, hygienic feeding equipment and appropriate calf accommodation. Learn to recognise diarrhoea and dehydration promptly.
- Housing and nutrition: Provide clean, dry, well-ventilated accommodation without harmful draughts. Match feeding arrangements to the calf's age, health and nutritional requirements.
- Monitoring growth and maintaining records: Record births, calving difficulties, colostrum intake, treatments, illnesses and growth. Use these records to identify recurring problems and improve future calving seasons.
The important question: Are you measuring calving success by the number of calves born alive, or by the number that survive, remain healthy and develop into productive animals?
Imagine managing a suckler herd of 80 breeding cows.
Calving begins successfully, with several healthy calves arriving during the first week. However, one heifer experiences a difficult birth, another calf struggles to suckle, and several young calves subsequently develop diarrhoea.
The additional veterinary treatment, labour and potential growth setbacks quickly increase production costs.
Would you concentrate on improving calving supervision, introduce more structured colostrum monitoring, review housing hygiene or investigate the underlying causes with your veterinary surgeon?
The most effective approach involves understanding where problems originate rather than simply treating each affected calf individually.
Calving signs: Knowing when to watch and when to intervene
Recognising the signs of approaching calving allows farmers to prepare suitable accommodation and monitor animals that may require additional attention.
Common signs include changes in udder development, relaxation around the tail head, restlessness and separation from other cattle.
However, calving does not always follow an identical pattern.
First-calving heifers, animals carrying larger calves and cows with previous calving difficulties may require closer observation.
Farmers should establish a clear veterinary-approved protocol covering normal calving progress, signs of difficulty and when intervention is necessary.
Excessive or inappropriate assistance can injure both the cow and calf. Never continue attempting a difficult delivery when the situation requires veterinary intervention.
Colostrum: The first feed that can influence a calf's future
Colostrum provides newborn calves with essential antibodies, nutrients and energy.
Because antibody absorption declines rapidly after birth, feeding the correct quantity of good-quality colostrum promptly is particularly important.
AHDB's dairy guidance recommends an initial feed of approximately three litres of good-quality colostrum within two hours of birth, followed by another appropriate feed within 12 hours. Suckler-calf guidance recommends approximately four litres or an amount based on 10% of body weight, according to the calf's circumstances.
Actual requirements should follow the herd's veterinary-approved colostrum protocol.
In England, calves must receive bovine colostrum as soon as possible and within their first six hours of life.
Colostrum quality cannot be reliably assessed by appearance alone. Appropriate testing equipment and hygienic collection, storage and feeding procedures can help ensure newborn calves receive suitable colostrum.
Only trained personnel should undertake stomach-tube feeding because incorrect technique can cause serious injury.
Calf scours: Recognising problems before dehydration becomes dangerous
Calf scours can have several causes, including infectious organisms and feeding-related problems.
Young calves are particularly vulnerable because diarrhoea can rapidly cause dehydration and serious illness.
Warning signs can include watery faeces, reduced appetite, weakness, sunken eyes and changes in normal behaviour.
A calf showing significant dehydration, weakness, an inability to suckle or other signs of systemic illness requires urgent veterinary attention.
Appropriate treatment depends on the cause and severity of the condition. Fluid and electrolyte management may be essential, while antibiotics are not appropriate for every case.
Farmers should follow veterinary advice rather than routinely using the same treatment for every calf with diarrhoea.
Good colostrum management, hygiene, suitable housing and separation of affected animals where appropriate can help reduce disease risks.
Calf housing: Are your buildings helping or harming calf health?
Young calves require an environment that provides appropriate warmth, comfortable resting areas, clean bedding and sufficient fresh air.
Poor ventilation can encourage respiratory problems, while unsuitable draughts and wet bedding can create additional stress.
Overcrowding can increase the transmission of infectious diseases and make individual monitoring more difficult.
Regularly inspect drainage, bedding condition, ventilation, feeding equipment and drinking-water facilities.
Farmers should also establish appropriate procedures for introducing purchased calves, isolating sick animals and cleaning accommodation between groups.
A building that appears clean from the entrance may still have problems at calf level.
Healthy growth: The cost of poor early-life management
A calf surviving the first few weeks is an important achievement, but survival alone does not guarantee successful rearing.
Poor early-life health can affect growth, increase veterinary expenditure and delay the time required to reach breeding or finishing targets.
Farmers should monitor liveweight gain, feeding performance and recurring health problems.
Feeding programmes should provide appropriate nutrition and access to clean water, with changes introduced according to calf development and veterinary or nutritional advice.
Replacement dairy heifers and beef calves may have different long-term production objectives, so rearing strategies should reflect their intended purpose.
The financial objective should be to produce healthy, appropriately developed animals efficiently without compromising welfare.
The bigger discussion: Are preventable calf losses costing farmers more than they realise?
Every calf represents an investment in breeding, nutrition, labour, housing and veterinary care.
When calves become ill or fail to survive, the financial loss extends beyond the animal's immediate market value.
There may also be treatment costs, additional labour, reduced growth, disrupted breeding plans and emotional consequences for those caring for the animals.
This raises an important question.
Should more farming businesses invest in preventative calf-health management rather than accepting a certain level of illness and loss as unavoidable?
Not every difficult birth or disease outbreak can be prevented. However, accurate records and regular veterinary reviews can help identify opportunities to improve management.
Up for a discussion?
1. What's the most difficult calving experience you've encountered, and what did it teach you about preparing for future calving seasons?
2. Do you routinely measure or test colostrum quality, or primarily rely on calves suckling naturally?
3. Which changes have helped reduce calf scours or other recurring health problems on your farm?
4. Have improvements to calf housing, bedding or ventilation noticeably affected calf health and growth?
5. Do you believe farmers should place greater emphasis on monitoring calf survival, growth and early-life health rather than concentrating primarily on birth numbers?
One final question: If you had £5,000 available to improve your calving and calf-rearing facilities, where would you invest it first?
Would you improve calving accommodation, purchase colostrum-testing equipment, upgrade calf housing, improve ventilation or invest in monitoring and record-keeping?
I'd be particularly interested in hearing from farmers who have significantly reduced calf mortality or recurring health problems through practical management changes.
What did you change, how much did it cost, and did the results justify the investment?
Sharing genuine experiences, successful management practices and practical advice could help new farmers avoid costly mistakes while improving animal welfare.
Successful calving isn't simply about delivering a live calf. It's about providing every newborn animal with the best possible opportunity to survive, remain healthy and develop into a productive member of the herd.
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Important
Calving complications, inadequate colostrum intake, dehydration and infectious calf diseases can develop into serious veterinary emergencies. Always follow an appropriate herd-health plan and seek prompt veterinary assistance when problems arise.
Calf welfare, identification, housing, feeding and record-keeping requirements differ across the United Kingdom. Farmers should consult current official guidance applicable to their location and circumstances.
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