Abstract
Simple SummaryResearch has indicated that dairy farms often do not feed calves according to recommended best practice, despite legislation and industry advisory efforts. This study used interviews with dairy farmers and their advisors to investigate why farmers feed calves the way they do. Various calf feeding practices were used by participating farmers, largely based on perceived convenience and calf performance. Advisors were concerned that calves were commonly underfed, which may be partly due to farmers receiving inadequate instructions for calf feeding. Our results highlight the need for more consistent and effective recommendations for farmers regarding calf feeding and weaning. Standard guidelines for calf milk replacers should be improved to ensure that calves are fed enough to support basic biological functions and growth. Further research is needed to establish best practices for weaning calves whilst supporting rumen development, health and weight gain. All recommendations for calf feeding should facilitate the achievement of standard industry targets including rearing replacement dairy heifers to calve by 24 months of age. Dairy calves must be fed appropriately to meet their nutritional needs, supporting optimal growth and development to achieve the recommended target age at first calving (AFC) of 24 months. Traditional restricted milk feeding practices suppress growth, contribute to negative welfare states and may result in malnutrition and immunosuppression. Despite more recent recommendations to increase milk allowances for pre-weaned calves, restricted feeding remains a common practice. This study explored the rationales behind the calf feeding protocols used by dairy farmers in England. Forty qualitative interviews (26 farmers, 14 advisors) were conducted between May 2016 and June 2017, transcribed in full, then coded into themes. Results indicate that a variety of calf feeding regimes are used on farms, largely determined by farmers’ attitudes regarding ease of management and the wellbeing of calves. Advisors were concerned about widespread underfeeding of calves, which may be partially due to insufficiently clear recommendations for calf milk replacer (CMR) feeding rates. There was also evidence of uncertainty regarding best practices for weaning calves. Collaboration between academic research and industry is essential to establish a consensus on calf feeding standards which support physiological function, facilitate weaning, support growth targets and ensure calf health and welfare is protected.
Highlights
Dairy calves must be fed appropriately to meet their nutritional needs for optimal growth and development
Calf growth rates at least partly determine their age at first calving (AFC), with heifers calving at 23–24 months being more cost-efficient than later calving animals [2]
Most farmers provided the weight of calf milk replacer (CMR) fed, since “water is just the carriage to get [nutrients from CMR] into the calves” (F8 male, farm manager); the total CMR provided ranged from 500 g–996 g per day, though some farmers referred only to the volume of CMR fed
Summary
Dairy calves must be fed appropriately to meet their nutritional needs for optimal growth and development. There are financial implications since milk feeding accounts for 40% of total rearing costs from birth to weaning, the most expensive phase of rearing replacement dairy heifers [2,3]. Calf growth rates at least partly determine their age at first calving (AFC), with heifers calving at 23–24 months being more cost-efficient than later calving animals [2]. The recommended target AFC of 24 months achieves optimal economic efficiency resulting from increased lifetime fertility, survival and milk production compared to later calving heifers [4,5,6]. 325 g/day whole milk solids (2.5 L/day) or 380 g/day calf milk replacer (CMR) (3 L/day), which contain about 22.5 MJ ME/kg and 19.5 MJ ME/kg respectively, provide sufficient ME to meet the maintenance requirements of a 45 kg calf under thermoneutral conditions with surplus nutrients supporting growth [1]
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