BABY  CALF  PROGRAM  (2009)  AT  DUTCH  HOLLOW  JERSEYS

Paul and Melanie Chittenden (founders) -- Alan (dairy mgr), Nathan (heifer mgr), Brian (farm mgr)  101 Running Creek Rd    Schodack Landing, NY 12078        [near Albany, in SE New York]

Paul is a son of Stanley Chittenden, who was a pioneer breeder of polled (naturally hornless) Jerseys under the Fair Weather prefix.    A couple families of polled cows are being propogated at Dutch Hollow as well, and they have put several polled sires into AI service.

Melanie granted me this interview one morning in February, 2009.   She feeds calves with her son Nathan.    They were milking 360 cows, but have expansion in progress to reach 600 cows, and the goal is to accomplish it with natural increase-- the sign of a successful breeding program as well as a competent calving, baby calf and heifer rearing program.

Calving is in a pack barn addition on the W side of a free stall barn set up for dry cows and close-up bred heifers.   Cows receive usual vaccinations in headlocks of the dry cow barn.   In specific case of J-5 [mastitis] vaccine, only one dose is given while dry, the second given after calving, to avoid the experience of aborting calves early (born backwards, not surviving, and the cow not cleaning).

Calf sizes range from 40 to 70 pounds.   The selection trend in the herd has been in favor of a larger, stronger Jersey, thus the increasing calf sizes.   Melanie noted range of size has to be factored into calf care-- the little ones need concentrated nutrition, thus are fed three times daily, the big ones do better with a mid-day feeding to start them growing. 

Colostrum from Momma is given at birth, with a target volume of two-three quarts depending on size at birth.   In the past year they started adding a package of an immunoglobulin product "alta gold" [footnote 1]  to insure the level of antibodies received by the calf is adequate to the need.   They use a "colostrometer" to chekc density of colostrum, as one maternal line had been discovered that seems to be routinely deficient.   Those calves receive stored colostrums.

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Melanie notes the significance of the wider range of butterfat% and protein% tests modern Jerseys produce, can have an effect on the "value" of Momma's milk-- a cow testing 6%bf is going to have 50% more digestible fat in her milk than a cow testing 4%bf.   She strongly recommends, in the case of herds feeding whole milk, that Holstein and/or lower-testing Jersey momma's milk be boosted with the addition of a high-fat milk replacer to insure the calf is getting "Jersey" nutrient density.

Calf pens are individual 4 x 8 feet inside a cold high roofline pole barn that is directly E of the dry cow calving barn, with solid dividers so calves cannot "kiss" each other.   In extreme cold weather, she uses "Woolover" calf jackets to retain body heat.   She prefers the woolover type due to its ability to "wick" moisture away form the calf's hair and hide.    Special needs calves may get a heat lamp for a bit as well.   [footnote 2]

These pens get sawdust or shavings to absorb urine.   In cold weather, straw is added on top.   Melanie believes straw should be used year round, as young calves (not receiving hay) may want to chew on something with fiber, and while straw would be safe, the shavings are not.

Choice of milk replacer is important to Jersey calf survival.   They were losing calves when feeding conventional (commodity-low cost) milk replacers.   They currently use "Renaissance 22/20 milk replacer" medicated with Oxytetracycline and Neomycin Sulfate.   The medicated form is used due to some prior issues with calf pneumonia.   There is no vegetable-based protein (ie, soy powder) in this replacer-- it is "all milk".   There is also a yeast ingredient to stimulate rumen development.  She mentioned they have also had good luck with IBA's "Winter Care" milk replacer, but the Renaissance is produced locally and they get a freight advantage price.

50 degrees F is seen as the benchmark temp for supplemental mid-day feeding, in which they use an electrolyte product with microflora, dilute din warm water.   Only one quart is given at the midday feeding, but two quarts is normal for the am-pm milk feedings.   The idea is to avoid loss of body heat resulting from a twelve hour wait between feedings.   As calves get bigger, say around a month old, the midday electrolytes are replaced with another milk feeding.   [footnote 2]

She does not force a newborn calf to eat her full feed each feeding.   She says if they got a full load of colostrum on day one, then take their full bottle day two am, by next feeding they may not be hungry enough to eat a full bottle.   Feed them to appetite, then stop-- next feeding they will be hungrier.   Force feeding just seems to lead to scours, and then you fight a battle you might lose.   In most cases, calves will be up to the full target intake within a week.

Calf starter is provided form birth in "Braden" feeding bottles.   Melanie believes this feeder has these advantages:  (1)  Jersey calves like to suck something-- the Braden feeder uses nipple shape ends that attract the calf;  (2)  Sucking the Braden nipple releases grain into the calf's mouth, thus they will be introduced to grain without hand-forcing;  (3)  The design minimizes grain loss, as the calf cannot contaminate the grain in the feeder [as happens with buckets they can climb in, slobber over or back up to.]    Grain stays dry and thus fresher.

Fresh water is offered calves while still on milk, as they need to learn to drink prior to weaning.   Hay is first introduced after weaning.   [footnote 3]

It seemed to be Melanie's opinion (she grew up with Guernseys, married into Jerseys) that we lose more Jersey calves from damp environments and inadequate nutrition, than we ever lose from missing a vaccination.   The Jersey calf is born without fat reserves in her body, which makes her different from the heavier Holstein or Brown Swiss calf-- thus form day one and until weaned, high fat, high protein, high digestibility milk is the feed of choice.    [footnote 4]

She saw the use of pasteurized whole milk (on farm from fresh cows) as fully equivalent to using a premium milk replacer, but she cautioned we recognize that "whole milk" from high production Holsteins might only be 3.3%bf and 2.8%pr-- thus starts out 50% lower than the expectation of Jersey genes that momma is going to feed her 5.0%bf and 4.0%pr milk.    Thus, with mixed breeds in a whole milk feeding system, she suggests we buy some good milk replacer, and add half a cup to the milk as fed, and see if the Jersey calves do better.    [footnote 5]

She also suggests we avoid "cow grain" going into calves until past weaning, when they are also eating some hay.   Calf grain needs to avoid the fine particles in it that aggravate calf lungs as a dust inhaled while eating the grain.     [footnote 6]

Thank you, Melanie, for sharing these experiences with us.    [end of interview]

Observations stimulated by the interview

[footnote 1]   Another successful brand widely available is "Colostrix".

[footnote 2]   Jersey calves in outdoor hutches in cold winter also benefit from bedding to trap body heat, due to thinner muscle/fat cover, and in our opinion, the calf jackets are very beneficial in cold weather.   I saw bedding packs in the outdoor hutches at Den-Kel Jerseys (Kip and Robin Keller of Byron NY) the day before visiting Dutch Hollow, the calves looked very content.

In mid-summer a Jersey calf in an outdoor hutch that traps sun heat might also benefit from a mid-day feed of electrolytes and water, just to avoid dehydration.

[footnote 3]   The feed company prohibition from feeding "hay" to calves is based on a blanket assumption that a "good dairyman" would only raise "alfalfa".   The rumen needs about four months' development before it can process alfalfa, thus feeding it earlier tends to scour calves.   BUT if you have access to nice soft "grass" hay, a calf will eat that from day one, and it will dramatically improve the growth rate and shorten the weaning period for a Jersey calf, but it requires that water be available at the same time (CHEWING HAY WILL MAKE THEM THIRSTY).

[footnote 4]   John P Reber DVM, who both breeds Jerseys and practices as a veterinarian in a large number of herds around Wooster OH, says that in his experience, when called out to treat a sick Jersey calf, if they still die, the cause is frequently "starvation".    He says you can feed a Jersey calf as much as a Holstein calf, after a few days working them up to it.

[footnote 5]   Until the renaissance in Jerseys in the 1980s, Jersey bloodlines were regionalized and the type of Jersey preferred in the deep south and arid west tended to be a smaller, finer boned cow that milked heavier but tested lower (southern milk marketing still avoids paying for solids values-- high milk, low test% bulls remain more popular there than in the Midwest and the Northeast).   My question is-- as those cattle never experience winter, do they have a reduced ability to make colostrums with the density of immunoglobulins to get a cold climate calf to live?

[footnote 6]   We went through a winter where we were losing calves shortly after weaning, and our veterinarian eventually said they were dying of Mycoplasmic Pneumonia.   The source of the mycotoxins was the gorund corn in our transition grain mix-- the fine particles and mold spores would be inhaled by the calf while eating, and they basically foamed up in their lungs.   We went back to calf starter for two more months, and the problem went away.