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Flourish Calf, the new product from Volac Milk Replacers Ireland Ltd., is producing healthy, happy and thriving calves for a Tipperary dairy and beef farming family.
Michael Hackett, who also runs a calf feeder service engineering business alongside his wife Eileen just outside Thurles, Co. Tipperary, described the quality and impact of Flourish Calf as “unreal”.
“They’re just the happiest, healthy calves,” Michael said, who also has great support on the Tipperary farm from twin daughters Siobhán and Amy, along with youngest child Molly.
“We decided to try Flourish Calf, and it works so well for the calves. We’re delighted with it.
“We aim to rear 45 calves each November (with another 75 reared from their own dairy herd each spring) and they generally weigh in from over 180kg to in excess of 200kg,” Michael said.
Featuring a 50% high-skim content, 23% all-dairy protein, and 19% fat formulation along with extra level of vitamins and minerals, Flourish Calf is enhanced with a proven package of calf health ingredients.
Designed to make calves thrive, Flourish Calf contains the optimal protein-to-energy ratio required by the pre-weaned calf and is formulated to deliver between 48-52g of crude protein per megacalorie (mcal) of metabolisable energy (ME) – tailored for daily calf growth rate targets of between 0.5kg and 1.0kg.
Michael, who rears all his AA Friesian cross and Belgian Blue X Friesian calves to beef (while buying in heifer replacements) feeds his newborns with 4L of colostrum within four hours of birth, followed by a further 2L within 12 hours of birth.
Newborns are then left to sleep on a deep bed of straw for 24 hours (vital given that a calf spends 80% of its time sitting down) and receive 3L more of colostrum via teat feeding.
This is followed by six to seven days of transition milk feeding before they progress to a computerized calf feeder, which provides greater control and consistency during the rearing period, while also reducing time and labour costs.
Monitoring calves
The consumption level of each calf is recorded via computer which ensures the farmer knows exactly how much feed each animal is getting.
Access to water is also provided to the newborns from birth, while a high-quality starter ration with 18% crude protein is provided from day three onwards, with the amount of ration increasing as the calf grows to at least 1kg of concentrates daily by the time of weaning.
In most instances, this ration is fed to calves up to 12-16 weeks of age.
Ad-lib straw, stocked in racks, must also be provided as a source of fiber to assist with initial rumen development.
On days six and seven, Michael groups his calves for feeding, reducing labour and increasing socialization.
The calves are initially fed 8L of Flourish Calf, which increases to 9L after 10 days.
The calves receive a 10L intake until day 40 before being reduced to 9L on day 41 before being weaned all the way down to zero.
Michael also uses precision microbes (4ml/L) in his dry feed, which boosts daily performance by supporting gut health and immunity.
When it comes to assessing their respective performances, Michael uses a band to weigh his Belgian Blues after 15 days (75kg on average) and AA Friesians after 12 days (55kg) and 70 days (150kg) respectively.
“Flourish Calf is playing a huge role in helping our calves to thrive,” Michael, who is a computerized engineer for both the Urban and Forster Technik calf feeding machine brands, said.
“It gives them everything they need during such a critical time in their development.
“The [autumn-reared] calves have made great weights, they’re strong, and they’re healthy, and performing really well. That’s what every dairy farmer wants,” the Tipperary farmer added.
Flourish Calf is available as part of the trusted ‘Feed for Growth’ calf milk replacers from Volac Milk Replacers Ireland Ltd. Whatever your calf rearing goals, Feed for Growth is your partner in performance.
Source: Agriland
