Here's why farmers separate dairy cows from calves, and ultimately how this practice actually keeps cows and calves healthy.

Calves are born susceptible to disease. They have to receive colostrum from their dams in order to have early protection from pathogens. Colostrum is the first milk that the cow produces at calving.

Dear Daktari, I read with a lot of keenness the article you wrote on welcoming a young calf. Last year, I lost my calf a few days after birth and my vet said the cause of death was a lack of enough ...

I grew up in the cow-calf sector, and the topic of calf health is very near and dear to my heart. We want to give calves the best chance possible to thrive and of course, survive, through the really ...

A growing population of younger cows in most dairy herds brings a hidden risk to calf health. Fortunately, it’s also a ...

The target of all good dairies should be to minimise mortality, and providing calves with enough good-quality colostrum as quickly as possible after calving is a vital first step to achieve this. The ...

Many beef and dairy calves will be born in the next three months. As spring calving season approaches, University of Missouri Extension experts stress the importance of properly caring for newborn ...

Calves should get the colostrum from their own mother if possible but stored first milking colostrum can be used as well, especially when dealing with nervous cows or heifers. Frozen colostrum can ...

Bovine colostrum represents the first secreted milk post-parturition and is rich in immunoglobulins, growth factors and essential bioactive compounds that are critical for the establishment of passive ...

Moorepark researchers estimate that calf mortality ranges from 3% to 15% on Irish dairy farms. They say that the target for good calf rearing should be less than 3% mortality. Calves are born without ...

Even experienced dairy farmers can learn new ideas and be reminded of old ones, as two Cheshire producers discovered when they attended a DairyCo calf rearing meeting and found ways to improve their ...