As Ruminant Nutrition Specialist at Teagasc, Aisling Claffey explains: “Both saleable whole milk and a quality milk replacer are effective at meeting the growing calf’s needs, providing the nutrients to fuel growth, organ development and supporting the developing immune system and rumen.”
A caveat however: “Where farmers choose to use milk replacer, consistency is key,” Aisling Claffey added, “and the person feeding must ensure its reconstituted at the correct rate, feed at the correct time and sufficient volumes are offered.
“Similarly, with whole milk, it is important that the herd has a good health status, and we avoid feeding high somatic cell count (SCC) milk, antibiotic milk etc. to our replacement stock to minimise the risk of disease transmission (e.g. Johne's) and antimicrobial resistance.”
By Teagasc
February 12, 2025
Comments