Regular weather changes have led to severe respiratory challenges for young dairy calves throughout the autumn of 2024.
According to David Morgan, this emphasises the necessity of a draught-free environment and dry and comfortable bedding at all times.
He added:
“These young animals need access to highly digestible feed sources. It’s also a reality that the dust from bedding and feed makes breathing that little bit more difficult for calves.
“The good news is that providing young calves and weanlings with access to Crystalyx Easy Breather feed blocks will help farmers to address these matters directly.”
Easy Breather has been specifically designed to help alleviate stress and respiratory problems in calves
David confirmed that calves are particularly prone to respiratory problems, as they have not developed any natural immunity to many infectious organisms.
The severity of the problems can vary from a mild nasal discharge and coughing in a group of calves, to severe pneumonia with some deaths,” he said.
Easy Breather optimises performance by stimulating starter feed intakes and forage intakes and digestibility while providing all essential mineral, trace elements and vitamins. It helps calves regain appetite after a stress or challenge. In essence, Easy Breather is a powerful, natural aid to help calves resist respiratory challenges. The product also reduces the risk of growth checks, especially at weaning.”
David confirmed that Easy Breather is equally effective when offered to dairy and beef calves.
“The product will feature strongly on our Royal Ulster Winter Fair stand,”.
Effective dry cow management is at the very heart of efficient milk production. A cow should be fit – not fat and ideally hold a condition score in the range of 2.5-3.0, in order to give her the best chance of a stress-free calving.
Avoiding issues such as milk fever and slow calving can make all the difference to future fertility and lactation performance.
Quality supplementation at this time is key. This is why Crystalyx has spent years researching and developing feed licks that specifically provide for the transition cow.
Offering Crystalyx Pre-Calver feed buckets to late-pregnant dairy cows is not about improving daily liveweight gain, but preparing the cows to calve down easily and provide for a healthy transition into lactation.
Three studies undertaken in New Zealand, by the University of Auckland, with group sizes averaging approximately 200 cows, confirmed that access to ‘Crystalyx Pre-Calver’ maintained normal blood magnesium and calcium levels right up to calving.
David commented that;
- Significantly, this led to a reduced incidence and severity of any milk fever at calving whilst mitigating incidence of mastitis in early lactation.
- Comparable results were recorded by Parma University in Italy. Research scientists there further reported that colostrum IgG yield of the Crystalyx-fed cows was double that of the control cows.
- All Crystalyx-fed cows transitioned faster and easier into lactation. These very same results have been repeated on an increasing number of dairy farms in Northern Ireland.
Crystalyx will be on stand EK52 at this year’s Royal Ulster Winter Fair on Thursday 12th December. All visitors will be made more than welcome on the day.
