Wellness Wednesdays

Calf Diarrhea: Two Causes, Two Strategies

This month’s “Ask the Vet‘ mailbag we look into one of the most devastating diseases affecting calf raisers. Calf scours are an economically devastating primarily because scours cause calves to rapidly dehydrate. Providing proper hydration can help shorten the severity and duration of calf scours. Electrolyte therapy should be paired with a prevention plan to address the cause of the scours. Choosing the right electrolyte for the job at hand can be confusing. Crystal Creek® is here to help. Listen as Dr. Ryan Leiterman from Crystal Creek explains:


Keeping Cows Cool

We’re getting into the dog days of summer…meaning heat stress for cows. Dr. Ryan Leiterman provides a refresher course on keeping cows cool during summer.

If you have a question relating to calf health and housing, email Dr. Leiterman at askthevet@crystalcreeknatural.com


Straight Talk About Reducing Enteric Methane

There’s a lot of talk about the dairy industry needing to reduce enteric methane. We hear a lot about products that promise to help farmers do just that. At the same time, there’s confusion out there and some hot button issues. Here to talk about it are Peter Williams of Feedworks USA and Dr. Mike Hutjens, professor emeritus from the University of Illinois:


Fly Season Upon Us

The house, face, horn and stable fly all present challenges on dairies. Reina Lewis, Regional Sales Mgr with Central Life Sciences joins us on today’s Wellness Wednesday to share how these pests impact cow comfort, productivity and the dairy farmers bottom-line. Listen as she shares the best way to address fly infestations on today’s dairy operation:


Mixing Milk Replacer A Daily Task

Mixing milk replacer to feed pre-weaned calves is a daily task on many farms. And it’s a simple task, right? All it takes is adding the correct amount of powdered milk replacer to the correct amount of water, how hard can that be? That’s our question to Dr. Ryan Leiterman on this month’s “Ask the Vet” segment:


Bolsen Safety Foundation Launches Campaign

The Bolsen Safety Foundation, dedicated to educating people involved in forage and grain making on safety, begins a “Keith’s Happy Heavenly Birthday” campaign to gain member donors and sponsors. Learn more at https://www.silagesafety.org/become-a-member-donor.html

Keith Bolsen, who passed away last May, and whose birthday is this week, dedicated his life to the science of silage making. He traveled the world promoting good management practices based on the research he and others conducted. Seeing the tragic loss of life and serious injuries commonly occurring to those he was teaching, he turned his attention to promoting safe practices to go along with better management. As a result, he and his widow, Ruthie, started the foundation that now bears his name.

The Bolsen Safety Foundation is currently run by a board of ten volunteers from across the US, representing academia, farm owners, and agribusinesses. The foundation is developing a Speakers Bureau (meetings, conventions, school lectures, radio, TV, webinar), Written/AV Materials (silage safety guidelines, silage safety employee meeting agendas/kit, high school/college/employer safety book, safety signs for farm posting, safety videos, and Grant Funding (schools, associations for local projects, etc.). Promotion of safe practices is targeted to forage farmers, anyone living near feed storage, animal agriculture students, choppers/harvester operators, pile/storage makers, feeders, and nutritionists.

To learn more and become a member donor to the Bolsen Safety Foundation contact go to www.silagesafety.org.

Ask The Vet

Heard on Dairy Radio the first Wednesday of every month. Dr. Ryan Leiterman is Director of Technical Services for Crystal Creek®.  Ryan is a dairy veterinarian experienced in calf barn ventilation design and analysis. He holds degrees in both Agricultural Engineering and Veterinary Medicine.

e-mail your questions to: AskTheVet@CrystalCreekNatural.com


Why Vaccines Fail

Vaccination programs are an important part of herd health, but sometimes a vaccine can fail. This month’s “Ask the Vet” segment, Dr Ryan Leiterman explores why this happens and the importance of booster shots, or repeat vaccinations.


Spring Has Sprung

Spring is an excellent time to plan your upcoming construction projects. Some of the more common calf barn designs incorporate naturally ventilated, curtain sidewall barns. Dr. Ryan Leiterman reminds us how to properly use curtains, eves and ridge vents as we ease out of the colder months.

Comfort Designed For Today’s Cow

Kevin Martin, a sales specialist in barn equipment with GEA joined us on today’s Wellness Wednesday to discuss how dairies are yielding cleaner stalls as cows lay straighter living in the Single Beam Freestall Mounting System. He also tells Dairy Radio Now listeners about GEA’s automated robotic feed pusher, FRone, it moves feed towards the feed fence at the times you define and according to the routes you set:

Winter Housing: Focus On Air Volume Not Speed

Cold temperatures are here and winter is quickly approaching. As the temperatures drop, calf barns are closed up and the ventilation rates are turned down. As an industry we do this reflexively, but is it what’s best for the calves? If it’s not ‘drafty,’ can a calf have too much fresh air? Dr. Ryan Leiterman of Crystal Creek tells us more on this month’s A Breath of Fresh Air on Dairy Radio Now:

Investing In Cow Comfort During Low Milk Prices

Kevin Dole of FutureCow joined us on our Wellness Wednesday to discuss an economical way to keep cows comfortable with the new Stationary Brush – an ideal brush for barns or lots with no electrical access. Dole explains the Stationary Brush is just like a rotation option, it is perfect for keeping your cows clean and happy. Listen here:

Consider Probiotics For Calf Efficiency

Whether you’re having a specific calf challenge or are looking for a consistent way to support immune function and digestive health, probiotics can be a great solution. Dr. Troy Wistuba, Director of Technical Innovation with Land O’ Lakes Animal Milk Products joined us at the recent NAFB Trade Talk to discuss:

Plan For Calf Comfort During Transition

Starting from the first day of a calves life there are a lot of stress events that can happen. Brandon Sowder, director or sales with Calf-Tel, joined us on today’s Wellness Wednesday to share some insights on two key areas, calf health, and labor efficiency.

Previous Segments:

Nov. 2018: Pneumonia Prevention: Bedding and Nutrition:


Oct. 2018: Old Barns Can Have Cost Effective Calf Space:


Sept.  2018: Focus on the Calf Pen – Not the Barn:


Aug. 2018: Heat Hurts Calves Too:


July 2018: The Calf Wheel of Health:


June 2018: Retrofitting Stanchion Barns For Optimal Ventilation:

May 2018: Staying Consistent in an Inconsistent Environment:

 

April 2018: Curtains, Eves & Ridges:

 

March 2018: Building a New Calf Barn?

 

February 2018: Raising Healthy Calves Saves Time and Money

 

January 2018: Old Design Parameters Need Updating