With its snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures, Wisconsin’s winter can be a challenging time on dairy farms. While calf caretakers provide lots of tender care for their calves all year long, wintry weather requires a little extra time and effort to ensure optimal health.
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| Water-resistant coats keep newborn Rosy-Lane calves toasty warm. |
When cold weather strikes at Watertown's Rosy-Lane Holsteins LLC, owned by Lloyd and Daphne Holterman and Tim Strobel, enhanced TLC starts even before a calf is born. Once a cow shows signs of giving birth, she is moved to a comfortable, clean, dry and spacious maternity pen. Immediately after delivery, the calf is dried off with several clean towels. Then, as soon as possible, the calf gets two quarts of colostrum (first breast milk). Colostrum provides key natural antibodies and lots of energy, helping keep the calf warm from the inside. It is fed at 101 degrees Fahrenheit for maximum absorption, as this is the animal’s normal body temperature.
To minimize exposure to adult pathogens, newborn calves (who are born with little immunity) are removed from the maternity pen shortly after their initial feeding and physical exam. Before heading to the calf barn, calves are wrapped in a clean comforter or heavy blanket. The Holtermans use a custom-designed, enclosed calf carrier to move calves to their all-season calf barn.
Once the calf’s hair is dry, it gets a coat designed specifically for a baby calf. These water-resistant coats help conserve body heat. Depending on the weather, calf barn staff may hang a heat lamp in the calf’s individual pen for a short time.
Three times daily, young calves at Rosy-Lane are fed one quart of milk replacer, which provides energy, nutrients, vitamins and minerals to help them grow healthy and strong. In addition, Holtermans bed their pens deep with fluffy, soft straw, allowing newborns to “nest” during colder temperatures. “We keep all our calves bedded well,” Daphne says. “We don’t wait for bedding to get damp or dirty before adding fresh, dry shavings and/or straw.”
An instinctual connection to her calves
Being “book smart” is important when raising calves, but animal intuition really makes a difference in raising healthy calves. Daphne, a renowned calf raiser, shares an example: “After we bed with shavings, calves generally lie down right on top of the shavings–smack dab in the middle of the deepest part. We take our cue from that. If a calf lies down and crunches back in a corner, that means the middle is most likely wet or flat with no fluff for nesting.”
“Bottom line–plenty of bedding is key to raising healthy calves in cold weather.”
~ Daphne Holterman
To help maintain the ideal environment, Rosy-Lane has a unique feature in their new calf-barn addition–a four-foot space between each pen and the outside wall. “The air in this space acts as insulation and will help keep calves warmer in winter and cooler in summer,” said Daphne. “This space also allows us to bed from the back of pens, which is easier for Tracy (Rosy-Lane's calf barn manager) and her staff and prevents bedding from getting into feed or water.”
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| Rosy-Lane's calf barn manager prepares a clean, warm calf "nest." |
Along with clean bedding, research shows that calves need fresh air, even during the winter. Without it, airborne bacteria can accumulate and make a calf sick. “I liken the cozy bedding and our calf barn’s low-velocity ventilation and curtain-management system to a warm bed at home with lots of covers and then some cooler, fresh air for me to breathe,” Daphne added. “My goal is to put myself in the calf’s place.”
Fortunately, not all winter days are nasty. That’s why “flexible” livestock barns can enhance cattle health immensely. Rolling curtains line the west and east sides of the calf barn. The Rosy-Lane staff keep a close eye on weather and roll curtains up or down (sometimes several times a day) to minimize the impact of negative weather (damp, windy and/or cold) and maximize the impact of positive weather (sunny and/or dry). The objective is to keep air fresh and minimize drafts.
“When the warm sun is coming in from the east on a still morning, we roll the east curtain down almost all the way so the sun warms up calves and their bedding,” Daphne explained. “The few minutes it takes to roll curtains up and down are well worth it. There is someone in the calf barn all day long, so it’s fairly easy to monitor the air and just roll the curtains up or down a bit. It’s one of the little things that can make a big difference over time.”
In bitter cold weather and strong winds, the Holtermans put plywood over the backs of calf pens to help stop the draft and keep snow out. These panels are easy to move when they’re not needed. “If a calf gets sick or is struggling, we cover at least the top half of the pen with plywood and add a heat lamp for a short time,” explained Daphne.
To complement the facility’s clean and dry environment, Rosy-Lane calves stay nourished and hydrated. They have access to fresh grain at all times, plus water (unless temperatures drop below freezing and then the Holtermans collect the unfinished water). Plenty of fresh water encourages grain intake, which keeps calves warm, healthy and growing, added Daphne.
Visit Daphne's Facebook page, where she likes to share stories and photos about the farm’s activities.