The Freshstart® Calf Development Program

Begin Stage One of the programme by having FiberStart® available from within the first few days on an adlib basis. Only have available small offerings as the calves will only nibble and play with the feed initially, however, it is important that they get accustomed to the smell and the taste of the feed.

Don’t panic if they do not seem to be eating much in the first two weeks as remember the plentiful milk is covering their feed requirements during this period and the calves are only exploring and investigating this foreign feed that looks and tastes nothing like milk. Just ensure the offering remains fresh and discard any residue left over say every couple of days as the calves investigate by licking not chewing and cover the offering with saliva. This saliva quickly goes stale and will soon put the calves off the feed.

Click on the image to see an enlarged table of the progression of both the milk and Freshstart® supplements through the raising period.

Calf Rearing Table Thumb

Click on the image to see an enlarged table of the progression of both the milk and Freshstart® supplements through the raising period.

Many a time the advice to a farmer has been to discard the entire offering and replace with fresh feed and the calves reaction has been to immediately take a renewed interest in the feed being offered.

Once the milk is restricted the interest in the FiberStart® will increase rapidly and from that point on the calves’ intake will grow steadily. As a guide a Friesian calf will eat in the first week approximately 1Kg of FiberStart® which on a daily basis does not seem very much. However, by the third week that same calf will be consuming around 3 – 4 kgs per week so the consumption of solid feed simply gets progressively greater as the calf grows.

In the fourth week introduce Stage Two, FiberGain® into the ration and mix with the FiberStart® at about a fifty/fifty ratio.

Stage Two is implemented at this point for several reasons -

  1. The calf’s rumen is now partially developed and a more concentrated feed can be introduced without fear of causing any dietary upset.
  2. The captured grains, vitamins and minerals within FiberGain® will capitalise on the earlier preperation and power the calf’s growth and ensure healthy development.
  3. The incorporation of a Coccidiostat in FiberGain® will help provide immunity to the disease Coccidiosis and will continue to provide protection while it is being fed. The Coccidiostat used is one that will gradually allow the calf to develop its own immunity for long term protection.
  4. The nutritional balance between the high protein of FiberStart® and the high soluble energy of FiberGain® makes this combination of feeds unbeatable for a developing calf