Milk pasturizers for calves

[bigtimedairyfarmer]

Hi,

What's peoples thoughts on milk pasturizers for feeding calves? Seem expensive, but then milk powder is. Seems crazy buying back a dried product that i sell, mixing it with water, and feeding it back!

Thinking of using it for replacements, block calving in 10 weeks (replacements in 2.5 weeks at the start)

A lot of companies making money from the system, so hard to get the truth from any one not a practical dairy farmer on the ground.

Obviously Johnes and TB would be the big problems, and electicity(?). We have 3 phase.

Many thanks in advance

 

[organicguy]

we've fed whole milk since quotas came in.
Now pasteurize due to Johnes.
Calves do fine, less issue with digestive upsets with temp, mixing if incompetent staff feeding.

 

[DairyNerd]

Feed whole milk, not pasteurised but mainly flying herd and small herd. If we did rear heifers I wouldn't bother and just be as good as you can on identifying Johnes cows but I can see why you might.

Even if we had to pasteurise i would still rather that than feed powder, we have reared 170 calves to 3-5 weeks on whole milk now and not lost one that hit the ground alive, think I have given one metacam, one antibiotics and no bloat issues at all. We don't do anything very outstanding so I am convinced the lack of problems is down to that.

 

[Wee Willy]

Feed whole milk, not pasteurised but mainly flying herd and small herd. If we did rear heifers I wouldn't bother and just be as good as you can on identifying Johnes cows but I can see why you might.

Even if we had to pasteurise i would still rather that than feed powder, we have reared 170 calves to 3-5 weeks on whole milk now and not lost one that hit the ground alive, think I have given one metacam, one antibiotics and no bloat issues at all. We don't do anything very outstanding so I am convinced the lack of problems is down to that.

Well done @DairyNerd . That's impressive mortality and drug use. Do you vaccinated cows for calving (Rotavec)?

 

[DairyNerd]

Well done @DairyNerd . That's impressive mortality and drug use. Do you vaccinated cows for calving (Rotavec)?

No just mineral bolus the cows about 3 weeks after dry off. Do try and do a good job of it, nice airy shed, plenty of straw (gets recycled for the pigs anyway as stays dry), not many exceptions to colostrum fed within 6 hours. Easier than dealing with problems.

 

[som farmer]

we have reared 400 in the last 12 months, home bred, and bought in. Mainly whole milk, might have used 20 bags powder, mortality about 1% of calves born alive. Calves get bovolto at 7 days, anti respiratory vaccine.

and we hardly ever tube a calf, acidify colostrum so it keeps. We do vaccinate our cows v rota virus, and take care with dry cow rations. Pretty well all beef calves, but would think about pasteurising, if we reared a lot of hfrs.