Calves Profitably Reared on Buttermilk on Taranaki Sheep Farm

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 101, Issue 1, 15 July 1960, Page 31

Calves Profitably Reared on Buttermilk on Taranaki Sheep Farm

By

A. R. MURDOCH,

Livestock Instructor, Stratford,

H. G. TURNBULL,

and Farm Advisory Officer (Economics), Palmerston North,

both of the Department of Agriculture

REARING dairy calves for sale can be a profitable sideline for sheep farmers as well as for dairy farmers. Feeding buttermilk powder makes it possible and the methods used and the results achieved by a Central Taranaki sheep farmer who successfully reared 39 calves without a cow on the property prove that it is quite practical.

THE use of buttermilk powder for calf rearing has increased considerably in Taranaki over the past three years. This is due to the advent of the milk tanker (which collects the whole milk from the farm, leaving no skim milk for calf rearing) and a better knowledge of the use of the powder. The results of successful trials at the Stratford Demonstration Farm have been widely publicised in Taranaki

and have aroused interest among some sheep farmers as well as dairy farmers. The Demonstration Farm uses a multiple feeding system. A 20-gallon milk can holds the milk. About half way up the can are 15 holes evenly spaced round it through which plastic tubes with teats for sucking are passed. This allows for any number of calves up to 15 to be fed at once. This method has proved successful when used with commonsense and the

calves reared in this way have shown more bloom on their coats than bucket-fed calves. With this system it is possible for a fast drinker to get more than its share, but this should be prevented by allowing the smaller or slower drinking calves to start first. Farmer's Experience One sheep farmer who became interested was Mr P. B. McKenzie, Kota Road, Toko, Central Taranaki, who runs 750 ewes and replacements on his 236-acre property of improved hill country. In the past he has been buying in eight-months-old calves and selling them as springing heifers at three years. . In their second year they are used to clean up paddocks after sheep. This season Mr McKenzie purchased 41 calves from farmers with highproducing herds. The calves were two days to a week old. System of Feeding Buttermilk The feeding system used by Mr McKenzie differed slightly from the Stratford Demonstration Farm method.

A wooden rail was attached to the front of an old set of calf bails. Holes were bored in the rail for plastic tubes, from each of which a calf sucked up milk from its own bucket. All the calves could be fed at once and the arrangement ensured that each got the correct amount of milk. The first 30 calves had been fed on whole milk for a week, but the last 11 were fed with it for only two or three days. The whole-milk feeding was done by arrangement on the farms where the calves were born. This was a wise move, as it is desirable for calves to be fed on whole milk for at least a week and longer if possible before they are changed to buttermilk powder. The calves were fed twice daily with 34 pints each time of a mixture of 2 lb of buttermilk powder to 1 gallon of water. This is equivalent to whole milk in feeding value. A fortified vitamin oil was fed regularly, care being taken not to exceed the recommended dosage. An antibiotic supplement was added to help prevent scours. Mr McKenzie used the vitamin oil and the antibiotic supplement because he thought they would be helpful and make the job easier for him. These extras are expensive and could be done without, as has been shown in trials at the Stratford Demonstration Farm. Hygiene was closely watched because of its bearing on the occurrence of scours. Mr McKenzie was very careful to keep all equipment and

the feeding areas as clean as possible to keep down the incidence of disease. Twenty calves were fed dry buttermilk powder when they were six weeks old. One pound of powder per calf per feed was put in a communal trough. This proved both successful and time saving, especially at shearing time.

Good hay was available to the calves before and after weaning. One bag of calf pellets was fed to several calves that were not thriving as well as the rest. Vaccinations The calves were vaccinated against leptospirosis at one month of age and against blackleg at three months of age. Vaccination against contagious abortion was to be done at eight months. No drenching has been necessary. The calves were kept in. a large paddock and weaned when 10 weeks old. Rotational grazing was carried out after weaning and the calves were moved about the farm as much as possible and this certainly improved their growth rate. There were two deaths, one calf being killed in .an accident and the other dying at an early age from an unknown cause. Costs and Returns A record of costs has been kept and those to date are set out below: 41 calves @ £3 each .. 123 0 0 Food: Buttermilk powder .'. 118 15 9 Antibiotic supplement 12 10 0 Fortified vitamin oil 3 3 9 1 bag of calf pellets 2 0 0 Vaccinations Leptospirosis @ 7s. 6d. each .. .. 15 7 6 Blackleg @ 2s. each 4 2 0 278 19 0 Cost per calf for 39 = £7 3s. (approx.) Value (March): 39 heifers © £ls .. 585 0 0 Profit 306 1 0 Profit per - calf = £7 17s. (approx.)

If the calves were sold at the time this was written, they would have brought a net return of £7 17s. each, but Mr McKenzie wants them for pasture control when they are older. They will be sold as three-year-old springing heifers, which are now bringing up to £4O each. Mr McKenzie has reared his calves very well and now has 39 well grown, good conditioned animals. The experience he has had has made him keen

and he intends to rear a larger number of calves next season. There is plenty of scope in Taranaki and other dairying areas to do as Mr McKenzie has done, as it seems impossible to satisfy the demand for well reared heifers. If care is taken to buy calves from tuberculosis-free herds and they are reared away from animals that might be affected, when they are sold as heifers they should give a negative reaction to the tuberculin test. Mr McKenzie’s results have shown that calf rearing on a sheep farm or a dairy farm can be a most profitable sideline.

Topdressing and Oversowing Tussock Country

VV7INTER topdressing and oversow- ” ing is now an established practice on all but the driest areas of the tussock country in the South Island. Seeding rates as low as 2 lb of Montgomery red clover, 2 lb of white clover, and 1 lb of alsike per acre, sown with the correct fertiliser, will generally produce a dense clover sward. Sulphur and Phosphorus Deficiencies The South Island tussock country has been shown to be generally highly sulphur deficient, as well as being deficient in varying degrees in phosphorus. It is therefore necessary to find out the relative importance of these two elements before deciding on the type of superphosphate to apply. Ordinary superphosphate will not generally supply sufficient sulphur, and it also has the disadvantage that the small amount it does supply (in the form of gypsum) is readily soluble and subject to leaching. Elemental sulphur is not available to the plant as quickly as gypsum, having first to be oxidised, but it will not leach from the root zone as rapidly. Use of Sulphurised Superphosphate Mixtures now available in which elemental sulphur has been added to ordinary superphosphate give a more concentrated and longer lasting effect on sulphur-deficient country. This sulphurised superphosphate is available in two mixes—one of 400 lb of added sulphur to the ton and one of 224 lb.

Molybdenum responds on much of the tussock country and should generally be included in the initial sowings. When no clover is already present in the sward the seed should be inoculated.

—R. L. BENNETTS

Fields Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Christchurch

Contagious Abortion Can Cause Permanent Sterility

PROTECTION of heifers against contagious abortion is sound business, as many in-calf heifers that slip at five months never come in milk at all. In addition to the loss of milk from heifers with the disease, inflammation of the womb left after the abortion is a potent cause of permanent sterility. Dairy farmers cannot afford not to have their calves vaccinated. Early inquiry should be made of Department of Agriculture officers or club veterinarians to ensure inclusion in the heavy programme of vaccinations starting in January and February.