Managing the young calf:

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University of Wisconsin-Extension seeks to adaptively use technology to help train owners, managers and employees in best practices for increased profitability and competitiveness in the dairy industry.

Brandon Kruswick works with young heifers at Yosemite Jersey Dairy.

University of Wisconsin-Dairy Science

Recognize factors that put young dairy calves at risk of developing disease, and the locations on the dairy that are most apt to act as the source of infection.

University of Wisconsin-College of Life Sciences

A University of Wisconsin-College of Life Sciences alumni, Breinne Hendrickson of New Berlin, Wisconsin, grew up on a 212-acre, 80-cow registered Holstein dairy farm with her parents, Jeff and Kate Hendrickson, and her siblings, Brandon, Kelsi, Trent and Brooks. Although she said she loves all aspects of the farm, calf and heifer care has always been her specialty.

UW-CALS

This is an easy method of screening calves for respiratory disease, developed by University of Wisconsin-Madison veterinarian Sheila McGuirk.

Sheila M. McGuirk

Recognize factors that put young dairy calves at risk of developing disease, and the locations on the dairy that are most apt to act as the source of infection.

University of Wisconsin-College of Life Sciences

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Sheila M. McGuirk, DVM, PhD University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine

In calf rearing, the difference between health and disease is very often just a slight tip of a delicate balance that weighs calf and environmental factors with the bacterial, viral or parasitic agents to which the calf will be exposed. The infectious agents that are capable of causing scours, pneumonia or septicemia in young calves are ubiquitous. Calves will inevitably be exposed, several may become infected but only a few should catch the disease if the relevant risk factors are minimized and the sources of infection are diluted or by-passed.