4/7/2024 0 Comments Raising dairy cattle![]() This pattern was maintained for eight weeks, after which the calves were weaned. To prevent stomach upsets, neither group was given access to water while receiving milk, or for two hours thereafter. The calves in the first group each received 3ℓ of milk once a day, between 8am and 9am, while the calves in the other group received 1,5ℓ of milk twice a day, between 8am and 9am, and 3pm and 4pm. They were kept with their dams for the first three days of their lives to ensure they received enough colostrum, after which they were moved to hutches and divided into two groups. Myburgh and his supervisor, Prof Robin Meeske of the Directorate of Animal Sciences at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, therefore decided to conduct a controlled study on Jersey calves, comparing the once-a-day and twice-a-day regimes.įorty-eight Jersey heifer calves and 24 bull calves born at the experimental farm between September and December 2017 were used in the study. But when Myburgh tried to persuade dairy farmers in the region to do the same, they dismissed it as “not a good idea”. However, to save on labour costs, the Outeniqua Research Farm has been giving its calves milk once a day for years, and has found this to be an effective way to rear them.
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