Big calves turn into big heifers

What is it about?

We compared calf and heifer growth rates on commercial dairy farms. This data allows farmers to judge the success of their calf and heifer rearing program, and to identify changes that could improve rates of weight gain for their animals.

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Why is it important?

This work shows the potential of using body weight measures, as estimated using heart-birth tapes, to generate farm specific growth rates for calves and heifers. These growth rates can be used by farmers to judge the success of their own practices and to evaluate changes in practice. This approach may also be useful for on-farm animal welfare assessments to identify farms were calves are growing much more slowly than expected.