As producers evaluate expansion plans for the coming years, their focus typically first turns to the lactating cow barns, the milking parlor and manure treatment or storages.

In my 25 years of working both as a custom heifer grower, as well as a consultant to heifer raisers, I’ve seen firsthand how tremendous gains and growth made during the pre-weaning phase can be squandered when those calves are transitioned into a housing structure that doesn’t provide the proper space and ventilation that aggressively growing heifers need to thrive.

There are several basic needs that heifers have for the first 60 days after they have moved out of the nursery barn or calf hutches.

Properly managed inside feedbunk
Offering a feedbunk space that is convenient and protected from the weather is one of the most important ways to keep calves eating feed and growing. Up until this point, calves have been babied with all their feed brought to them. As they move into group housing, it’s critical to make sure that it’s comfortable for them to come to the bunk at all times, and that they are protected from inclement weather.

There also are financial benefits to providing a covering for the young calf feeding area. Typically, these calves are eating a ration that is mostly grain with very little forage – a very costly ration. Dairies that do not cover the feedbunk commonly experience 8 to 15 percent shrink or loss of feed. On a fairly high-cost ration, those losses can mount up quickly.

Good bunkline management is another key to maintaining heifer growth. Transition heifers should be offered around 12 inches of bunk space per head. Farms with excellent bunk management may be able to get away with a little less than that while other dairies may require more. The most important thing is to ensure that all calves have access to feeding space when grain is fed and that the bunk doesn’t run out of feed.

Clean, dry resting place
Just as important as providing a comfortable eating place for transition heifers is making sure their needs for housing are met. Calves under 10 months old are not recommended to be housed in freestalls, meaning most will be on a bedded pack or dry-lot corrals. In either case, it’s important to make sure that they aren’t overcrowded and have a clean, dry place to lie down.

Bedding pack management has a large impact on young heifer performance as they mature from 61-day-old weaned calves into young growing replacements. On average, these heifers will need about 45 square feet of pack space per head, but that may vary some with age. Growing heifers should add about 120 pounds of gain in this 60-day window, meaning the oldest of these transition heifers may need more space.

A scrape alley should be included when possible as it helps keep the bedding pack cleaner. As much as 50 percent of the daily manure production will be in the scrape alley when heifers stand there to eat at a bunk.

The bedding source should be dry and mostly free of dust. While there are plenty of good options in the marketplace, the key is to choose a cost-effective source and use enough of it to keep heifers dry. A spongy, wet pack will not only impact heifer growth, it also will damage air quality by producing high levels of ammonia and bacteria.

Producers designing a barn for young heifers should begin by considering their grouping strategy and animal flow. Some of the best barns I have seen make it easy to progress heifers into new groups as they mature in size.

Focus on labor efficiency
A properly designed young heifer facility should really work for you, and be as labor-efficient as possible. Gates and alleyways should be set up so that one person can handle feeding, bedding and cleaning by themselves. Pens should be designed to lock heifers in the bedding area for easier scraping of the alleyway.

Headlocks are a good idea for older heifers, especially those who fall into a herd health or vaccination protocol window. By installing headlocks for only this group, you can save some money while still making it easy to properly administer treatment. A special-needs pen and work area also may provide some benefits on larger farms for handling and treating heifers.

As calves leave the plush life of individual housing and milk replacer for a transition to group care, it’s important that the housing and resting place meets their needs and keeps them on the fast track to success.

By aggressively growing heifers on a higher plane of nutrition from birth to 12 weeks, and then matching that with facilities and care that allow them to reach their full potential, dairy producers and calf growers are preparing heifers for earlier breeding and calving dates, and a lifetime of better performance. PD

Maynard Moen
Calf and Heifer Specialist
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed
msmoen@landolakes.com

Don’t put your calves’ growth in neutral!
Far too often, impressive gains by calves before weaning are squandered by housing and management that doesn’t transition them to groups smoothly. Avoid these mistakes with transition heifers.

1. Outside feed bunk – There is a huge percentage of days where weather impacts young heifers. Losses of feed due to spoilage and weather damage can be as high as 15 percent.

2. Overcrowding – Heifers housed in groups for the first time are especially vulnerable to overcrowding and may reduce performance, as well as make a bedded pack hard to keep clean.

3. Dirty manure alleys – Hard-to-clean scrape alleys are often poorly maintained. This quickly leads to a dirty bedding pack, poor air quality and reduced growth and performance.