Stephen Glenn milks 200 cows with his brother Philip and father Leslie near Carryduff in Co Down. Calving takes the place the year around, apart from the months of June and July. Up to three years ago the family would have had trouble with young calves and, in particular, an issue with scours when they were put on to powdered milk, after having received colostrum.
“We were advised to dose the calves with the probiotic product Provita Protect, Stephen explained.
Recent, independent research has confirmed just how exposed newborn calves are to picking up disease. For example, on average, it will take a young calf up to three and a half hours to get its first suck. And before it even finds its mother’s teat, it may well have already sucked her tail, leg and other body parts. As a result, the young calf will ingest large number of bugs – Salmonella, E Coli etc – before it receives one drop of colostrum.
Provita’s Tommy Armstrong takes up the story:
“It is crucially important for a young calf to get colostrum as soon as possible after birth,” he explained
February 8th, Provita’s Tommy Armstrong will be in attendance at Connon Farm Merchants to discuss with customers the absolute necessity of giving newborn calves the best possible start and, in this context, the valuable role that can be played by Provita ‘Protect’ One direct impact of last year’s poor grazing season and the subsequent fall-off … Read more