When Old Man Winter calls and the mercury falls, we want to do everything we can to protect our calves, including nutritionally.

Adding fat to the ration can help calves maintain body temperature, respiration, blood circulation, and body condition. But fat alone cannot be utilized unless it is combined with protein and carbohydrates to increase our true nutritional goal: energy.

Energy is measured in calories. One calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Centigrade. In other words, when we deliver more calories to calves, we are essentially pouring heat into them, which is exactly our goal in cold weather.

There are five ways to deliver more energy safely and effectively to preweaned calves. They are:

(1)   Increase liquid feed volume – Sticking with the same milk replacer formulation – but more of it – is a popular and successful way to help calves cope with cold. Examples include feeding more volume at each feeding (i.e., feeding 3 quarts instead of 2), or adding another feeding throughout the day.

(2)   Use a higher-fat milk replacer formulation – You can change milk replacer formulations by increasing the fat content a percentage or two above your standard formulation.

(3)   Add more milk replacer powder – It is possible to deliver more energy with this method but be careful to not take it to the extreme, especially in calves less than 3 weeks of age. Their still-developing digestive systems can become overwhelmed by excess solids. We recommend feeding no more that 14.5% solids in the milk replacer solution, and that the changes in solids concentration are made gradually.

(4)   Feed supplemental starter grain – Adding starter grain to the diet can help satisfy cold-weather appetites, promote rumen development, and deliver more energy to each calf. Make small amounts of fresh grain available starting in the first week of life.

(5)   Boosting fat -- Using a fat supplement, such as 7/60, in the milk replacer can increase overall fat content. This can be done effectively by pulling out an ounce of the milk replacer powder and adding in an ounce of the fat supplement, per calf, at each feeding.

With any and all of these approaches, fresh, clean water is an essential companion. While delivery can be challenging in wintry weather, water is necessary to help keep the digesta moving through the gastro-intestinal tract. Water consumption should increase incrementally as nutrients are boosted to avoid digestive upsets like scours and bloat.

Calves also need more water in the winter because ambient humidity is low, and so they will respirate more water to adjust to the dry atmosphere. Finally, water and grain consumption go hand-in-hand, so water is necessary to capture the advantages of starter grain.

When do calves need more energy? The answer to this question will vary depending on temperature-humidity index (THI), wind speed; breed and size of calf; and other factors. But in general, when the lowest temperature in a 24-hour period is 50°F or below, calves should have their energy increased.

At the 50°F threshold, they need about 1% more energy for every degree below. So, at 25°F, they need 25% more energy. At 0°F, they need 50% more energy, and so on.

Finally, the source and quality of those nutrients matters as well. While fat, protein, and carbohydrate sources in milk replacer can vary greatly, it is important that they are high-quality and easily utilized by the calf. Nearly all calf raisers who are rearing replacement heifers choose milk replacer formulations with all-milk protein sources.

Strauss Feeds also now uses coconut oil as a fat source in all of our milk replacer products, which allows us to create a fatty acid profile that mimics butterfat, improving digestibility.         

Delivering more nutrients to preweaned calves in cold weather affects animal welfare, calf health, and productivity. By boosting the complete energy package for calves, we can successfully protect all three.

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