Draughts and moisture are not good for animals. Therefore, avoid these situations.
Temperature regulation is not yet fully developed at the young calf.
This makes it more difficult for them to keep themselves warm.
Prevent calves from lying in a damp and/or drafty environment. Draughts and moisture often lead to large temperature fluctuations at the young calf.
A fresh calf pen is not a problem, as long as the calves' environment is dry and protected from wind.
A layer of sawdust as bedding topped with a thick layer of straw in calf pens can prevent a lot of problems. If you still can see the legs of a lying calf, your straw bedding is not thick enough, it is better to add extra straw.
Personally, I favor a calf blanket or bodywarmer for calves during fall, winter and spring. But you must use them correctly!
Before using the calf blanket or bodywarmer on the calf, the animal must be thoroughly dry. Otherwise, it will be counterproductive!
A calf's optimal comfort zone is an ambient temperature of 15°C. If the calf is not sufficiently dry, the calf will get cold and will burn more energy to keep warm.
This is not only at the expense of vitality, but also at the expense of growth and increases the risk of stress and respiratory diseases.
Depending on conditions, a calf blanket or bodywarmer can be used for a few days to four weeks.
A clean calf blanket or calf bodywarmer for each newborn calf as well as the correct size speaks for itself.
Source text Ronald Rongen, photos Ronald Rongen, Marga Fogt