Best Management Practices  (a self-evaluation checklist of these BMPs is available upon request)

Calves

Veterinarian Care                                                                           

• Vaccination of calves and pre-fresh animals

• Passive immunity testing

• Navels clean and dipped

• Securing good passive immunity

• Early diagnosis of scours and pneumonia

• Use thermometer to identify sick calves

• Early scours detection and intervention

• Early pneumonia detection and intervention

• Early (low stress) dehorning

• Use of laboratory for pathogen diagnosis

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Feeding

• Good colostrum collection and storage

• Colostrum free of blood, debris & mastitis

• 10% of Body Weight of colostrum with 2 hours

• Clean water and starter buckets by 3 days

• Clean milk feeding bottles, buckets and other equipment

• Consistent water temp and milk mix

• Regular and effective use of a colostrometer

• Colostrum thawing and preparation for feeding

• Weather adjusted feeding rates

• Pasteurization of milk

• Consistent feeding intervals

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Physical Environment

• Give stalls/huts a rest period after cleaning

• 34 sq. ft. of resting area (40 in group)

• Cleaning of stalls after weaning

• Cold weather jackets

• Newborn calves placed

• Biosecurity of the calf facilities

• Calving area sanitation

• Away from disease risk

• Clean and dry bedding all the time

• High quality air quality and draft prevention

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Management, Reporting & Staffing

• Birth weight of calves

• Use of current team – advisors, vet(s), nutritionist, etc.

• Conscientious caretakers

• Health record keeping

• Internal and external benchmarking

• Culling of calves

• Adequacy and skill level of people assisting with calving

• Adequacy of veterinarian involvement