Calf science
From genes to weaning
Dairy calves represent the future herd but rearing them to be top performers can sometimes be challenging. Our website provides a source of information to dairy farmers, veterinarians, advisors and calf caretakers knowledge and tips on current calf care topics to promote health. Our site provides traditional factsheets, video courses in English and Spanish, and links for science-based ways to approach calf care.
Research
Factsheets
- Genomics and the pre-weaned dairy calf By Dale Moore, Joe Dalton, Albert DeVries
Research
- Besser, T., Garmedia, A., McGuire, T., & Gay, C. 1985. Effect of Colostral Immunoglobulin G1 and Immunoglobulin M Concentrations on Immunoglobulin Absorption in Calves. Journal of Dairy Science., 68(8), 2033-2037.
- ACB Berge, TE Besser, DA Moore, WM Sischo. 2009. Evaluation of the effects of oral colostrum supplementation during the first fourteen days on the health and performance of preweaned calves. Journal of Dairy Science, 92(1), 286-295.
- D.M. Short, D.A. Moore, and W.M. Sischo. 2016. A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating the Effects of Oligosaccharides on Transfer of Passive Immunity in Neonatal Dairy Calves. J. Vet Intern Med 2016;30:1381-1389.
Research
- William M Sischo, Diana M Short, Mareen Geissler, Apichaya Bunyatratchata, and Daniela Barile. 2017. Comparative composition, diversity, and abundance of oligosaccharides in early lactation milk from commercial dairy and beef cows. doi: 10.3168/J. Dairy Science 100:1-10.
- H.K. Floren, W.M. Sischo, C. Crudo, and D.A. Moore. 2016. Use of a digital and an optical Brix refractometer to estimate total solids in milk replacer solutions for calves. J. Dairy Sci. 99:7517-7522.
Factsheets
- How Much Starter Grain Should a Pre-Weaned Dairy Calf be Eating? By Dale A Moore, Amber Adams-Progar, and William M Sischo. 2017 – FS288E
- Feeding quality non-salable (waste) milk to dairy calves
- If a little’s good, is more better? By Dale Moore, Helen Floren and William Sischo for Progressive Dairyman (January 18 2016)
Research
- Housing and management characteristics of calf automated feeding systems in the Upper Midwest of the United States Jorgensen MW, Janni K, Adams-Progar A, Chester-Jones H, Salfer JA, Endres MI. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Dec;100(12):9881-9891. doi: 10.3168/jds.2017-12792. Epub 2017 Oct 4.
Factsheets
- Reducing heat stress in hutch calves
- Group Housing Preweaned Dairy Calves: Socialization versus Disease Transmission
- The calf’s first environment – the maternity pen
- Transportation of the newborn to the calf – rearing facility
- Hutches or group pens for pre-weaned calves
- Effects of hutch or pen environment on pre–weaned calf health, welfare, and performance
- Reducing pathogen load in the calf environment
- The calf environment and caretaker health
- Recommendations for calf housing
- Assessment tool to evaluate the calf environment
- Dairy calves and their environment: Improving health, welfare, and performance
Research
- Moore, D.A., Olson, A., Adams-Progar, A., Berge, A.C.B., and Sischo, W.M. 2015. Do we really know how dairy treaters make decisions on which calf to treat? American Association of Bovine Practitioners 2015 Conference, New Orleans, LA.
- Mortality and health treatment rates of dairy calves in automated milk feeding systems in the Upper Midwest of the United States. Jorgensen MW, Adams-Progar A, de Passillé AM, Rushen J, Salfer JA, Endres MI. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Nov;100(11):9186-9193. doi: 10.3168/jds.2017-13198. Epub 2017 Sep 13.
- Factors associated with dairy calf health in automated feeding systems in the Upper Midwest United States. Jorgensen MW, Adams-Progar A, de Passillé AM, Rushen J, Godden SM, Chester-Jones H, Endres MI. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Jul;100(7):5675-5686. doi: 10.3168/jds.2016-12501. Epub 2017 Apr 27.
Factsheets
Research
- Short communication: Predictors of time to dairy calf bucket training. Mandel C, Adams-Progar A, Sischo WM, Moore DA. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Dec;100(12):9769-9774. doi: 10.3168/jds.2017-13208. Epub 2017 Sep 21.
- Effects of repeated transport on Holstein calf post-transport behavior and feed intake. Adams-Progar AL, Friend TH, Holub GA, Krenek AJ, Garey SM, Terrill CL. J Anim Sci. 2015 Feb;93(2):731-6. doi: 10.2527/jas.2014-7724.
Factsheets
Research
- The Good Health Records Program (CM one of the Archived Research Projects)
Factsheets
Factsheets
- Calf Care Audit
- Dairy organizational communication: Assessing the structure. A PDF guide on how to use the On-Farm Communication Evaluation Tool. By Drs. WM Sischo, C Crudo, and DA Moore.
- On-Farm communication evaluation tool: Identifying key personnel and educational needs. (PDF) Focus on Calf Health and Treatment Decisions
- Calf treatment for diarrhea: Are the drugs we use effective?
- Improving On-Farm Communication
- New antibiotic resistance gene in washington dairy cattle
If you need an accessible version of a PDF, please contact us at 509-335-8221 or vetextension@wsu.edu.
Funding for this work done over the years has come from the following grants:
- USDA-CSREES-NIFSI-2004-51110-02184
- USDA-CSREES-NIFSI-2010-51110-21131
- USDA-NIFA-AFRI-2013-68004-20365
- USDA-NIFA-AFRI-2015-68003-22998