Estamos usando este padrão no plano alimentar do Lely Calm porque ele é realmente o melhor para a bezerra?

Tenho uma dúvida que acredito que muitos também tenham, mas sobre a qual ainda vejo pouca informação prática, principalmente aqui no Brasil.

No Lely Calm, hoje utilizo o plano F40, com 40 dias livres, e depois faço o desmame gradual. Mas sabemos que existem muitas possibilidades de ajuste: prolongar a curva, desmamar mais tarde, trabalhar desmame em 60, 90 ou 120 dias, além de ajustar os volumes, como 10, 8 ou 6 litros, conforme a fase.

Além disso, ainda existem vários outros pontos que influenciam muito no resultado e sobre os quais quase não vejo uma explicação clara: qual volume liberar por mamada, qual intervalo entre mamadas, como trabalhar a velocidade ou o percentual de sucção — mais intensa no início e mais leve no final — entre outros detalhes. São muitas coisas que, muitas vezes, recebemos como um modelo “pronto”, mas sem uma resposta mais técnica do porquê de aquele plano alimentar ser o mais indicado.

A minha impressão é que muita gente segue um padrão já definido, mas nem sempre fica claro qual é a lógica por trás da curva escolhida e das configurações padrão.

Então a pergunta que eu realmente queria debater é:

Estamos usando essa curva porque ela é realmente a melhor para a bezerra, ou porque foi a curva que aprendemos a usar?

Outro ponto importante: quase tudo que encontramos como referência é voltado para gado Holandês, mas no meu caso trabalho com gado Jersey. E, na prática, me parece difícil acreditar que a melhor estratégia seja exatamente a mesma.

Aqui no Brasil ainda vejo poucos estudos e poucos trabalhos práticos sobre isso, então queria muito ouvir experiências reais de quem já testou, errou, ajustou e conseguiu tirar conclusões.

O que de fato tem funcionado melhor para vocês no Calm?

Parents
  • Hi Nico,

     

    Very interesting questions. Thank you for this. You are completely right. There are many theories and opinions regarding calf feeding. It is hard to know what exactly is the best for the calf… Here is my view on things.

     

    Quantity per feeding

    For young calves (first few weeks of life), the quantity per feeding is determined by the size of the abomasum. At birth, the abomasum capacity of a Holstein calf is 1.5 to 2 liters. For a Jersey, this is 1 to 1.5 liters. If the calf drinks more than fits in the abomasum, the excess milk will overflow in the rumen. A too small portion can leave a calf unsatisfied, which can result in cross-sucking behavior.

     

    Interval between feedings

    In nature, a calf nurses between 6 and 10 times per day. That means that there is an interval of roughly 2-4 hours per feeding moments. This is something we want to mimic as well with an automatic feeder. More and smaller portions throughout the day help keep the blood sugar levels stable.

     

    Drinking speed

    A proper drinking speed stimulates saliva production, which helps clot formation in the abomasum and improves digestion. If the drinking speed is too slow, the calf can get frustrated and "give up" mid portion. Too fast drinking (like a calf is drinking from a bucket), results in less saliva production and thus poor digestion. These settings also depend on the length and slope of your hoses, and the wear of your teat…

     

    Weaning

    Weaning is widely discussed topic, and there is no one-size fits all. If we look at a natural situation, a calf drinks milk for way longer than we allow on commercial farms and the weaning is very gradual. Personally, I therefore believe in a slow gradual weaning. (No big steps down in quantity of milk per day.) However, ideally, weaning should be driven by feed intake (concentrates) and not by age.

     

    In conclusion, I feel like a feeding plan is always tailor made. There are guidelines, but each farmers still needs to discover through trial and error what works best for his calves, within his barn, within his climate and environment.

Reply
  • Hi Nico,

     

    Very interesting questions. Thank you for this. You are completely right. There are many theories and opinions regarding calf feeding. It is hard to know what exactly is the best for the calf… Here is my view on things.

     

    Quantity per feeding

    For young calves (first few weeks of life), the quantity per feeding is determined by the size of the abomasum. At birth, the abomasum capacity of a Holstein calf is 1.5 to 2 liters. For a Jersey, this is 1 to 1.5 liters. If the calf drinks more than fits in the abomasum, the excess milk will overflow in the rumen. A too small portion can leave a calf unsatisfied, which can result in cross-sucking behavior.

     

    Interval between feedings

    In nature, a calf nurses between 6 and 10 times per day. That means that there is an interval of roughly 2-4 hours per feeding moments. This is something we want to mimic as well with an automatic feeder. More and smaller portions throughout the day help keep the blood sugar levels stable.

     

    Drinking speed

    A proper drinking speed stimulates saliva production, which helps clot formation in the abomasum and improves digestion. If the drinking speed is too slow, the calf can get frustrated and "give up" mid portion. Too fast drinking (like a calf is drinking from a bucket), results in less saliva production and thus poor digestion. These settings also depend on the length and slope of your hoses, and the wear of your teat…

     

    Weaning

    Weaning is widely discussed topic, and there is no one-size fits all. If we look at a natural situation, a calf drinks milk for way longer than we allow on commercial farms and the weaning is very gradual. Personally, I therefore believe in a slow gradual weaning. (No big steps down in quantity of milk per day.) However, ideally, weaning should be driven by feed intake (concentrates) and not by age.

     

    In conclusion, I feel like a feeding plan is always tailor made. There are guidelines, but each farmers still needs to discover through trial and error what works best for his calves, within his barn, within his climate and environment.

Children