North Otago farmer Wayne Bugden is rearing 120 calves on AgriVantage’s Sprayfo Blue Premium calf milk replacer this season. With an added boost of Biopect, Wayne says the calves are off to an extra good start.
Wayne switched to Sprayfo CMR based on his experience with Sprayfo Primo Lamb – which he used to rear 10 lambs with last season. “Sprayfo lamb milk replacer is a great product” says Wayne. “The biggest change was having no issues with abomasal bloat, it was a completely different experience to other lamb products.
“The lambs fed adlib, they were a lot livelier, had more energy and growth rates were good. Based on that, we decided to give Sprayfo Blue Premium calf milk replacer a crack. So far, we’re impressed – the calves are healthy and have plenty of vigour.”
Acting on AgriVantage (SI) Business Manager Cheryl Farrar’s advice, Wayne introduced Biopect too.
Biopect is a non-antibiotic powder containing dried fruit pulp and fibres, along with electrolytes and glucose. It’s designed to encourage good gut health, promoting a healthy digestive tract and immune system. Biopect will help to boost animals experiencing stress, either due to cold weather conditions, being transported to a new environment, or a change in diet – in any situation where they are at risk of scours.
“Biopect is an excellent product” Wayne readily confirms. “It really helps the calves pick up after transportation and stops them scouring.”
Wayne rears calves from 4 days old, with the help of his Dad Tony.
To start with, the calves are fed Sprayfo Blue mixed with Biopect for the first three days, twice daily, using a 12-teat compartment feeder.
“The Sprayfo-Biopect combination has been brilliant, we feel the calves are off to an extra good start.”
At about 10 days old, the faster drinkers are moved onto a 60-teat feeder (feeding once daily on Sprayfo Blue) until weaning.
Wayne’s seeing several calves reach the weaning weight of 80kg at around 7 weeks.
AgriVantage’s Stalosan F is another new product in Wayne’s rearing programme.
A highly effective biosecurity disinfectant, Stalosan F is a drying agent which stabilises the microflora and chemical balance in animal environments. It does not contain chemicals and remains active for several days.
AgriVantage recommends using Stalosan F in conjunction with a liquid disinfectant for best results. Wayne is doing exactly that, spraying down the calf shed, gates and walls with a liquid disinfectant and applying Stalosan powder the night before new calves are due to arrive.
“Stalosan F is a very good product. The ammonia smell is noticeably better, and the shed is a lot less damp” he notes.
So, Wayne is using Sprayfo Primo Lamb, Sprayfo Blue Premium CMR, Biopect and Stalosan F from AgriVantage. He’s also using Launchpad18 Colostrum Powder for the first time this season.
“We do what Cheryl tells us to!” Wayne says, laughing. “Really, we have had excellent support from the AgriVantage team, and their rearing products work well for us.
“I highly recommend AgriVantage for cost-effective rearing solutions.”