Jackets for calves pass the 2017-18 winter test
One night recently, I came in after a long day’s work, not feeling too well.
My sinuses had been acting up for a while, giving me headaches in the morning, but that night, it came to a head.
I got out the thermometer and took my temperature. I knew it, it was up two degrees. Not a good outlook.
So, what do you do when you are not feeling well, and are running a temperature? Obviously, you take to the bed.
So I took paracetamol and headed in under the eiderdown.
I was shivering at first, but as the hours moved on, I warmed up, and began to sweat off the fever. By morning, my temperature had returned to normal and I was feeling a lot better.
This little story, which is true, serves to illustrate a point.
I thought about it during the last weeks, as I was examining and treating a sick calf. The calf in question had a temperature and a fairly swollen navel.
He was also scoury and dehydrated. We hooked the calf up with a few litres of intravenous drip and put him on a course of antibiotics.
We got him snuggled up under an infra-red lamp and, as I was about to leave, Timmy asked me about putting a coat on the calf as well.
Picturing an old overcoat or anorak, I asked him about it.
“I have one of these calf coats hanging up here on the rafter” he said.
“Well it’s not going to do the calf much good up there”, said I,” you might as well put it on him, and keep the heat in him.”
About a week later, I was out with Timmy again, looking at another calf, when I enquired after the previous one.
I was shown this calf in the next pen with the jacket still on him, and he was bouncing around the place looking the picture of health.
“Never looked back since the jacket went on him,” said Timmy.
When I thought about it, my mind went back to myself covered up under the eiderdown. It is what we all do, so why not do the same with our sick or poorly calves.
This year, I have come across a lot of jackets in calf houses. They can be bought for €20 to €60, with the more expensive ones obviously being better quality, providing more insulation, and also being more durable and longer lasting.
Usually, the outer layer should be a waterproof, breathable material with the insulation layer inside this, and finally a soft inner lining against the calf. Ideally, the calf jacket should be washable, so that it can be cleaned between calves.
Research has shown that calves that wear jackets for the first 42 days can put on an extra 5kg of bodyweight before weaning, and they do so while eating less food.
Their rumens are also better developed. Calves can happily grow at temperatures above 10C, but once it goes below that, they start to struggle, using most if not all of their food/milk to keep themselves warm. This winter, in particular, we saw a lot of days with very low temperatures, and the calf jacket would have been more than a welcome addition.
People might see calf jackets as yet another expense in the farming budget, but I am firmly convinced the benefits accrued from them far outweigh the cost of getting them.
Clients who have them swear by them, and intend to buy more of them.
