Improve young calf nutrition with Axcelera C

Axcelera-C is offered in addition to the existing calf milk replacer and is an easy way of accelerating calf growth and lifetime performance.

Each calf is offered Axcelera-C from day 5 until weaning to supplement the existing calf milk diet.

FOR BEST RESULTS

• Offer fresh Axcelera-C every day. If any remains after 24 hours, remove it and reduce the quantity offered.
• Only offer a maximum of 800g of milk / calf / day to enhance intakes
• Fresh water and clean straw should always be available
• In weeks 1-2 - offer Axcelera-C to calves at suckling height to increase intakes

MEASURE & MANAGE PERFORMANCE

• Wean calves @ 1.5kg dry matter intake (not age, size or weight). Mark a feed bucket at 1.5kg and record age (days) when they empty the bucket
• Weigh calf growth and performance 30 days after weaning. This is a measure of rumen performance, rather than what milk has achieved prior to weaning.
• Record treatments for pneumonia, scours and other issues.

WEAN YOUR CALVES AT 1.5KG DRY MATTER INTAKE – ACHIEVABLE IN 40 DAYS

• Calves eat 1.5kg dry matter intake by 40 days with Axcelera-C
• Save time and money
• No growth check at weaning
• Accelerated pre & post-weaning performance

A new way of using Axcelera-C

More farmers are starting to use Axcelera-C in an advanced way to wean their calves at 40 days, saving themselves time, hassle and money.

Their accelerated calves show no check at weaning and grow strongly through to weaning and beyond. Axcelera-C is providing farmers with a new way of optimising the lifetime performance of their calves, faster and more efficiently.

Proven on Farm

"We are weaning at 40 days, improving calf health and saving £30 / calf in rearing costs"

“Since using Axcelera-C, we have been fascinated to see for ourselves how the accelerated rumen development has changed the shape of our calves, giving them a much deeper body and greater capacity.

Growth rate has been increased and our calves condition, vigour and initiative has also improved. We believe Axcelera-C is giving our calves more energy earlier and because it is digested in the rumen from a few days of age, the calves are growing faster and able to cope much better against disease.

"100% Axcelera-C is offered ad-lib to our calves for the first 4 weeks, and we continue to feed it through to day 50 (10 days after our calves are weaned). We also introduce a forage / starter blend from 4 weeks, and reduce the milk we feed with our automatic feeder to encourage solid feed intake, weaning at 40 days”.

Graham & Amy Morton (Samlesbury, Lancashire) – 200 Montbeliardes

In addition to the increased throughput of calves through the system, they are seeing:

Reduction in Costs

• Save approx £30 / calf
• Decrease in levels of Milk Powder used
• Decrease in medicines required for treatment of scours etc
• Switch from reliance on Starter Nuts to TMR mix

Calves should always have free access to water and straw.

The Axcelera-C Calf Rearing System is designed to deliver optimal nutrition to calves for lifetime performance.

The system works by feeding the right quality and quantity of Axcelera-C CMR to provide exacting nutrition whilst stimulating calves to eat Axcelera-C from 5 days. This means calves benefit from the balance between high lactose (46%) liquid milk intakes and high lactose (40%) solid feed intakes.

High and early solid feed intakes are crucial for rumen development that will develop growth momentum most significantly up to weaning and beyond. Consequently, calves naturally eat more solid feed earlier, reaching 1.5kg dry matter intake in readiness for weaning faster than conventional systems.

Trials show that the Axcelera-C Calf Rearing System grows faster calves by feeding less milk.

Two groups of calves were offered 2 different diets - with confounding results:

1. 40 day Axcelera-C system: 26kg of Calf Milk Replacer & 14.2 kg of Axcelera-C per calf.
2. 70 day program: 45kg of Calf Milk Replacer per calf.

By 120 days - Axcelera-C calves fed 19kg less milk than conventional high milk calves were 8.3kg heavier.

By 120 days - Axcelera-C calves fed 19kg less milk than conventional high milk calves were growing 160g/day faster

Save £25 / calf using the 40 day milk system, and grow faster growing calves.

Maintain calf growth rates through weaning and beyond

Weaning can be a stressful period for calves, as they transition from potentially high levels of milk to a solid feed. During this period, calves move from gaining their energy from liquid milk (abomasum) to starter feed (rumen).

Calves that have been offered relatively high levels of milk are likely to have a less well-developed rumen. This is because solid feed intakes will have been reduced. As such, during the weaning period, calves can experience an energy deficit if they are unable to gain the same level of energy and nutrition from solid feed, as the milk feeding stops.

Most calf rearers are familiar with the ‘growth slump’ or ‘weaning check’, when calf growth rates a reduced, and health challenges can increase. These challenges can be as a result of the energy deficit during the weaning period.

Axcelera-C can be used very simply to address the energy deficiency, whilst encouraging further rumen development, by feeding it 10 days either side of weaning, when starter feed intakes are approximately 1kg / calf / day.

Simply blend Axcelera-C with the starter feed (30:70) for 10 days before and after weaning.

Growth rates will be maintained, showing a significant weight difference of up to 7-10kg, 30 days after weaning.

CALF RANCHES

Raising calves on a calf ranch, due to the number of animals raised at one time, uses Axcelera-C in a different way compared to a dairy unit. The priority on a calf ranch is to keep the feeding program as simple and consistent as possible. This saves on labour and ensures fewer mistakes are likely to be made.

On dairy units, the optimal way of using Axcelera-C is to offer it ad-lib from day 4 for 3 weeks, replacing starter feed completely. And ideally, to encourage early dry matter intake to offer Axcelera-C at suckling height in weeks 1-2 – using a shallow feeding bowl.

On a calf ranch, we use Axcelera-C in a different way to make it as easy as possible. Compared to the dairy unit approach, this requires less labour and attention to detail. It uses less Axcelera-C per head (7kg) compared to a dairy unit (9kg) and still delivers excellent results.

We prefer to offer a 30% Axcelera-C blend as early as possible. As most calf ranches don’t offer grains until day 12 – then use that as the starting point for Axcelera-C. If grains are routinely offered earlier then offer the Axcelera-C blend earlier. Whatever the start time, offer the 30% blend for 30 days. Then offer 100% grains until weaning – measured at 3.3lb daily dry matter intake.

Weaning: Rather than wean on age, size or weight, let the calf’s own rate of rumen development determine when it is ready to be weaned off milk. We wean when a calf intakes 3.3lb (1.5kg) per day.

Weighing: If using weight as the measure of calf growth and performance, then to demonstrate how the rumen is contributing to the calf’s growth (and so will do for the rest of its life), we recommend weighing a minimum of 30 days after weaning. As such, we are seeing how the rumen is performing away from the direct pre-weaning influence of milk.

The world’s first accelerator for cows. A complementary feed for calves to supplement the existing calf milk diet from 3 days until weaning.

Axcelera-C is produced using the unique Neo-Tec system that ensures the ultra-high lactose formulation and highly digestible proteins are not denatured.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE: For best results:

Offer Axcelera-C in addition to the existing calf milk replacer.

1. From day 3 for 3 weeks: Daily – offer fresh Axcelera-C ad lib as a starter feed replacement.
2. From 3 weeks until weaning: Daily – Offer 150g / head / day placed on top of starter feed.
3. For group-housed calves, mix 15% Axcelera-C fresh every day with your starter feed.

Ensure that Axcelera-C is placed into an empty, clean and dry feeder and always remove and clean any rejected solids before offering the following feed. Fresh water and clean straw should always be available.

ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: (USA Product Label - Download)

Oils & Fats 12.0%, Protein 21.0%, Fibre 3.5%, Ash 6.5%, Sodium 0.28%,

Copper 51mg/kg

COMPOSITION:

Toasted soya beans, Whey powder, Whey Permeate powder, Vegetable (palm) oil, Oat flakes – heat treated, Calcium carbonate.

ADDITIVES (per kg):

Vitamins: Vitamin A (3a672a- Retinyl acetate) 10000 IU, Vitamin D3 (E671-Cholecalciferol) 3000 IU, Vitamin E (3a700 – all-rac-alpha tocopherol acetate) 100 IU, Vitamin B12 100 mcg

Trace Elements: Calcium Iodate anhydrous (E2-iodine) 4.7mg, Manganous Sulphate monohydrate (E5-Manganese) 312.5mg, Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate (E6-Zinc) 277.8mg, Zinc Chelate of Amino Acid hydrate (E6-Zinc) 202mg, Cupric Sulphate pentahydrate (E4- Copper) 48.0mg, Ferrous Sulphate monohydrate (E1-Iron) 333.3mg, Sodium Selenite (E8-selenium) 0.4mg, Organic Selenium (3.b.8. 10-selenium) 43.5mg.

Antioxidants: Butylated hydroxytoluene 4mg, Propyl Gallate (E310) 0.75 mg

Zootechnical: Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 11181 (4b1708): 1.25 x 109 CFU