1. What is the coat like?
Take a critical look at the coat of your animals. A healthy animal has a shiny coat with short hairs. The colour of the calves after weaning should remain the same as the colour of the calves during the milking period. For example, do you see slightly duller calves after weaning? This is often a sign of too little protein. The protein level in the feed is especially important after weaning to replace the protein that the calf first obtained from milk.
2. How do the animals lie?
A healthy calf holds its head up and its ears attentively on its head. The head on the ground or lying with its legs backwards can be signals that the animal is not feeling well.
3. Where do the animals lie?
The place where the calves lie says something about the climate, especially if the animals lie on straw. In an ideal climate, the animals lie spread out over the pen. If all animals lie on one side, this could indicate a draught. A sick animal often isolates itself and lies in a corner more often.
4. What is the manure like?
Take a critical look at the manure. Thin manure in the group pens often indicates coccidiosis. You see dark, thin, shiny manure that animals really strain on. Manure that is too thick often means a protein level in the ration that is too low.
5. What behaviour do the animals show?
You can sometimes see suckling behaviour, especially in the pellet phase, from two to six months. Preferably separate such an animal, because the other group members can copy this behaviour. Do you see calves with a white snout and yellow/brown hairs behind the nose? This could indicate drinking urine. Often such an animal does not feel comfortable in its hair. Drinking urine can indicate a mineral deficiency. You can prevent this with a salt block and a calculated young cattle ration.
Are you curious about what else these signals say? Feel free to contact the young cattle specialist in your region. He or she will be happy to take a look with you!