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Cows Create Careers

Cows Create Careers . Ballarat Grammar 2011. The Calves. On the 28 th of April 2011 Ballarat Grammar received the annual cows from David Lee, a local dairy farmer from Bungaree. We received 5, 1 and ½ week old, Holstein, female calves from David.

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Cows Create Careers

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  1. Cows Create Careers Ballarat Grammar 2011

  2. The Calves • On the 28th of April 2011 Ballarat Grammar received the annual cows from David Lee, a local dairy farmer from Bungaree. We received 5, 1 and ½ week old, Holstein, female calves from David. • We then separated into groups of either 4 or 5 and excitedly chose a calf each. All of the calves appeared fit and healthy with shiny black and white coats.

  3. Team Lightning • Cow #37 - Bolt • Our team consisted of the group members: • Josh Draffin • Matt Elliott • James Fox • George Ludbrook • Georgie Morton • We decided to have a mix of boarders and day students in our group so we could conveniently work together to feed and take care of our calf. • As a group we decided to call our calf ‘Bolt’ because of the lightning bolt shape across her back. She was the biggest of the 5 calves with a very strong backbone and sturdy, long legs. Matt, George, Josh, Bolt, Georgie & James

  4. Our Plan Calf Feed Feeding rosters and observation sheets • Mr Dickinson informed our class that we were in full charge of taking care of the calves. The required feed was supplied and we were told how much to feed the calves each morning and afternoon. • Together we formed a roster to feed Bolt. Every group member had to feed at least twice a week and record Bolt’s measurements every 5 days. We stuck our roster up on the wall along with another roster to observe changes in Bolts behaviour. • Having 5 members in our group worked well and the feeding process was hands on and enjoyable for each of us.

  5. Feeding • Each morning at 8:30am and afternoon at 3:30pm we fed our calves. • We were feeding them powdered milk and calf muesli. • For the first 2 weeks we were feeding them a 2 litre volume of powdered milk with a 15% concentration. • We fed the calves from buckets which was an alteration to what they had previously been feeding from at the dairy. They adjusted well to the new feeding method and eagerly looked forward to feeding time each day. • As the calves grew to know when feeding time occurred they became more aggressive towards one another. It was a challenge to get the five calves to feed from one bucket as they would butt one another in eagerness . • A group member normally had to be inside the pen when feeding to make sure each calf got an even amount of milk. • In the final week we decided to alter the diet of the calves. We increased their feed to a volume of 3 litres and left the concentration @ 15%. • We observed that this affected the calves production.

  6. Caring For the Calves • Every day we were feeding the calves, refreshing their water, cleaning out their pen, laying fresh hay and doing a general overview of their health and growth. • We recorded any abnormal behaviour and changes in appearance. • Every 4-5 days we measured and recorded the growth of the calves. Bolt had a starting weight of 62kg and was 89cm in width. Approximately each day she put on about 300grams. At the end of the three weeks Bolt weighed in as 78kg and 95cm. She gained 16kg in the time we raised her and had widened by 6cm. Our team was happy with Bolts growth, noticing that Bolt remained as the largest calf over the 3 weeks we spent caring for the calves.

  7. Bolts Growth Weight Width Bolt’s Width

  8. Problems/Illness • Before each time we came in contact with the calves we had to sanitize our hands to prevent infection and the spread of bacteria. • In the duration of 3 weeks Bolt didn’t become majorly ill. There were a few stages in the period we cared for her when she became bloated and got scours. This was because of the change of feed and altering her diet. We had already hypothesised that this was going to happen and it was confirmed on days 11 and 14. On these days Bolt had a change of colour in her manure. It went from a dark brown to a grey, murky colour. We knew how to take care of this problem though. We took Bolt off the milk for 1 day, giving her only water to keep her hydrated and to flush out her system. • Bolt was back to her healthy, normal state in no time. A few of the other calves came across with the same problem but the same method to resolve the illness.

  9. For the three weeks the calves lived at Grammar they were kept in a sheltered pen. The enclosure was well covered and had plenty of ventilation. A strong fence prevented the calves from escaping, however we did let them out every couple of days. Each day we layed fresh straw and cleaned out the pen. We also changed the calf muesli and freshened the water every day. Bolt’s Environment Bolt

  10. Pathways in the Dairy Industry In class we looked at all the careers involved in the dairy industry: • Support Services: • Marketing manager • Accountant • Dairy manager • Purchasing manager • Transport & Distribution: • Milk tank driver • Delivery driver • Stock transporter • On farm: • Manager • Milkman • Farm hand • Calf Rearer • Government Agencies & Education: • D.P.I • O.H.S • Animal Welfare • Uni / Tafe Lecturer • Banking/Finance • Factory/ Lab Technicians: • Workers • Food technicians • Research scientists • Health officers • Dairy processing technician

  11. Bolt in Action

  12. Visit to the Dairy Bolt in the future Bolt in pen • On the 26th of May our class visited David’s dairy farm in Bungaree. Here we saw our calves which were now roughly 1 month old. It was pleasing to see that Bolt was continuing to mature into a fit, strong cow and looked happy to see team Lightning again. • At the dairy farm David gave us a tour of the feed shed and rotary and showed us the equipment uses within his dairy. We learnt that David feeds his cows a variety of products including: - Silage - Crushed wheat – Urea – Lucerne chaff - Canola – Lime - Antimould Supplement • It was interesting to learn that each day 8000litres of milk is produced from 300 cows and that each cow can hold up to 30L of milk. Every morning and afternoon David milks at 5:30am and 3:30pm. The morning milk collection is the biggest as it is the longest time between milking. 7500L Vats Inside feed shed David

  13. Bibliography Back ground image supplied from - http://www.google.com.au/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi • http://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Education-and-Careers/Secondary-School-Resources/Cows-Create-Careers.aspx • http://mgc.com.au • http://www.animalsaustralia.org/factsheets/dairy_cows.php

  14. Sponsors

  15. Thankyou • On behalf of team Lightning I would like to thank: • David Lee for supplying the calves • Kerri Ross for her information and advice in the dairy industry • Mr Dickinson our Agriculture/Horticulture teacher who guided us through the Cows Create Careers Program • All the sponsors and organises of the Cows Create Careers program

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