Redmond Ag Blog

Reducing Calf Mortality Rates with Redmond

Written by Brooke Loeffler | Jan 31, 2022 6:42:07 PM

Addressing Calf Losses

Losing calves can be extremely distressing, especially after months and/or years of investing in the reproductive health of your herd. The most common causes of premature death in calves include:
  • Complications during delivery
  • Starvation (lack of nutrition and energy input, typically due to not enough colostrum)
  • Hypothermia and over exposure to extreme environmental conditions
  • Metabolic problems (not properly digesting and absorbing)
  • Scours (diarrhea)
  • Pneumonia / respiratory disease
  • Other physical trauma/injuries

The livestock experts here at Redmond have been hard at work crafting a new formula to treat and prevent problems with calf starvation, poor immune health, metabolic problems, scours, and more!

What Can Redmond First Month Do?

Redmond First Month is a highly effective, calf immune stimulator containing:

  • Redmond’s unique mineral conditioner: volcanic bentonite clay with electrolytes and 60+ minerals naturally found at the Redmond mineral deposit.
    - Did you know bentonite is a member of the smectite clay family? Learn more about how bentonite can help your farm.
  • Probiotics: carefully selected bacillus subtilis strains for balanced gut microbiota
  • Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS): yeast derivatives that prevent pathogen colonization

Veterinary experts and Redmond customers are discovering that the ingredients in First Month reduce calf mortality rates and improve calf health. Redmond First Month is perfect as a calf scours treatment for both traditional and organic operations. Let’s learn more about what these ingredients can do!

Treat Diarrhea (Scours) and Dehydration

Scours attacks your calves in 3 ways:

  1. Metabolic acidosis: a buildup of acids in bodily fluids
  2. Dehydration: harmful loss of bodily fluids
  3. Loss of energy/nutrition input: loss of essential electrolytes and other nutrients needed to sustain life

Redmond First Month immune stimulator naturally treats the 3 fatal side effects of scours: 

  • Alkaline mineral conditioner to buffer acidosis and balance pH levels
  • Replenishes lost electrolytes/salts (which provide the tiny the electrical impulses needed to power their muscles, nerves, and heart)
  • Smectite clays slow the rate that fluids and nutrients pass through the calf’s body, helping proper absorption into the blood
  • Replaces microbe strains needed for proper digestion

Let’s hear from a Redmond customer on how First Month improved the electrolyte levels in their calves:

“I have 1000 heifer calves on milk at all times. I custom raise them for dairy farms in my area. I switched from a very good milk DFM to the Redmond First Month on a Saturday morning. By Monday morning, I had gone from 25 calves needing electrolyte treatments to just 5. This was February. Winter is a very difficult time for calf health. This is amazing.”

-Brownsville Calf Ranch, OR

Boost Immune Health

Newborn calves are highly susceptible to a wide range of viruses, bacteria, and other harmful pathogens. Their digestive tract is extremely porous in early life and these invaders can easily enter their bloodstream.

First Month guards and stimulates immune health in multiple ways:

  • Redmond’s clay conditioner has natural anti-microbial properties and inhibits pathogen growth without damaging healthy bacteria. Click to learn more about the health benefits of bentonite clay from the National Institute of Health (NIH).
  • MOS prevents harmful pathogens from attaching and colonizing in the intestines. Visit the NIH and see how MOS improves immune health by stopping bacterial adhesion.
  • A study conducted by University of California Davis, found that the smectite clay in Redmond First Month increased immunoglobulin and mineral levels in the blood.

Restore Normal Gut Function

Simply treating scours symptoms is not enough; proper gut function needs to be restored in order for the calf to grow and increase in weight. 

Redmond First Month provides:

  • Clay conditioner as a gut protectant to guard the digestive lining, slow digestion passage rate, and bind to harmful toxins so they can be excreted instead of absorbed
  • Probiotic supplements to replace and grow healthy gut microbes that are stripped and killed off by scours.
  • As a yeast derivative, MOS feeds new colonies of beneficial microflora

Reduce Calf Mortality Rates

The UC Davis study also found that the number of deceased calves in the smectite group decreased by more than half, compared to the control group.

  • Smectite Group: 3 mortality cases
  • Control Group: 8 mortality cases

Redmond customers already love the results they are seeing with First Month:

"I had been losing almost every calf within 3 days of life. My Redmond rep got me a small pouch of Redmond First Month. I started feeding it in the colostrum. My next 2 heifer calves are doing great. I will not raise calves without this product.” -Leader Win Farm, Lancaster, PA

“I expected the down calf to be dead in the morning. I gave this bull calf one dose with Redmond First Month in the milk bottle. The next morning it was standing and hungry and ready for its milk.” -Donald R. Athens, WI

Let Redmond restore your peace of mind by protecting your investment into the health of your next generation of calves. Give us a call at 866-709-3192 to give Redmond First Month a try today!

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