Name: Crystal Creek
Address: 1600 Roundhouse Road, Spooner, WI, 54801, US
Telephone: 1-888-376-6777
Price range: $

Shop online or call 1-888-376-6777 to place an order.

Dry Cow Nutrition and Management: The Key to Quality Colostrum

Click here to view as a pdf: Dry Cow Nutrition and Management

By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

Colostrum is one of the most important factors in raising healthy calves. Besides assuring a healthy start to the calf’s life, colostrum is known to have positive effects that increase a calf’s potential as a 1^st lactation heifer. Colostrum is commonly credited for providing antibodies like immunoglobulin G (IgG), but it also supplies hormones, white blood cells and calories. With colostrum being such a vital component of calf health, it is of paramount importance that cows produce adequate volumes of high-quality colostrum. Dry cow vaccination protocols, management practices, and most importantly, dry cow nutrition, all have far-reaching influences on colostrum production and colostrum quality. Guidelines for measuring colostrum quality can be found in the calf section of Crystal Creek’s annual product catalog.

Nutrient Deficiencies in Small Ruminants

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By Alex Austin, B.S.

A balanced diet is important for the health and productivity of all livestock. This article will discuss some of the more common nutrient deficiencies/imbalances in both sheep and goats. Minerals, specifically, are all connected and work together to keep animals healthy and productive. An excess or deficiency of one can lead to imbalances in another, causing potential health issues. For example, excess calcium can cause the blood vessels to lose vascular tone and eventually rupture. Potassium works with sodium to regulate the body’s water balance. It is important to be able to identify any signs of imbalance in order to correct and prevent issues in a herd.

Inoc-U-Lock™: Forage Ensiling Program

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Learn more about how Inoc-U-Lock™ can work for your operation in the product video below:

Colostrum: More Than Just Antibodies

Click here to view as a pdf: Colostrum More Than Just Antibodies

By Cassy Golburg, B.A.
Livestock Specialist

The benefits of colostrum in regards to antibodies are well known. Colostrum has many other qualities to offer including high-calorie content, valuable white blood cells and certain naturally occurring hormones. All of these components can have positive effects on a calves’ gastrointestinal health, growth, development and immune health.

Dr. Ryan Leiterman Contributes to Progressive Dairy Magazine

Dr. Ryan Leiterman recently contributed to Progressive Dairy Magazine with his article “3 Common Calf Barn Ventilation Questions Answered.”

Click here to view in Progressive Dairy Magazine: https://www.progressivedairy.com/topics/calves-heifers/3-common-calf-barn-ventilation-questions-answered

Click here to view as a pdf: 3 common calf barn ventilation questions answered

April 2022 Newsletter

Click here to view as a pdf: 2022 April Newsletter

Creating Consistency in Mixing and Feeding Milk Replacer

Click here to view as a pdf: Creating Consistency in Mixing Milk Replacer

By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

Director of Technical Services

Mixing milk replacer to feed pre-weaned calves is a daily task on many farms. And it’s a simple task, right? All it takes is adding the correct amount of powdered milk replacer to the correct amount of water, how hard can that be? While mixing milk replacer may seem easy, mixing milk replacer correctly and consistently for every single feeding is a much more difficult task.

RFV Does Not Love You Back

Click here to view as a pdf: RFV Does Not Love You Back

By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

Relative Feed Value (RFV) has been used as a method to quickly evaluate forages and make assumptions of animal performance when that forage is fed. Generally, the thought is that the higher the number the better. While there can be some truth to this at times, RFV misses out on arguably the most important piece to the puzzle when feeding forage to cows; neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD). Crystal Creek® focuses on maximizing energy corrected milk with forage by utilizing farm grown feeds in the diet. To do this, we need to dig much deeper when evaluating forages and providing the best rations for rumen health and profitable production. Other tools like Relative Forage Quality (RFQ), and better yet, the NDF digestibility, really help pin down how to maximize forage in the ration and maintain productive cows.

How to Identify and Manage Heat Stress in Calves

Click here to view as a pdf: How to Identify and Manage Heat Stress in Calves

By Cassy Golburg, B.A.
Livestock Specialist

Most livestock producers are familiar with the negative effects of heat stress in lactating cows, but the impact heat stress has on calves and heifers is often overlooked. Heat stress can not only cause a negative impact on calf health but can also cause a negative impact on producer profitability. There are a variety of health issues calves experience from heat stress including dehydration, lower average daily gains, and higher morbidity and mortality rates. A study from Penn State Extension showed that calves exposed to heat stress early in life often had long term ramifications, such as smaller breeding size and an older age at first lactation. These factors ultimately play a large role in decreasing producer profit. Crystal Creek® can help producers evaluate the impact heat stress is having on their calves and determine what steps can be taken to prevent long-term repercussions from it.

Successful Sow Management

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Alex Austin, B.S.

A successful hog operation begins with productive gilts and sows. Making sure animals are healthy from breeding to farrowing will ensure that piglets get off to the best start possible. The Crystal Creek® Paladin® Swine Program provides a high-quality nutrition model that produces vigorous animals. Crystal Creek® has proven products and services to offer swine producers that give a strong return on investment.