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.

Helpful Benchmarks For Raising Calves

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By Carley Ciolkosz, B.S.
Livestock Nutritionist

Raising healthy calves is one of the most important and hardest tasks on a dairy farm. Healthy calves turn into healthy cows and the months from birth to weaning sets up the calf for the rest of its life, as well as the longevity of being a high producing dairy cow. To ensure that the calves are getting the best care in order to thrive there are a few factors we need to look at including the mortality rates, morbidity rates, growth rates and colostrum management.
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Ask The Vet- Why Aren’t My Cows Cleaning, Doc?

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By Darren Zimmerman, D.V.M.

Retained Placentas: The Basics

First, let’s define what is normal.

Expulsion of the placenta normally happens within 12 hours of the calf being born. The same uterine contractions that helped push out the calf, will also help expel the placenta. After the calf is born, the connections between the uterus and the placenta detach. With each contraction the uterus gets smaller and more of the placenta exits through the cervix.

If after 12 hours, the placenta is still in the uterus, it is considered retained. A retained placenta can happen when the uterus stops contracting, the placenta doesn’t detach properly, or a combination of the two. In the United States dairy industry, 7.8% of cows experience a retained placenta.

Exploring The Development Of The Gastrointestinal Tract In Calves

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By Nele Leiterman, D.V.M.

Calves are the future of the dairy industry. Central to their early development is the maturation of their gastrointestinal tract (GIT), a process that lays the foundation for their ability to digest and utilize nutrients efficiently. In this article, we delve into the stages of gastrointestinal tract development in calves, focusing on the critical role of the rumen and abomasum, to optimize calf health and performance. Read More →

How To Feed Calves? MilkBar™ Teats Can Improve Calf Gut Health

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By Nele Leiterman, D.V.M.

What should I feed my replacement heifers? Whole milk or milk replacer? What fat and crude protein percentage is right for my operation? Are there additives that I should be using? These are typical questions a calf raiser will ask. Often the focus is on WHAT should be fed to the calf, but how often do people think about HOW to feed their calves?

MilkBar™ is a company founded by dairy farmers in New Zealand that looked deep into this HOW. Their innovation is a teat that mimics the natural physiology of how calves nurse from their dams. And the research shows the MilkBar™ controlled-flow teats hold many health benefits for calves and the heifers they will grow into.

This article lists some of the benefits of feeding calves with MilkBar™ teats. Read More →

Ventilating Repurposed Structures For Calf Housing

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By Alex Austin

Building a new calf raising facility is an expensive investment and not always an option. Converting an existing structure, whether it’s a pole shed or old stanchion barn, to house and raise calves can be a great option when done correctly. When considering repurposing an existing structure, a lot of thought goes into the logistics of everyday calf care, such as feeding and bedding, but one area that can be overlooked is proper ventilation. A poorly ventilated calf barn will quickly lead to struggles with calf health and poor performance. To avoid these and achieve proper ventilation, a system that can deliver fresh air in different penning set ups and overcome potential structural challenges is key. Read More →

When Mixing Milk Replacer, Water Temperature Matters

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By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

In the children’s book Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a little girl named Goldilocks wanders into the forest home of a family of bears and while they are out, she eats from three different bowls of porridge. The first one is too hot and the second one is too cold, but the third one was “just right”. When mixing milk replacer it’s important that the water used to mix is not too hot or too cold. So what temperature is “just right” when mixing calf milk replacer?

Benefits Of A High Quality Milk Replacer

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By Cassy Golburg, B.A.

Choosing a milk replacer can seem daunting. There are a variety of things to consider including the type of ingredients, ingredient quality, and the way a milk replacer is processed. All of these can have a large effect on the digestibility and the quality of the milk replacer. Crystal Creek® offers four high quality milk replacer formulations designed to help a calf reach its genetic potential in a dairy herd.

Processing Style:

Many milk replacers are heat processed. Standard heat processing involves adding heat and steam at many stages of production. Gentle processing, on the other hand, avoids any additional steam or heat that could compromise protein structure and nutrient availability. Gentle processing also plays a part in the digestibility of the milk replacer. Crystal Creek® uses gentle processing for its milk replacers, this allows for higher quality ingredients like human grade fats to be used, and the preservation of proteins.

Next Step In Calf Barn Ventilation: Computer-Based Airflow Simulations and 3D Modeling

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By: Nele Leiterman, D.V.M.

We are excited to share with you the new technologies and approaches Crystal Creek’s ventilation team is now utilizing in our ventilation projects. In this article, the software tools, which have improved the way we design ventilation systems, will be explained. These digital tools allow us to obtain precise calculations, visualize airflow patterns, and create realistic 3D representations of barns and ventilation systems before they are even built.

Livestock Nutrition Fundamentals That Can Have Big Returns

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By Dan Leiterman

In any life endeavor it is critically important to get the fundamentals done right, or else the whole project is at risk, no matter how much added effort and resources are applied. This is true in any business and is definitely the case in an agricultural business.

When it comes to livestock nutrition, meeting the basic nutritional needs of the animal at the right time of need is fundamental to the success of a livestock enterprise. This is true no matter what the species. In this article I will use dairy cows and calves as my example of concepts that would apply to all livestock.

Working With Mother Nature…Heifer Maturity Matters

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By Dan Leiterman

Not every seemingly good idea spawned with good intentions by dedicated professionals turns out to be an effective, practical solution. The case in point discussed here; What is the proper age for a dairy heifer to freshen at? Research presented at the 4-State Nutrition Conference this year, and reviewed in this article, shows that the industry’s efforts to freshen dairy heifers at 22 months of age vs. 24 months of age are detrimental to the lifetime productivity of the cow and to the farmer’s profitability.