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.

Crystal Creek® Foundation Grain Mix: Innovative Nutrition For All Livestock

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By Alex Austin, B.S.

Crystal Creek® is excited to offer an innovative approach to providing quality nutrition to your livestock. Crystal Creek® Foundation Grain Mix is a new product offering high grade grains resulting in excellent performance nutrition. Pairing Crystal Creek® Foundation Grain Mix with the appropriate Crystal Creek® mineral will provide a superior quality complete feed.

Understanding Biofilms In Agriculture – Republished as a Customer Favorite

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Customer Favorite This article was originally published in the April 2017 Issue of the Crystal Creek® Newsletter

By: Jessica Getschel, B.S.

In agriculture today, sanitation technique and protocol implementation have become more important than ever before. An increased awareness of health benefits gained from a clean environment has stimulated a higher standard of cleaning expectations. Many producers not only strive to remove organic matter from surfaces, but also microbial buildup; more accurately, biofilms.

Ventilating A Retrofitted Stanchion Barn For Calves

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By Jessica Getschel, B.S.

There’s nothing more picturesque than a dairy farm with a big red barn on a cobblestone foundation. Many of these barns, referred to as stanchion, tiestall or bank barns, were built decades ago and tell stories of families who have been dairy farming for generations.

Over the years, many farmers have moved out of these older barns and into modern freestall barns for a variety of reasons: expanding herd size, new cow comfort recommendations or a new milking system, to name a few. This departure leaves a vacant building prized for its emotional value to the farm.

Ask the Vet/Ask the Nutritionist

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“There are times we need to drench our calves or adult cows but no one on the farm is comfortable performing this procedure. Are there any tips that could help us?”

-Unsure in Iowa-

There are many reasons for having to administer a liquid by mouth into the rumen or abomasum of an animal. Supplying the correct quantity of colostrum to calves or giving an electrolyte solution for rehydration are a couple common examples. Making sure that drenching is being performed correctly on your farm is crucial, as incorrect drenching can cause aspiration of fluids into the lungs leading to pneumonia, choking and even death. Training livestock handlers on the procedure will help set up your operation for success. Drenching requires skill, knowledge, strength, patience and the right tools for the job.

Calves, Cold Weather And Calories

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By Alex Austin, B.S.

It’s no secret that calves can be more prone to health issues when temperatures decrease. We know that proper bedding, calf jackets and avoiding drafts are all important in keeping calves warm in the winter. An often overlooked solution is providing the calf with additional calories.

Understanding The Principles Of Calf Barn Ventilation

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By Jessica Getschel, B.S.

Understanding the basic principles of calf barn ventilation is essential in evaluating the many different ventilation options available today. There is no single ventilation system that will work for every situation because each calf barn is unique in its structure and layout.

The goal of a properly designed ventilation system should be to provide clean, fresh air at all times for healthy calf development. Ventilation is responsible for removing accumulated heat, moisture, air borne pathogens and noxious gases from the animal’s environment. These factors support the rationale behind ventilating year round, as moisture, pathogens and gases are constantly being released and a buildup of these factors leads to respiratory stress in calves.

Electrolyte Use

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By Kelly Hubert, B.S.

Electrolytes are an important tool to use when supporting scouring and dehydrated calves. Scours are the leading cause of death in young calves, primarily because scours cause calves to rapidly dehydrate. It is important to monitor calves daily and treat them quickly when needed. A calf needs to receive 10% of its body weight in fluids each day for maintenance, while a growing calf will require even more¹.

Jessica Getschel, Ventilation Specialist, Contributes to Progressive Dairyman

Crystal Creek® is proud to present Jessica Getschel and Dr. Ryan Leiterman’s recent article published in the Progressive Dairyman Magazine.

Progressive Dairyman will be featuring three of Jessica Getschel’s articles on calf barn ventilation this year. Jessica is a livestock nutritionist and ventilation specialist at Crystal Creek® and holds a bachelor of science degree from University Wisconsin Madison in Dairy Science and Microbiology.

ARTICLE #1

Key Design Features To Consider Before Building A New Calf Barn

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By Jessica Getschel, B.S.

Proper barn planning saves time and money. For every decision, it is important to understand its associated ramifications. In calf barns, housing style and pen configuration decisions impact ventilation options, which in turn affects the overall success of the barn. Before building a calf barn, think about the ventilation requirements for every season. Allocate at least 10 percent of the overall building cost for the purchase of a well thought out ventilation system and ask these three questions as you consider your ventilation options:

Will the system deliver a consistent source of fresh air into the barn during all seasons?
Will the system effectively control the airspeed at calf level?
Can the ventilation system rapidly adjust to the changing weather conditions of spring and fall when there are warm days and cool nights?

Can Calf Barns Really Have Too Much Fresh Air In The Winter?

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By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

Cold temperatures are here and winter is quickly approaching. As the temperatures drop, calf barns are closed up and the ventilation rates are turned down. As an industry we do this reflexively, but is it what’s best for the calves?

Studies show that pre-weaned calves raised in hutches have lower pneumonia rates when compared to calves raised in barns. Even calves raised in calf barns equipped with modern ventilation systems can experience increased respiratory disease rates when compared to their hutch-raised counterparts.

Give Your Beef Calves A Strong Start

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By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

The stress caused by weaning decreases a calf’s immune function and makes them more vulnerable to disease. For many years it has been common practice to give medicated feeds, pellets, or additives around the time of weaning to decrease the incidence of disease. Treating with these medicated feeds can be expensive, counterproductive to rumen function, and now requires a veterinary prescription due to the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). Crystal Creek® formulates products that have natural ingredients proven to support calves during the stress of weaning and do not require the need for a VFD. Crystal Pellets^™ and Heifer Pride^™ are two products that can help give your beef calves a strong start.