Getting replacement heifers off to the right start is one of the most important — and most underestimated — investments on a dairy farm. Research consistently shows that early-life gut health directly influences growth rates, disease resistance, and lifetime productivity. Yet for many farmers, calf-rearing decisions still come down to watching the calves and trusting what they see. For Co. Kerry dairy farmer William Denn, that’s exactly what happened when he trialled BioBalance on his replacement heifers — and the results spoke for themselves.
William runs a dairy herd with a strong focus on milk solids, crossing Jersey genetics back to Friesian. He sources his Natural Stockcare products through Farm & Home Store. His replacement heifers go to a contract rearer after weaning, so hitting target weights before they leave the home farm is critical to the whole system working.
A Trial on One Pen
William’s approach was straightforward. No deep dive into the science. No sales pitch needed. Just a simple on-farm trial.
“I said I’d try it in one pen of ten,” he recalls. “I knew nothing about it. I didn’t do any research or anything into it. I just used it.”
He added BioBalance to the feed from when calves moved onto their regular liquid diet, using a 100ml syringe to dose the JFC milk cart. For ten calves, that meant 100ml morning and evening. Simple, quick, no extra equipment.
What He Noticed
The first thing William saw wasn’t on a weighing scales — it was on the calves themselves.
“The health of those heifer calves, it just blew me away. There was a shine in the calves I noticed.”
That bloom on a calf’s coat — the sign that the gut is working properly and nutrients are being absorbed — is something every experienced stockperson recognises. And then there was scour.
“Very little. Very, very little actually. The only bit of scour I had was in the beef calves — and they didn’t get it.”
The beef calves that weren’t on BioBalance had scour problems. The heifers on the product stayed clean. Same shed, same time, different results.
How BioBalance Works
BioBalance is a postbiotic liquid developed by Natural Stockcare. Unlike live probiotics — which must survive the acidic conditions of the calf’s stomach to have any effect — postbiotics deliver stable, ready-to-use metabolites (the bits that support health and immunity) directly to the gut lining. These compounds support beneficial microbial populations, promote healthy intestinal development, and help maintain the gut barrier that keeps pathogens from gaining a foothold.
It fits into existing feeding routines with no additional equipment. William simply squirts it into the cart once the milk powder is mixing.
“I fill it. And I put in the powder. And when I have the powder mixing, I then squirt in the BioBalance.”
For three pens, that’s 300ml each morning and 300ml each evening.
Why It Matters for Replacement Heifers
For William, the real value isn’t just healthier calves for a few weeks — it’s the long-term impact on his herd.
“Replacement heifers are very important. The big thing for me using the BioBalance was to have them at target weight at weaning. That they get a good first years growth, a high conception rate at 14/15 months of age, they come into the herd, and they last.”
A heifer that goes to the contract rearer 20 or 25 kilos behind target is a problem that compounds — late breeding, lower conception rates, and potentially never making it into the milking herd.
“If there was one of them calves 20 or 25 kilos back, more than likely I’d have to hold that calf back. I’d take that calf out of the contract rearer.”
After his first season on BioBalance, that wasn’t a conversation William needed to have.
“When I weighed them at weaning, I was very happy with the weights of them.”
From One Pen to Every Pen
The strongest endorsement is what William did next. After seeing the results on one pen of ten, he put BioBalance on all three remaining pens — and plans to start even earlier this year.
“When I used it on the first pen of ten, I thought that they were doing exceptionally well. Then I decided to put it on the other three pens.”
“I will probably give it at day two this year. Instead of day seven or day ten maybe.”
His summary is the kind that resonates with farmers — honest, understated, and grounded in what he saw in front of him.
“I tried it. And the performance of the calves was and is very encouraging. When the calves went out, they did well. And I think for that, it’s just worth it for me.”
If you’d like to try BioBalance on your own farm, get in touch with our team or visit the full Natural Stockcare product range.
