ANIMAL PRODUCTION NRTI, LOBESA
CALF MANAGEMENT.
CARE OF THE COW AND CALF DURING AND AFTER PARTURITION:
Success in dairying depends largely on the proper care and efficient management of the herd. All dairy operations must be planned with due regard to the comfort of the animals. Care of pregnant cows during and after calving, therefore, should receive the personal attention of the dairy farmer, otherwise he is likely to make many costly mistakes. Few hints are given here for his guidance.
A. Caring for the Cow
Usually a dairy cow will carry her calf a period of 280 days (gestation period). However, they may range from 270 - 290 days after conception. If accurate breeding records have been kept, which every farmer should do, the date can be calculated to within one to ten days. Knowing expected date of calving is a “must” for taking all future care of the pregnant cows.
In handling advanced pregnant cows, care should be taken to prevent them from being injured by slipping on stable floors or by crowding through doorways, or by mounting cows or bulls that are in heat. Separate the pregnant cows from rest and allow them to live in a little isolated way.
Symptoms that an animal is about to calve include swelling of the udder, swelling of the vulva and dropping away ligaments around the tail head. At this stage she should be housed in calving pen. Birth usually takes in one or two hours. The room should be clean, well ventilated, well bedded and finally, disinfected. Alternatively a small well grassed pasture free from trash or manure and close to the farmstead (to get some observation) makes a good calving place except during monsoon and cold months.
The majority of domesticated animals require little or no assistance in the actual act of parturition, provided they are in a reasonably healthy and vigorous state. At the same time, it is advisable that someone shall be at hand to give any help if some emergency arises. At the first sign of calving, the front feet of the calf should appear first, then nose. Any abnormality in presentation requires immediate attention by a veterinarian. Remember that if the labour prolongs for more than 4 hours, abnormal presentation is probable (dystocia). Immediately provide veterinary aid.
After parturition the exterior of the genitalia, the flanks and tail should be washed with warm clean water containing some crystals of potassium permanganate. This will give a good antiseptic wash.
Keep the cow warm to prevent her from chill and it is desirable to give her warm water or Gur sarbat to drink just after parturition.
It is normal for the udder to become large and swollen just before calving. Special precautions should be exercised to see that old nails, loose glass pieces, etc., do not cut and injure the swollen udder. Milk the cow partially to avoid milk fever after parturition.
The placenta will normally leave the cow within 2 - 4 hours. If it is not expelled between 8 - 12 hours, administer ergot mixture. Beyond 12 hours, apply manual help by a veterinarian. When the afterbirth has been discharged, it should immediately be buried deeply. All care should be taken to avoid licking or ingestion of placenta by the cow as the practice adversely reduce milk yield due to excessive protein intake.
There are always dangers that high producing cows will develop milk fever and mastitis. The dairyman should remain alert for any symptoms of the diseases. To avoid milk fever, it is best not to draw all the milk from the udder for a day or two after calving. To avoid mastitis, regular tests should be made by a veterinarian.
Feed the cow at first only bran mash moistened with lukewarm water to provide laxative effect. Some green grass may also be given. After 2 days a mixture of oats, bran and linseed mash can be used to replace bran mash. If the cow is in good condition at the time of calving the amount of feed during these two days does not matter. The amount of concentrates should then be gradually increased with the aim of reaching full dosages in two weeks.
Care of Calf Before and After Parturition..
The future calf should be taken care even before birth, i.e. the pregnant cow should be cared and fed well especially during the last three months of pregnancy. If the cow is confined in shed she should be put into well-bedded calving box a few days prior to calving. Although it is not necessary for attendant to be present when the cow is calving, it is better for somebody to be near so that assistance if necessary can be provided.
If the cow calves normally she will immediately begin to lick the new born calf and this will stimulate respiration and improve circulation and dry the young animal. If the calf does not breathe, artificial respiration should be used by alternately compressing and relaxing the chest walls with the hands after laying the calf on its side. The naval cord of the calf should be snipped off at about 2” away from the body with the help of a pair of sterilized scissors and painted with Tr. of Iodine and dusted with boric acid powder. This may prevent disease germs from entering by this avenue. The naval cord should not be tied but allowed to drain.
A vigorous calf will attempt to rise in 15 minutes and usually will be nursing in half an hour. The weaker the calf the longer the time it will be able to be up and nursing. Some calves are unable to nurse by their own efforts. It is necessary to assist the calf by holding it up to the cow’s udder. If the calf is so weak that it is unable to drink even when held up it may be necessary to feed it with the help of a bottle or pail. Much infection can be prevented if an attendant cleans the udder before the calf nurses.
Be sure the calf gets first milk (colostrum) at least for 48 hours. The antibodies present in colostrum protect the calf against diseases and the colostrum has a laxative effect. The rate of colostrum milk feeding should be about 10% of the calf’s body weight per day, up to a maximum of 5 - 6 litres per day. If scouring occurs, the milk allowance should be reduced to 1/2 or less until the calf recovers. If possible, follow weaning system.
The calf is best maintained in an individual pen or stall for the first few weeks. This allows more careful attention to individuals. After about 8 weeks of age, it may be handled with a group.
Take the body weight of the calf if possible and identify the calf by giving identification marks.
At the age of 15 days the calf should be vaccinated against H.S.
The calf should be dehorned at an early age, preferably within 15 days after calving.
Teats of the udders of heifers in excess of four are usually best removed. Frequently limited amounts of milk may be secreted by extra teats creating difficulty at milking time.
At the age of 3 months, the calf should be vaccinated against anthrax and 15 days thereafter it should be vaccinated against B.Q.
The Aims of Calf Rearing.
Feeding Calves:
A successful calf rearing system provides a calf with the necessary requirements for growth and development. These requirements change with time and circumstance but no system will work unless they are met.
The aim in calf rearing is to produce a healthy well-grown weaner, capable of making most efficient use of pasture. A suitable system has the following attributes:
- satisfactory calf performance
· by minimizing disease and deaths
· by optimizing growth rates
· minimal input costs
· minimal labour requirements.
Which system is ideal depends on the individual operator. By relating the objectives of the operator to the needs of the calf and the features of various systems, a suitable system can be designed.
The first few hours:
The importance of colostrum.
Newborn calves are born without resistance to disease and have low reserves of a number of vitamins and minerals.
These deficiencies are made good with colostrum or “beesting”, which is produced from the cow’s udder at the time the calf is born. It is the first secretion from the cow’s udder when she calves. It is also very nutritious food for the calf because it contains high levels of proteins, vitamins and minerals. The composition of colostum changes rapidly and if the cow is regularly and well milked out, normal milk is obtained after 4 - 7 days.
Colostrum provides to the calf:
· an immediate source of energy
· a passive immunity to disease through antibodies and immunoglobulins
· a reserve of vitamins and minerals
The ability of the calf to absorb antibodies and immunoglobulins, which are proteins, into its system decreases after it is eight hours old (sometimes sooner) and has virtually ceased when it is 24 hours old. If the calf gets immunoglobulins from 0 - 24 hours, resistance to diseases develops. Therefore, it is vitally important to the future health of the calf that it suckles within a few hours of birth.
Similarly, there is no benefit from leaving the calf on the dam longer than 24 hours since it no longer has the ability to take up these proteins. Colostrum is usually found for four days in the udder.
Methods of Providing Colostrum.
The obvious importance of colostrum in the survival of the calf means that steps must be taken to provide colostrum if, for some reason, a calf fails to receive enough first milk from its mother. Conditions that may lead to such a situation include:
· a poorly producing cow
· poor mothering(especially) by heifers
· a cow down with milk fever
· bad weather
· cows, particularly induced cows, bagged up and milked out before calving.
Colostrum can be supplied to the calf from another freshly calved cow in such situations, provided that her own calf has received adequate colostrum.
The colostrum should be from another cow within the same herd because the immunity to disease differs between farms, depending on the diseases to which the cows have been exposed. (Remember that heifers that do not mix with the herd may not have enough antibodies in their milk to provide suitable protection to their calves).
We have to make sure that the calf gets colostrum within 24 hours after birth If the calf gets colostrum 24 hours after parturition, the immunoglobulins will not be available to the calf due to the following reasons:
1. After 24 hours’ time, the mucus membrane of the small intestines of the calf produces Hydrochloric acid and the immunoglobulins get digested.
2. After 24 hours, the small intestines of the calf become thick under the influence of bacteria and immunoglobulins are not permeated.
3. After 24 hours, liver secretes bile and this bile destroys the immunoglobulins.
Alternatively, some first-milking colostrum, preferably mixed from a few cows, can be frozen to preserve the immunoglobulins and antibodies. This can be thawed and used quickly for any calf suspected of not drinking from its dam. Colostrum will store frozen for up to 18 months.
A calf needs at least two litres of colostrum milk to receive adequate disease protection.
Colostrum Substitute:
Whipped egg:- + 0.31 parts water +0.61 parts whole milk + 1/2 teaspoonful of castor oil.
11
PREPARED BY TSHEWANG DORJI
ANIMAL PRODUCTION NRTI, LOBESA
Table showing the comparison of constituents between Colostrum and Milk.
Fat Gm/Kg / 36 / 35
S.N.F. Gm/ Kg / 185 / 86
Protein Gm/Kg / 143 / 32.5
Casein Gm/Kg / 52 / 26
Albumin Gm/Kg / 15 / 4.7
Beta globulin Gm/Kg / 8 / 3
Gamma Lactoglobulin Gm/Kg / 2.7 / 1.3
Serum albumin Gm/Kg / 1.3 / 1.4
Immunoglobulin Gm/Kg / 55 - 68 / 0.9
Lactose Gm/Kg / 31 / 46
Ash Gm/Kg / 9.7 / 7.5
Calcium Gm/Kg / 2.6 / 1.3
Phosphorus Gm/Kg / 2.4 / 1.1
Iron Mg/Kg / 2 / 0.1 - 0.7
Copper Mg/Kg / 0.6 / 0.1 - 0.3
Cobalt Mug/Kg / 5 / 0.5 - 0.6
Fat soluble vitamins.
A Mug/Gm of fat / 42 - 48 / 8
D Mug/Gm of fat / 23 - 45 / 15
E Mug/Gm of fat / 100 - 150 / 20
Water soluble vitamins.
B - Complex
Thiamin Mg/Kg
Riboflavin Mg/Kg / 0.61
4.5 / 0.4
1.5
Nicotinic acid Mg/Kg / 0.81 / 0.8
Pantohenic acid Mg/Kg / 2 / 3.5
B12 MuG/Kg / 10 - 15 / 5
Folic acid Mug/Kg / 1 - 8 / 1
Ascorbic acid Mg/Kg / 25 / 20
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PREPARED BY TSHEWANG DORJI
ANIMAL PRODUCTION NRTI, LOBESA
Teaching the Calf to Drink.
Longer a calf nurses its dam the more difficult it is to teach it to drink milk from an ordinary pail. By instinct calf stretches upwards to receive its nourishment. When learning to drink from ordinary pail, it must be taught to bend down against the nature. There is no better method of teaching calf to drink from open pail than the simple one of putting one’s fingers in its mouth as explained below.
After the calf has been removed from its mother it must be taught to drink from a bucket or pail or a teat within about 24 hours.
Train the calf to drink from a bucket by backing into a corner, standing astride its neck and placing two fingers, moistened with milk, into its mouth. As the calf starts to suck on the fingers, gently lower its mouth into a bucket of milk or colostrum. Take care not to immerse the nostrils or it may inhale milk.
Keep the palm of the hand away from its nose as the calf starts to suck the milk, gently withdraw the fingers. Hold the bucket or have it supported about 300 mm from the ground.
This process should be repeated until the calf is drinking by itself or until it has drunk at least half a litre of milk. You may need to help the calf for several feeds.