GETTING THE MOST CALVES FROM YOUR COWS
HOWTOMANAGEYOURCOWS BEFORE AND DURING CALVING
A productive cow should have a viable calf every year. This makes calving a major event in the 12-month production cycle of a herd and sets up the beef cattle farmer for a successful, and hopefully profitable, year ahead.
The two months before calving is a critical time for pregnant cows and heifers and getting cow condition right in the run-up to calving affects what happens to both the calf and cow after birth, successful conception post-calving, and good growth in calves pre-weaning.
BODY CONDITION OF THE PREGNANT COW
Cows need to calve in an acceptable condition ranging between body condition score 3 and 3.5. When the body condition score (BCS) is below target, the animal will need extra supplementation. This cannot be done at the last moment as the cow needs some time to gain condition.
Farmers managing the run-up to calving should know the expected calving dates.
Condition and nutrition of cows before and after calving is important for these reasons:
■ Most (about 75%) of the growth of the
unborn calf happens during the last two months of pregnancy. The cow must eat enough quality feed to maintain, and increase, her own condition and support the growth and development of her unborn calf. BCS of over 3.5 may lead to difficult births (dystocia) as the calves may be too big.
■ A cow will naturally lose some condition after her calf is born but she should be managed so that the BCS does not fall off to a score that is too low for her to come back into heat. Cows that calve down in the right body condition will cycle, and therefore have the potential to re-conceive, in the shortest possible time. BCS has a profound effect on cycling, re-conception and the inter-calving period. A cow that is under condition will not have sufficient reserves to start cycling.
CALVING
About two weeks before calving the cow will udder up – the udder will become engorged with milk – and the cow’s vulva will be swollen. Farmers may want to keep these animals in a camp closer to the homestead.
Checking on calving cows is a key task for stockmen (and women) if they do not want to lose calves unnecessarily.
In the case of calving difficulties, the cow may need help or, if the problem is more complex, the farmer may need to call the vet.
During the first phase of calving the cow begins to push and the calf moves into the birth canal. This phase may last from two to six hours until the waters break. If the cow is still pushing and the waters have not broken for longer than six hours, there is a problem and the cow needs help.
Once the waters have broken and active calving starts it is normal for a cow to calve within two hours. Longer than this is a problem. If the waters break and the cow stops pushing, this is also a sign that something is wrong. The same applies if the animal has been pushing for 30 minutes or more and is not making progress. Breaks between contractions should be no longer than five to ten minutes.
The calf’s nose and front legs are the first to emerge from the birth canal – unless the calf is in breech (the wrong way around), in which case the cow will need help.
Only experienced stockmen and vets can handle a breech calving. In all cases the stock handler should not carry on trying to get the calf out after about 30 minutes as there may be damage caused to cow and calf. Weighing up the cost, it is better to call the vet than to lose the cow and her calf.
The cow should expel the afterbirth about six hours after calving. Retained afterbirth causes uterine infections and consequent production losses.
Stock handlers should be able to observe the first feed of the newborn calf, which is probably the most important meal of its life. The calf is born without immunity and it gets vital protective antibodies from the mother’s colostrum, which is also a good source of protein, fat, sugar and vitamins A and E.
A calf should be standing and suckling an hour after birth.
During the first six hours after birth the stomach of the calf doesn’t digest the colostrum. Instead, the colostrum full of antibodies from the mother’s blood is taken up into the blood of the newborn calf through small openings in the calf’s intestine.
This will provide the calf with antibodies for protection against germs for the first three months of its life, but it can only take place during the first six hours of life. After that the small openings in the gut close and the stomach starts to digest the milk as food for the calf.
If the calf does not suckle strongly and get enough colostrum, the farmer must milk the colostrum out and offer the calf at least 2 litres from a bottle with an effective teat.
The soil of many farms is a breeding ground for pathogens, so the navel should be disinfected with a solution of strong iodine. This dries off the umbilical cord quickly, closing a potential entryway for bacteria.
Apply the iodine two or three times if the navel has not dried.
Source: Afrivet