Calving 101

[kanshow]

I was just reading some of the posts in another thread and made me think ..    What does everyone do when you have a new calf?
Dip navals?  Vaccinate?  Other??  tag? tattoo?  weigh?   

In our operation, less has always seemed to be more.  We wait until the calf gets up & nurses before we do anything.  We tag and weigh, that's it.    There have been years where a scour problem might have us giving a vaccine to the calf but that is not the usual.    If the calf doesn't nurse within a reasonable amount of time, we tube with colostrx.    Depending on weather, if the cow isn't getting the calf dry quick enough, it will go into the hotbox to dry off & warm up.   

Our vet was telling me that we might think about giving a half dose of blackleg vaccine for any calf we have to  supplement or give colostrx to.   

 

[FutureBreeder2013]

dip, vaccinate, tag, weigh

 

[C-CROSS]

We give an cd anti-toxin, alpha Cd and make sure he has colostrum.

 

[farmboy]

Just make sure it sucks. If it doesn't happen, we get some colostrum from the dairy and bottle feed it.

 

[Shady Lane]

Personally I preffer to use colostrum from a cow in my own herd that I may have had to milk at calving for another reason (or just for the purpose of getting some extra colustrum to freeze and have on hand from a heavy milking cow)

If none available, I use powdered colostrum to help limit the chance of introducing virus's and other infections from an outside source. Many dairys have BVD infections etc, Powdered colustrum is supposed to be processed to limit these possibilities.

 

[GoWyo]

We don't calve til April.  Cruise the 400 acre pasture 3 or 4 times a day and find the new ones - it is all prairie, but they can find little depressions and gullies to hide in.  Try to catch and tag them before they get too fast to rope from afoot.  If they get too fast, then have to decide whether to wear them out a little before roping or leave them alone - if they have distinctive marks, just tag at branding.  Cows seem to get less wound up if I wait 12 hours before tagging.  Some of the cows with better dispositions I can tag right away without much reaction, but almost always pull the calf into the back of the pickup to keep from presenting an opportunity for the cow to muck me out.  Usually knife cut at branding too and hit with the 5-way and 7-way then.  The kids' fancy show heifers we keep around the corral until they calve and show they have some maternal instinct, then they go out with the other cows.

 

[randiliana]

Well, as soon as they are born we check the sex. Guess that's not really necessary, but we do tag heifers one color and steers another. If it is cold and we didn't get mama into the barn before the birth we will usually move them into the barn. Might cover the ears and if it is really cold might even blanket the new one. But, if the weather is good, we usually leave them alone for 12 hours or so, or at least until they've had a suck and are pretty mobile. Then we run them up by the barn, separate them and tag, band, weigh and dehorn the calf. Then they go back to mom and out into the Nursery pasture where we check at least once a day to make sure everyone is doing well. We've saved a number of calves just by checking newborns once or twice a day.

If we have a weak calf, it gets a dose of colostrum. Usually out of one of our cows that we have milked and frozen, but we'll use the commercial stuff in a pinch.

 

[clubcalve]

We do the same as many of you just make sure it sucks and tag it if we can. There is no better vacine better than mammas colostrum  (cow)

 

[nkotb]

I woulnd't use dairy colostrum if you paid me.  Too many diseases to pick up, especially Johne's.  We tag and check sex, and of course make sure the calf is nursing.  We have been able to minimize the scours problem by vaccinating the cows at preg check, and calving out on open pasture.

 

[DL]

nkotb - ya beat me to it - using dairy colostrum on calves you intend to keep or sell for breeding is a BAD idea - very BAD - very very BAD -- you open yourself up to all kinds of nasty infections including Johne's disease -

what we do - dip and slosh navel with 7% iodine - pour into cup - use once discard

BoSe
ADE
Alpha 7 clostridial vaccine
weigh
tag

if calf doesn't get colostrum within an hour esp if the weather is bad - feed 2 L colostrix of lifeline - if calf won't take - tube

if any worry calf is chilled - into the box

calf coats in cold weather - style and warmth (my barn has no walls)

 

[farmboy]

We have never had any problems using this dairy's colostrum and if we need to, will do it again. 

 

[squirt71]

We usually get the calf up and sucking and then spray the navel. If it's cold, they go into the warming pen with mom.  They get weighed, tagged, and vaccinated the next day if the weather's good enough to kick them outta the shed and into the back pen where they stay until they are 5-7 days old. Then they get kicked out to the pasture.

 

[DL]

We have never had any problems using this dairy's colostrum and if we need to, will do it again. 

so you test all the calves you have given dairy colostrum to for Johne's disease down the road? maybe you don't have a problem - maybe you sold it to someone else

 

[jbw]

You might not know how big your problem is yet zach, I wouldn't wait for a problem to come if you can prevent it.

 

[farmboy]

actually the only ones we have ever bottle fed are still in the herd. we never sold one.  ???  we only bottle feed the colostrum once in a blue moon and use powdered stuff for regular bottle calves, which hardly ever happens. when we have a problem, I'll let you know.

 

[kanshow]

How long can you keep frozen colostrum before the good properties disappear?   

 

[kfacres]

I woulnd't use dairy colostrum if you paid me.  Too many diseases to pick up, especially Johne's.  We tag and check sex, and of course make sure the calf is nursing.  We have been able to minimize the scours problem by vaccinating the cows at preg check, and calving out on open pasture.

to you and the post under you

you both are 'not as smart as you should be'...  The dairy side of me wants to ... wake up and smell the flowers...  Don't classify the entire industry based on an uniformed opinion...  I grow sick and tired of beef producers bashing the dairy industry...  Do you not know that 30-40% of the beef industry is actually dairy influenced????  Furthermore, I'm sure you know nothing of the dairy zach speaks of, and I can assure you that not all dairys have Johnes...  sure some do, but some don't.  

My suggestion to you... don't drink milk anymore--  even though it's pasturized-- you may get Johnes, or another form!!!

 

[Hilltop]

We read one time it keeps for 7 years if I remember correctly???? The first thing when we have a new baby is "IS IT A HEIFER?????" We weigh within 24 hours, and give a shot of Vit, and a sel supplement. Not sure if right or wrong!! We do not tag now right away as we use to but  I found it is so much easier geeting the halter off a 2 month off calf pulling with no tags in the ear. We are only calving out 45 cows and for the last 4 springs we have been tieing up the babys 5 or 6 times for a hour at a time before they hit the spring pasture. Is a way easier come late summer now that I am not 20 years old. We tag when we process calves latre April or early May.                                              Does anyone band their bull calves??? Bought one last year and  put band on a couple of twins we sold so people would not get a cheap bull but do not think we will use on all calves we want to steer.      

 

[CAB]

I woulnd't use dairy colostrum if you paid me.  Too many diseases to pick up, especially Johne's.  We tag and check sex, and of course make sure the calf is nursing.  We have been able to minimize the scours problem by vaccinating the cows at preg check, and calving out on open pasture.

to you and the post under you

you both are dumb asses...  The dairy side of me wants to slap you in the face, and poke you in the eyes in hopes you may wake up and smell the flowers...  Don't classify the entire industry based on an uniformed opinion...  I grow sick and tired of beef producers bashing the dairy industry...  Do you not know that 30-40% of the beef industry is actually dairy influenced????  Furthermore, I'm sure you know nothing of the dairy zach speaks of, and I can assure you that not all dairys have Johnes...  sure some do, but some don't. 

My suggestion to you... don't drink milk anymore--  even though it's pasturized-- you may get Johnes, or another form!!!

Kfacres, please tone it down a little. Calling PPL names on the Planet is not cool & it puts a bad light on yourself. Those PPL were actually trying to help by avoiding potential problems. To each their own. Brent

 

[DL]

I woulnd't use dairy colostrum if you paid me.  Too many diseases to pick up, especially Johne's.  We tag and check sex, and of course make sure the calf is nursing.  We have been able to minimize the scours problem by vaccinating the cows at preg check, and calving out on open pasture.

to you and the post under you

you both are dumb asses...  The dairy side of me wants to slap you in the face, and poke you in the eyes in hopes you may wake up and smell the flowers...  Don't classify the entire industry based on an uniformed opinion...  I grow sick and tired of beef producers bashing the dairy industry...  Do you not know that 30-40% of the beef industry is actually dairy influenced????  Furthermore, I'm sure you know nothing of the dairy zach speaks of, and I can assure you that not all dairys have Johnes...  sure some do, but some don't. 

My suggestion to you... don't drink milk anymore--  even though it's pasturized-- you may get Johnes, or another form!!!

Ya know Jody - you can state a point without being profane

Most dairys do not pasteurize their colostrum before they freeze or use it - reaching pasteurization temp results in denaturing some of the immunogloubins

The organism that causes Johne's disease can be found in colostrum from both clinical and non clinical cases of JD

Mycobacterium avium paratb (the organism that causes JD) can be found in colostrum or milk can result in JD in the calf fed the colostrum or milk

Most progressive dairys DO NOT feed colostrum from JD infected cows to calves they intend to keep for replacements

Most progressive dairys have a management strategy for JD involving testing, separate calving pens, not using colostrum from JD infected cows etc

Most US dairy operations have at least one case of JD (check the NAHMS report)

The organism that causes JD has been found in pasteurized milk on the shelf

Johne's disease results in decreased milk production, increased culling, and net loss

If the link between Johne's disease in cattle and  human Crohn's disease  is ever determined to be causal and not just a relationship the importance of JD free herds will increase hugely

From previous posts I assume you are a college student - it would behoove you to do a little research on the topic before you mouth off - clearly your understanding of the pathogenesis of Johne's disease could be improved