By Alice EJ Miller BVSC DBR MRCVS
Friars Moor Livestock Health

This week I am concluding the three-part feature on calving tips by rounding off with some neonatal calf management considerations. What happens in the first few hours of life is not only key to the calf’s imminent survival, but it will also have an impact on the calf’s future development. Studies have shown that nutrition and health of the pre-weaned calf can influence not only their growth rate and onset of puberty, but also their milk production yield when they start their lactation. If we can get it right in the first few hours and weeks of life, then the future of the beef or dairy herd is better protected.

When a new-born is delivered the calf’s vital parameters must be checked. Like human first aid, think ABC, where A is for airways, B is for breathing and C is for circulation. If a calf is having difficulty, then resuscitation may be needed. For example, if a calf has a heartbeat but is not breathing, I will use my calf resuscitator pump. This saves having to give mouth to mouth and delivers CPR in a controlled manor. You place a mask over the calf’s mouth and nose and using the hand pump draw air out, which removes excess mucus to clear the airway. The pump removes far more than you could my hooking your finger inside their mouth or by hanging them upside down. It is also safer since the upside-down method becomes counterproductive after a minute where the abdominal contents start to restrict the diaphragm. The end of the pump is then changed, and air is pumped in to inflate the lungs, this is done every 5 seconds for 5 times. This process is repeated and may continue until the calf starts breathing for itself.

We also consider that unlike other species cattle will be born with no immunity. New-borns rely on their mother’s colostrum for these vital antibodies. The gut of the new-born calf is permeable and these antibodies cross from the gut into the bloodstream where they form the calf’s own immune system. The permeable gut wall closes within hours, so it is critical that the calf receives colostrum as soon as possible. A calf should receive a volume 10% of body weight, within a few hours and then repeated within 12 hours. The quality of the colostrum should be tested before feeding and where collected from the dam, this should be done within a couple of hours, since with time the antibody level declines. If you would like help with your calf management or may be interested in joining our calf youngstock group please call 01258 472314.