CATTLE AND SHEEP INFORMATION
An alert, bright eyed calf with a shiny coat that eats well and actively plays is a rewarding site which reects the success of a farm. Calf health is promoted rst and foremost by ensuring that these young animals have healthy mothers. A healthy cow that has been fed on balanced pastures with the correct feed additives is likely to carry and give birth to a healthy calf and is also able to transfer valuable immunity from disease onto her offspring. After delivery, it is of vital importance that a newly born calf receives colostrum (the rst milk) from its mother within one to twelve hours after birth. Colostrum contains many vital nutrients, the most valuable being immunoglobulins which are essential to help the young animal to effectively combat infection. Adverse weather conditions can be detrimental to calf health so providing warmth and shelter in paddocks or in buildings to protect them from cold and wet weather is imperative. Calves must have sufcient feed intake to support their growth and development. Naturally reared calves or those who suckle on nurse cows grow quickly and generally do very well. Management systems which rear calves separately from their mothers must ensure that when feeding milk, calves aren't overfed or underfed, that the correct milk is used and that any dietary changes are made slowly. When it comes to calf health, our adage applies as usual... prevention of dis-ease is better than cure and knowing what to look for and how to successfully address any problems that arise early on will go a long way to boosting quality production. Hygiene is another key component to raising healthy calves. Paddocks should be clean and the buildings where calves are housed must be regularly disinfected to prevent the build up of bacteria which can cause calves to become ill. Any utensils used in calf rearing must be clean and sick animals should be removed from the group to prevent the spread of disease. These buildings should also have a quarantine area for new calves that enter the property in case they are harbouring disease. Signs of ill health include dull eyes and coat, poor appetite, disinterest, shivering, a tucked up appearance, laboured breathing or coughing and wheezing, scouring (diarrhoea) and pale mucous membrane colour. One of the most common problems that calves develop is scouring which can be due to a variety of causes including viral, bacterial and protozoal diseases as well as worm infestations and even nutritional factors such as cold milk feeding and changes in food type and volume. If you notice scouring, act quickly by immediately feeding the calf a good quality electrolyte solution to replace lost water, body salts and energy helping to support the calf. Isolate the infected calf and seek veterinary advice if necessary. Scouring can lead to dehydration, the loss of body salts, low energy, dropped body temperature and ultimately death. A healthy calf kept in a healthy environment will have good immunity and will therefore be much less susceptible to diseases and parasites such as worms and lice. These animals will boost productivity many fold and contribute greatly to the general long term well-being of the herd. CALF CARE FOR HEALTHY ANIMALS
Metabolic diseases such as milkfever, grass staggers, ketosis and downer cow syndrome, reproductive Dairy cows have a remarkable ability to convert fodder into human food. A dairy cow is capable of producing twice her body weight in milk every year; she is truly a remarkable biological factory! During lactation, a time of great physiological stress, she will draw upon body reserves to cope with the demand. A very ne balance exists between peak production and falling into the trap of developing postcalving complications due to a lack of energy and nutrient resources. This places a huge demand on her body and greatly accelerates her metabolic rate. To complicate matters further, during late pregnancy a cow's appetite will decrease, the amount of food that can t into her rumen is less, due to the large space taken up by the developing calf, and this leads to less energy being available for her needs as well as a poorer availability and absorption of important minerals such as calcium and magnesium. There are three main groups of post-calving problems that cows can develop: While lactating, a cow will typically produce 10 to 20 times the amount of milk required to feed a calf. DAIRY COW METABOLIC PROBLEMS Milkfever develops due to low calcium levels, especially during the rst two days and usually within the rst 10 days after calving, but can occasionally occur in the last few days of pregnancy. During the early stage of lactation there is a high loss of calcium in colostrum that is beyond the capacity of calcium absorption from the digestive system and the mobilization of calcium reserves from bones. Cows who are high butterfat producers and those that are fed on high protein feeds and/or fodder high in calcium and low in phosphorous, such as lucerne, before calving are more susceptible to developing milkfever. High calcium feed after calving is helpful. Stress and fatigue precipitate milkfever attacks. problems such as retained foetal membranes and late return to cycling or infertility and Mastitis. Year-round planned grazing on properly fertilized and well-balanced pastures is imperative and, where necessary, supplements such as magnesium licks or sprays can be used. Calcium is a mineral essential for the maintenance of muscle tone, as well as nerve health in the body. When cows are decient, signs of milkfever develop which are a progressive dysfunction of muscles and nerves with sudden weakness, recumbency and later coma and death unless they receive treatment with replacement calcium. Low magnesium levels (blood samples can be checked by your vet) increase susceptibility to milkfever and also cause grass staggers to develop which is most common in the two months following calving, again because the sudden demand of lactation outstripping supply. Grass staggers can be triggered by excitement, stress, milking and adverse weather. Signs include excitability, irritability and convulsions. Both milkfever and grass staggers can be successfully treated if caught early but, as always,prevention is better than cure and, as always, good nutrition as well as herd management are of utmost importance to maintain cows in peak production and to keep them in optimal health. Ensuring excellent nutrition, especially in the weeks before and after calving, is a wise investment and will help prevent problems and optimize production.
56 Fraser Street, Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand Phone: 07 578 7054 (Interna onal: +64 7 578 7054) Web: www.holis cvets.co.nz
digidoc.nz