Approach to Group Calf Health Flashcards
4 stages of investigation of Neonatal Calf Disease
- Precalving
- Calving
- The golden hours
- Pre weaning period
Pre calving information gathering- What is some information I could get
Feeding
Vax status
BCS
Environment
-7.5m2 per cow
-clean bedding etc
-Feed face space
When should I body condition score a cow before calving
6-8 weeks
Do not adjust in last 3 weeks
Ideal space for cow to calf
12m2
Outline calving ease grade
0-3
0- Calved itself
1- Light assistance
2- Moderate assistance
3- Vet assistance
Navel management for a newly born calf, iodine should be dipped or spray
Dip
How many liters of colostrum in first 4 hours of calving?
4 litres
Suggest ways to sample colustrum
- Visual
- Colostrometer (Temp dependant = 20 degrees)
>1.050 (green) = >50g/l IgG - Brix refractometer (Not temp dependant)
> 22% = >50g/l/IgG
Suggest ways to assess colustrum passive transfer
Total protein (1-7 days old)
Cheap, simple in house, spun blood, serum/plasma
Drop onto refractometer
High risk <50g/l, low risk >50g/l
Immunoglobulin (>10mg/ml 24-48hr)
When is the pre-ruminant stage for a calf
First 3 weeks
When is the common age to wean
7-9 weeks Dairy, much older in beef
What should be fed to a calf during preweaning
milk based protein source (whey) is essential
Do not feed waste milk
25-27% crude protein
Fresh water daily
Access to fresh fodder
Access to conc from 7 days
How much food should I be giving a preweaning calf
15% BW/day
What is the minimum Daily live weight gain and range of weight
700-900g/day minimum (ideally 1kg, beef higher)
Double weight in 6 weeks
Cycle of investigating neonatal disease/group health
- Monitor performance
- Compare to set targets
- Understand shortfalls
- Implement controls
