Saturday, June 21, 2025

How much help do your calves need?

Bos Taurus breeds have been selected over time to be fertile all year long (this is not true of many Bos Indicus and Bos Africanus breeds, where fertility follows the seasons).    The result of this is many of you calve cows in winter, to enhance the salability of those calves later.

For winter calving, we have some aids to calf comfort:
Calf  Ear  Warmers    (from Sullivan Supply)   fleece-lined, waterproof
Calf  Jackets   (lined with 3M Thinsulate)   come in small, medium, large sizes

For respiratory protection, we stock the usual vaccines.   This now includes:
Tri-Shield  First Defense   (from Immucell)   colostrum-derived antibodies
Focuses on K-99+ E-Coli, Bovine Coronavirus, and Bovine Rotavirus—major causes of scours.
Effective when given orally within 12 hours after birth.
Packaged in a box of 12 single-dose syringes.     Refrigerate until ready to use.

What if a calf is born adversely, and momma struggles with nursing it?
We stock freeze-dried COLOSTRUM:  “Bovine IgG Just Like Mom” label      (Aspen Vet Resources)
Effective when fed within 2 hours of birth.    If no maternal colostrum is available, a second dose within 8 hours is quite beneficial.    This is a powder that mixes easily in warm water.

What if a calf has had a setback, and needs to catch up?
FASTRACK  Ruminant Gel is pretty hard to beat.    5cc oral doses, restores appetite and speeds up rumen development so that all newly introduced feeds can be digested.

No comments:

Post a Comment