Category: KNOWLEDGE BASE

Calf Series: The Law, Pain Management and Recommended Best Practice

As of 1st October 2019, the law changed around calf disbudding and dehorning.

It is now, according to regulation 57 and 58 of the Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018, a legal requirement that any cattle beast of any age undergoing disbudding or dehorning must be under the influence of appropriately placed and effective local anaesthetic (as a minimum) pain relief.

Calf Series: Hygiene

Hopefully you have all had some time to recharge the batteries before the mayhem of calving …here are some common tips to aim for when collecting calves and getting them to their calf pens this calving period:

BVD and what it means to dairy farmers

Bovine viral diarrhoea occurs throughout NZ and the impact is a huge costs: studies show approx.. $140/cow/year for an infected herd. The biggest cost to farmers relates to early pregnancy losses.

Calf Series: Colostrum

Now is the time to organise your rotavirus vaccine. It must be remembered this is PART of the process of great calf rearing management. The vaccine works by increasing the amount of antibodies in the cow’s colostrum to rotavirus, coronavirus and E-coli.

Nitrate toxicity

As we are now well into dry-off season, many cows will have begun transition onto winter crops. If these crops are brassicas (kale, swedes, triticale) we have to be thinking about nitrate poising and ways to reduce the risk of this occurring.

Nitrate Toxicity Treatment Protocol

• Call the Vet! Affected cows urgently require specific treatment
• Move all cows that can walk quickly and quietly off crop

Mastitis Post Dry Off Treatment Protocol

Review: dry off process – check cows are fully shut down prior to dry off; correct dry cow administration and post dry off management.

Acidosis Treatment Protocol

If on crop walk all cows off that can and offer straw/hay and free choice mag oxide or sodium bicarbonate

General Scours Treatment

Calf Scours

All scouring calves will need milk and electrolytes. Calves can die if given only electrolytes and not fed milk due to a lack of energy. They will definitely die, if not given fluids and electrolytes.

What is Rotavirus

Rotavirus is the most commonly diagnosed cause of diarrhoea in young calves. It affects calves usually between 4 and 14 days of age, but it can occasionally affect older calves (up to 6 weeks).