The document provides comprehensive guidelines on calf management, focusing on the importance of prenatal care, nutrition, and calving procedures. Key elements include ensuring proper feeding of pregnant cows for optimal calf health, recognizing signs of calving, and taking immediate actions post-calving to support both cow and calf. The document stresses the significance of colostrum for calf immunity and provides solutions for situations where maternal colostrum is unavailable.

1. 4. CALF MANAGEMENT
4.1 INTRODUCTION
• Each year milking cows are culled for various reasons. Eg.
- Low milk production
- Fertility problems, cows are supposed to calve once annually
- Infectious and non-infectious diseases leading to in-voluntary
culling Eg. Chronic mastitis, TB, brucellosis
- Voluntary disposals through sales and slaughters of animals
(NOTE: Not all slaughters are voluntary eg. Failure to calve,
low milk production, complex fractures, etc.)

2. INTRODUCTION CONTD..
▪ CONSEQUENCE === REDUCTION IN HERD SIZE
▪ Rear calves well in order to raise good replacement stock. About
60% of heifers born in a farm are replacement stock
▪ Level of management determines:
* How early a heifer attains puberty
* Production level in her lifetime

3. WHY NOT BUY REPLACEMENT HEIFERS ?
▪ They are not readily available
▪ If available, they would be very expensive
▪ Nobody sells his/her best animals, they will be
inferior heifers, what we call culls
▪ There is risk of introducing diseases from the farms
you buy heifers
▪ It will be difficult to know the genetic worthiness of
the animals. Rarely people are honest of what they are
doing.

4. PRE-NATAL CARE
4.2 PRE-NATAL CARE OF THE HEAVY PREGNANT
HEIFER/COW
▪ The raising of a good calf starts from when it is in the cow’s
uterus
▪ During the last third (last trimester) of the gestation:
- In-calf heifers continue to grow
- Calf growth in the uterus and enlargement of the foetal
membranes is fastest.
▪ The foetus has priority over nutrients but feed the in-calf heifers
and cows to meet their nutrient requirements. It is almost
mandatory to supplement these animals in the DRY SEASON.

5. PRE-NATAL CARE
▪ Feeding at this stage influences: birth weight of the calf, growth and
survival of the calf.
# Too low birth weight; the calf becomes weak, low resistance
to diseases and may easily die
# Too high birth weight may lead to difficult calving (DYSTOCIA)
▪ DRY OFF the cow TWO months prior to calving. “Dry off “ means
stopping milking the cow to allow her to rest before next calving.
▪ “STEAM UP” the heavy pregnant heifer/cow for 6 – 8 weeks
before calving.
▪ Steaming up ===> subjecting the heavy pregnant heifer/cow to
liberal feeding with concentrate supplementation

6. PRE-NATAL CARE contd.
▪ Reasons for steaming up:
i) Help the cow restore body reserves depleted
during lactation. Physiologically, lactation is
suppressed and body reserve replenishment is
enhanced.
ii) Helps to repair worn out mammary tissues and
stimulate development of alveoli cells responsible
for milk secretion.
iii) Prepares the heifer/cow for peak production in
early lactation. Those calving in good body
condition have better capability of having high
milk yield and persistence of lactation.

7. PRE-NATAL CARE contd.
Other considerations:
▪ Do the steaming up in the milking parlour
* This will make heifers get used to the milking
environment such as the noise, milking
machines, feeds used.
* Animals get “tamed”, by getting used to human
hands, reduces nervousness
▪ Too long (> 10 wks) or too short (< 2 wks) dry periods are NOT beneficial to
the cow/heifer.
▪ “Dry cow therapy” is recommended at this time for cows with
severe/chronic mastitis.

8. 4.3 The calving site
▪ Stalls for calving should be well cleaned &
disinfected. It is more crucial in cases of
abortions and prevalent calf diseases.
▪ Provide clean and dry bedding: straw, hay, wood
shavings
▪ If there are no calving stalls/pens; set aside a
paddock near office/calf house/milking place.
▪ Use “breeding calendar”, records or computer
programme to determine which cows are about
to calve.

9. 4.4 Signs of calving
▪ Distension of teats and udder, indicating milk
synthesis has commenced
▪ Heifers/cows become un-easy; always moving
around, lying down and getting up
▪ Vulva becomes enlarged, flabby and begins to
discharge mucous
▪ As she begins irregular straining, she will often
look backwards
▪ Before calving, the water bag with amniotic
fluid will appear, rupture, then front feet, nose,
whole head, shoulders, whole calf will come out.

10. Calving
▪ Rupture of the water bag with amniotic fluid. The fluid has
the function of dilating the passage-way and lubricating
it.
▪ 1 – 2 hrs later, calving will take place.
▪ Most births are normal without requiring assistance or
disturbance.
Calving problems
▪ If nothing happens after 2 hrs from the appearance of the
water bag or after 2 hrs of regular straining
▪ Seek assistance from a vet. or an experienced livestock
expert.

11. Calving problems contd..
▪ Causes of dystocia
- It could be wrong presentation: Fore legs are back, head is
turned backward, hind legs/tail first, confused position of
twins
- The calf is too big to come out; it may require to tie it with
a rope or chains and pull it out
- Narrow pelvic opening; failure of pelvic bone to widen up;
heifer being too young/small. You may end up with
emergency slaughter !!
▪ Calving problems may be associated with i) Retained
placenta (after birth). Watch the afterbirth for 3 days.
ii) Prolapse of the uterus. In both cases contact a
veterinarian.

12. 4.5 What to do after calving
▪ The cow would lick the calf thoroughly. Check if the calf is normal or not
and whether it is covered by foetal membranes or mucus. It should breath
normally.
▪ The cow would be thirsty Give her water
▪ Disinfect the naval cord with 10% iodine solution
▪ The calf should suckle the first milk from the cow called “COLOSTRUM”.
On the 1st
day, the calf can suckle 7 – 8 litres; on the 4th
day, 10 – 12 litres.
▪ If the calf fails to suckle:
a) Assist it by bringing it to the udder, insert a teat into its
mouth
b) If too weak to suckle, use a nursing bottle with dams
colostrum.

13. What to do after calving contd..
▪ If the cow dies, use colostrum from another recently calved
cow. Note: Maternal behaviour has influence as to when the
calf will suckle from its dam.
▪ Identify the calf within 24 hrs of birth.
- Avoid confusion if many cows calve on the same day.
- The cow and the calf may be separated for artificial
rearing. Under natural rearing, the cow and
her calf stay together.
▪ Initiate records of the calf in the “Calf register book”: ID, sex,
sire, dam, breed, birth date, birth weight, heart girth
▪ Also up-date records of the dam: Calving date, parity, calf ID,
sex, sire, birth wt.

14. 4.6 COLOSTRUM
▪ Is the first milk drawn from the udder at calving or soon after
▪ It has higher % of total solids (TS) than normal milk esp.
albumins and globulins which confer immunity to the calf for
2 - 3 months.
▪ It is readily absorbed from the small intestines (esp. ileum)
during the first 36 hrs after birth through a process called
pinocytosis . The calf relies on globulins from the colostrum
to get antibodies for protection esp. against intestinal
bacteria eg. Escherichia coli (motile, rod-shaped bacteria,
aerobic, common in GIT, produces enterotoxins = Enteric
colibacillosis) .

15. Colostrum contd..
Component Colostrum Normal milk
Total solids 23.9 12.9
Minerals 1.1 0.7
Protein (albumins
& globulins)
14.0 3.1
Fat 6.7 4.0
Lactose 2.7 5.0

16. Colostrum contd..
▪ Colostrum has high total solids because of high protein & fat
contents. B’se of high fat, it also acts as a laxative to the calf.
▪ It has high carotene content (precursor of Vit. A), fat soluble
vitamins (A, D, E, and K) and in minerals.
▪ After 4 days, normal milk is secreted. So it is important that the
calf gets dam’s milk in the first 4 days after birth.

17. Colostrum contd..
▪ In case the cow/dam dies or dries off without giving colostrum,
there are two alternatives: i) Get colostrum from another
recently calved cow or deep frozen colostrum. ii) Make an
artificial colostrum by thoroughly mixing:
- one whipped egg. Egg white is albumin which will stimulate
antibody formation
- 0.25 to 0.3 litres of clean warm water
- 1 teaspoonful of castor oil (laxative)
- 1 ,, of cod liver oil (Vit. A)
- 0.6 litre of whole milk
▪ Feed this mixture 3 x / day for the first 4 days
▪ Inclusion of an antibiotic in the mixture will increase chance of
the calf to survive.