Care and Management of New Born Calf

Care and Management of New Born Calf

Vishakha Uttam^a, Vaibhav Patel^b, Vikas Diwakar^a

^aPh.D. and ^bP.G. Scholar, Animal Genetics & Breeding, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana- 132001, India.

Email: vishakhauttam13@gmail.com; vaibhavpatel1028@gmail.com; vikasdiwakar26@gmail.com;

Abstract

Calves play an important role in the development of the dairy sector of the country, as a calf is tomorrow’s cow and solely responsible for the future of the dairy herd.  Female calves are especially kept for herd replacement while the male calves are usually reared till weaning when they are sold. Care and management of new born calf is not only essential for sustenance of the dairy industry but also for preserving and maintaining a good quality germplasm. Calfhood diseases have a major impact on the economic viability of cattle operations, to prevent from such untoward difficulties later proper care and management of calves starting from right after calving to weaning is a must of which the basics are dealt in brief in the current paper.

Introduction

The life of a bovine, from its health point of view is divided into two parts; the first 24 hours, and the rest of its life. The first 24 hours of a calf’s life is very important and crucial to make a strong bearing on the rest of its life. Inadequate care or negligence during this time may result in neonatal diseases, calf diarrhea being one of the most important ones or the calf may always remain weak and an underperformer, despite having good genetic potential and a good environment.

The first hour after calving, called ‘the golden hour’ is the most critical period in the entire life of a new born calf. Utmost care should be taken such that it receives all the prime care during this time. Cleaning of nostrils and mouth sooner after birth is crucial as it helps the calf breathe better and prevents future breathing problems. The mother should be allowed to lick the calf clean which promotes circulation within the calf’s body and prepares the calf to stand up and walk. Generally, dairy calves are removed from their dam shortly after the dam has licked the calf clean (within one hour) (Mee et al., 2008). The navel cord must be cut at a distance of around 2 inches from the base with a clean instrument, followed by dipping the navel in a 3.5% or higher solution of iodine. The minimum contact time required is at least 30 seconds. The exposed end of the cord should be closed by tying with a clean thread to close the opening. This whole procedure of navel dipping is advised to be repeated after 12 hours. A poorly maintained navel serves as the gateway to many deadly infections (Vinod and Hitesh, 2022). The navel should be examined for excessive bleeding, discomfort, abnormal swelling, smell, or pus during the first week of life, and treated accordingly.

Feeding from birth to weaning

Colostrum feeding: Colostrum is the first milk secreted after parturition which is considered as calf’s ‘passport to life’ which signifies how important and crucial it is for the calf’s sustenance. It contains large amount of gamma globulins which are antibodies produced by the cow against antigens encountered during her life. Absorption of these antibodies provides the calf with an umbrella of passive immunity.  Colostrum is a highly fortified source of nutrient having 7 times the protein and twice the total solids of normal milk, thus it gives an early boost in portion and solid intake. Within the first 2 hours of birth a new born calf should be given 2 litres of colostrum and 1-2 litres (based on size) within 12 hours of birth. Colostrum is fed for 3-4 days consecutively. Usually, many calves do not nurse adequate amounts of colostrum from their dams within the first few hours of life, and thus they do not receive adequate immunity which calls for artificial assistance or intervention that would protect the calves from diseases for the first three months of life. The number of antibodies absorbed is related to the timing of colostrum feeding after birth. Within six hours after birth, the ability of the gut to absorb antibodies decreases by one-third. By 24 hours, the gut can absorb only 11% of what it originally could have absorbed at birth. After 24 hours of birth colostrum may not help the calf to ward off infections. Therefore, hand-feeding of colostrum to new-born calves is recommended so that the farmer/owner is sure about the amount of colostrum an individual calf receives. Calves are born with little defense or immunity against disease. They acquire resistance to disease from their dam through timely and adequate intake of high-quality colostrum, their mother’s first milk. If the mother dies during calving or produces limited colostrum insufficient for the calf artificial colostrum or a foster mother is recommended. Fostering is applicable only when many cows are calved/lactating at the same time which may be difficult in a small farm or farmers with few numbers of animals. In such cases, artificial colostrum comes to the rescue. Artificial colostrum is a mixture of an egg, half litre of fresh warm water, half litre whole milk, one teaspoonful of castor oil/cod liver oil. The egg is a source of protein, castor oil and cod liver oil are sources of energy and whole milk acts as a source of lactose and milk protein (Donna et al., 2006).

• Week 1 (from day 4)-week 4: Making the calf independent of its mother is known as weaning. If day old weaning is not practiced the calf can be allowed to remain with the mother in the calving pen for 7 to 10 days. Otherwise, the calves can be removed immediately to calf pen. However, the general rule is that calves should not be weaned based on age but rather based on their intake of starter. 4-5 litres of milk/milk replacer per day is required, only clean warm water should be used when mixing the milk replacer to avoid scours. Calf starter pellet (high in fibre, highly digestible, highly palatable with 18% CP, vitamin A, D and E) is given at the rate of 0.25Kg/day in 1^st week, 0.5Kg/day in 2^nd week, 0.75Kg/day in 3^rd week and 1Kg/day in 4^th Hay is given free of choice. By 5^th-9^th week, milk/milk replacer should be reduced to 3L/day with 1.5kg/day of calf pellet at week 5 and increasing it to 2 kg/day till week 9. Once it consumes calf starter pellets at the rate of 2kg/day it is ready for weaning, by this time it is advised to stop milk/milk replacer completely. However, mineral brick and water must be continued. After weaning the calves should be fed with milk at 10% of body weight, and be reduced when it starts to consume other solid feeds (Donna et al., 2006). An example of a simple calf starter in approx. percentages is- maize- 52%, oats- 20%, soyabean meal- 20%, molasses- 5%, salt- 0.5%, minerals- 1.5% and vitamins- 1%.

Housing and ventilation

Calves are born with functional thermoregulatory mechanisms as a result of which, healthy calves are readily able to deal with outdoor temperatures if adequate amounts of energy and dry, well-bedded and draft-free shelter are provided (Davis et al., 1998). In the first two weeks of life the lower critical temperature lies in 10-15°C declining with age to approximately 6-10°C in older calves. The quality of bedding material is crucial as the amount of heat loss via conduction in calves is related directly to the bedding (Webster, 1984). Individual housing of dairy calves, either indoors or outdoors, is generally linked with improved calf health. However, caring for calves in outdoor hutches can be uncomfortable in adverse weather conditions (McKnight, 1978). Calves housed individually in naturally ventilated calf barns, solid dividers on the side of pens, together with a high ‘nesting score’ have lower risk of respiratory diseases (Lago et al., 2006).

Ventilation of calf barns is very important as inadequate ventilation increases the risk of disease due to a buildup of high levels of humidity, noxious gases, dust and bacterial content. Ammonia levels should not exceed 10 ppm which is the maximum permissible limit (Woolums, 2009). Natural ventilation is achieved through wind and buoyancy in monopitch or duopitch houses, with adequate air outlets (ridge opening: 5 cm width for every 3 m width of the building) and inlets (eave openings: at least half the space of ridge openings) (Bates, 1984) as well as sufficient difference in height between the openings is provided (not less than 1.5 m, but preferably 2.5 m). Recommended air space per calf is not less than 6 m³ up to 6 weeks and 10 m³ up to 12 weeks of age. Acceptable relative humidity in calf barn is below 85% (Webster, 1984).

Deworming and vaccination

Calves must be dewormed following a regular deworming cycle against parasitic infections. This practice should be started on or before two weeks of age, repeated after 21 days and should be repeated 3-4 times in a year at regular intervals. Parasitic load is a major reason of calf mortality due to which their health deteriorates and the calf often dies (Sharma and Mishra, 1987). When the calf is 3 months old, vaccination protocol should be initiated.

Dehorning of calves

Dehorning of horned cattle is the process of removal of their horns or the process of preventing their growth and it is a very common procedure in modern dairy production systems and it is considered necessary by most dairy farmers (Duffield, 2008). Dehorning reduces the risk of injury and bruising to herd mates, the animals become docile that are easier to handle, prevents financial losses from trimming damaged carcasses caused by horned feedlot cattle during transport to slaughter.  Moreover, horned animals can cause injury to herd mates during aggressive interactions and competition at the feeding gate (AVMA, 2010). In dairy holdings, dehorning is commonly carried out on female calves anytime from 1 to 32 weeks of age, however, it is better at a younger age (less than eight weeks) although there is no such evidence of differing pain between young and older calves (Fulwider et al., 2008).

Conclusion

Successful calf management can be summed up in five words viz., colostrum, calories, cleanliness, comfort and consistency. Calf management is the cornerstone of dairy cattle productivity and profitability however; little attention is given to calf care by researchers particularly in developing nations. Therefore, awareness creation and further studies to identify the specific causes of mortality and morbidity of new born calves should be initiated for improvement of the management and hygiene.

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Care and Management of Newborn Calf

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