Page 29 - MWC 03-11-2021

The Midwest Cattleman · March 11, 2021 · P29
Lengthy, Difficult Births Adversely Affect Newborn Calves

By Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension animal scientist
Calves born after a prolonged, calf is about 12 hours old. bodies from colostrum fed later. ment heifers bred to calving
difficult birth are at a high risk For an 80-pound calf, this If you have noticed a high- ease bulls should help minimize
of failing to receive adequate co- will equate to at least 2 quarts er incidence of calf diarrhea the difficult births and allow
lostrum by natural suckling be- of colostrum per feeding. Feed among calves born to first calf the young cow to produce her
cause of greatly decreased colos- the natural or commercial co- heifers, this may be due to two genetic maximum first milk.
trum intake. Calves failing to lostrum first, before the calf is reasons: 1) The calf has more
receive adequate colostrum in a fed whole milk that is not co- severe respiratory acidosis due
timely manner are more prone lostrum. Once the calf has con- to prolonged stage 2 of calving,
to diseases such as scours, and sumed any milk product, the in- and 2) two-year-olds give small-
respiratory diseases later in life. testine speeds up the process of er quantities of first milk (colos-
Calves that are born to a pro- intestinal closure, which would trum) than do mature cows.
longed stage 2 of parturition inhibit the absorption of anti- Properly developed replace-
very often suffer from severe re-
spiratory acidosis. Stage 2 is de-
fined as the period of labor from
first appearance of the water
bag until the calf is completely
expelled and on the ground.
The acidosis occurs as the
umbilical cord is pinched off
at the pelvic rim during deliv-
ery. Therefore, the flow of oxy-
gen from mother to calf and the
return of carbon dioxide from
M
calf to mother is impaired. The March 28, 2021 • 1 p.m.arch 28, 2021 • 1 p.m.
buildup of carbon dioxide and
its byproduct lactic acid, in the SELLING
blood of the newborn causes the United Producers Livestock Market
blood pH of the calf to be low- Highway 71 North • Maryville, MO
ered and therefore the calf suf-
fers from acidosis.
Severe acidosis and low blood BullsBulls
oxygen may cause damage to & &
major organs of the calf includ-
ing the brain. Some ranchers
may have observed calves that
seem to be abnormal in behavior
Females
and are often called “dummy” Females
calves.
Calves that have endured a Yearling &
lengthy stage 2 of delivery and 18 Month Old Bulls
are suffering from severe ac-
idosis often are very sluggish Spring Pairs
and are VERY slow to stand
up, find the mother’s teat, and
nurse. This delay in ingestion Salers
of the colostrum leads to poor-
er immunoglobulin absorption Composites
because of normal intestinal clo- Red Angus
sure. Immunoglobulin is a big
word for the large proteins that
are “disease-protecting antibod-
ies”.
In addition, “acidotic” calves
are less efficient at absorbing
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colostral immunoglobulins even W
if artificially fed colostrum.
Therefore, efforts should be
made to provide weak newborn www
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calves with the best source of
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colostrum available via bottle V
suckling or tube feeding.
The amount of immunoglob-
ulin ingested is also a major
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determinant of final serum im- Silver Spur Salers
munoglobulin concentration. A
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practical "rule-of-thumb" is to David and Janelle Fruehvid and Janelle Frueh S
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feed 5 to 6% of the calf's body & Easton Liebharton Liebhart
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and repeat the feeding when the