Calves

Copper bolus needed by any chance?
Any mineral blood test done?

Zinc would be my first taught when you mention feet.

Not sure of its effects on animal coat. Will check it in my bible later
No bloods done,I’ll get the vet to do one on the next call out.
I’m thinking it must be some deficiency.

Copper bolus needed by any chance?
Copper would cause the brown coat but not the hair to fall out, I could be wrong though.
 
We got a fair doing from crypto this year in the calves and roto virus last year, all houses were powerwashed and disifinecteded,cows got top of the range minerals twice a day and vaccinated for roto virus and calves got biesting as soon after calving as possible but still no good. So what would a lad do differently for next year ?
 
Start looking at minerals in the soil, forage and bloods I more detail. I'm not convinced powerwashing and disinfecting is the answer, allot of the time you maybe displacing okay bacteria hiding out in walls and allowing space for more dangerous bugs to thrive
 
I myself think power washing is a waste of time. The bacteria from the walls and floors go with the mist up to the roofs and timbers on the roof. Unless you can power wash the whole shed from top to bottom I wouldn't bother. We lime the sheds when they're cleaned out and when the sheds are in use during the calving period we shake lime on the bedding once a week.
Had problems last year with calves not drinking so this year the cows were blood tested and bolused for copper and selenium. During the dry period they got dry cow minerals 90 grams/head of cal mag and 1/4 of a kg of soya and had no problems.
 
We got a fair doing from crypto this year in the calves and roto virus last year, all houses were powerwashed and disifinecteded,cows got top of the range minerals twice a day and vaccinated for roto virus and calves got biesting as soon after calving as possible but still no good. So what would a lad do differently for next year ?
Make round bale silage
I had this problem 10 years or more back ,if i kissed the calves arses they still died in me not to mind broke me up completely trying to keep them alive .The only thing i done was cut down my own silage in fine weather and wilted it and turned at least once .This is always high d.m. and the cows dung is solid .I do not even feed pre calver minerals now a days .I am not a model farmer by any standard but my calves will always make good prices now when selling with very rare setbacks .Plenty of work in bales but the pay back is healthier cattle in my book anyway ,I give my silage a good wilt though and 48 hours + between cutting and baling not the teagasc advice of short wilt which is not worse a curse
 
Make round bale silage
I had this problem 10 years or more back ,if i kissed the calves arses they still died in me not to mind broke me up completely trying to keep them alive .The only thing i done was cut down my own silage in fine weather and wilted it and turned at least once .This is always high d.m. and the cows dung is solid .I do not even feed pre calver minerals now a days .I am not a model farmer by any standard but my calves will always make good prices now when selling with very rare setbacks .Plenty of work in bales but the pay back is healthier cattle in my book anyway ,I give my silage a good wilt though and 48 hours + between cutting and baling not the teagasc advice of short wilt which is not worse a curse
Im convinced that cow and calf health are determined by the fodder the cow gets during the winter.
Baled silage dramatically improved cow/calf health.
No special hygiene, lots of hydrated lime, all cows calve in a bedded shed which hasn't been cleaned out since the start of the calving.
All calves reared bulls and heifers. Out of 90 calves, I have had about 6 or 7 cases of scour.
 
Ok so from what ye are saying there is no comparison between pit silage and baled silage .to be honest we get hell from the calves every year with scour mainly but phneumonia and alot of nable infections as well this year, and we think we are doing all the right things but maybe not ..
 
Im convinced that cow and calf health are determined by the fodder the cow gets during the winter.
Baled silage dramatically improved cow/calf health.
No special hygiene, lots of hydrated lime, all cows calve in a bedded shed which hasn't been cleaned out since the start of the calving.
All calves reared bulls and heifers. Out of 90 calves, I have had about 6 or 7 cases of scour.
I might also add that my calf housing could be best described as 3rd world.
 
Ok so from what ye are saying there is no comparison between pit silage and baled silage .to be honest we get hell from the calves every year with scour mainly but phneumonia and alot of nable infections as well this year, and we think we are doing all the right things but maybe not ..
Had horrendous problems last year with scour, pneumonia and navels. Changed a few things and had a lot easier time this year. Principle change was to get rid of an automatic feeder and go back to basics. This is what we do and a hell of a lot less work than last year.

Isolation pens for the baby calves until they're drinking well. Got them second hand, not dear. We put a sheet of perspex over them and on a cold night or with a sick calf put straw on top and the holes at the front. Calves taken away from the cow the next milking after calving.
The feeder feeds 12 calves so calves are penned that way and stay in those, feed the youngest group first.
Milk heated to 40 degrees at mixing, vet said this is especially important when using powder, if not mixed at the right temp caused stomach upsets. Temp at feedout less important especially with older calves.
We feed them whole milk for the first few weeks at least.
Use alymicin spray on the navels, the iodine causes them to dry and crack letting in bacteria. Watch them for soreness or swelling and hit them with an antibiotic quick.
Have a drinking bowl in each pen, one that they push with their noses, water is as important as milk.
3 litres twice a day, we switched to once a day and powder after 5 weeks.
Meal in the pens from early on and build up, fresh straw daily.
If you have a second shed to switch to half way through it's a big help as it avoids fresh calves sharing the same air as much older ones. Keeps the density down too.
Powerwash everything before starting and spray with Sorgene5. Spray the individual pens after each calf leaves. Knapsack lives in the calf shed. Find it handier and cleaner than lime.
Eliminate all draughts.
I don't understand how putting grass in rolls makes any difference. :whistle:
 
Had horrendous problems last year with scour, pneumonia and navels. Changed a few things and had a lot easier time this year. Principle change was to get rid of an automatic feeder and go back to basics. This is what we do and a hell of a lot less work than last year.

Isolation pens for the baby calves until they're drinking well. Got them second hand, not dear. We put a sheet of perspex over them and on a cold night or with a sick calf put straw on top and the holes at the front. Calves taken away from the cow the next milking after calving.
The feeder feeds 12 calves so calves are penned that way and stay in those, feed the youngest group first.
Milk heated to 40 degrees at mixing, vet said this is especially important when using powder, if not mixed at the right temp caused stomach upsets. Temp at feedout less important especially with older calves.
We feed them whole milk for the first few weeks at least.
Use alymicin spray on the navels, the iodine causes them to dry and crack letting in bacteria. Watch them for soreness or swelling and hit them with an antibiotic quick.
Have a drinking bowl in each pen, one that they push with their noses, water is as important as milk.
3 litres twice a day, we switched to once a day and powder after 5 weeks.
Meal in the pens from early on and build up, fresh straw daily.
If you have a second shed to switch to half way through it's a big help as it avoids fresh calves sharing the same air as much older ones. Keeps the density down too.
Powerwash everything before starting and spray with Sorgene5. Spray the individual pens after each calf leaves. Knapsack lives in the calf shed. Find it handier and cleaner than lime.
Eliminate all draughts.
I don't understand how putting grass in rolls makes any difference. :whistle:

What is the theory of the feeder been the problem.. too many calves together in the pen drinking off the same teat... I am sure this wasn't just decided after one bad spring and was on on going issue.
Had a lot of scour with my calves last year and reckoned the feeder played a big job in keeping them going as the calf had the choice any time to go get milk... it may have only Drank a litre at the time but was enough to keep them ticking along as they could do it a few times a day.
Having fierce problems with pneumonia this year... not my calves i am contract rearing them, there not getting the best start in life before me
 
What is the theory of the feeder been the problem.. too many calves together in the pen drinking off the same teat... I am sure this wasn't just decided after one bad spring and was on on going issue.
Had a lot of scour with my calves last year and reckoned the feeder played a big job in keeping them going as the calf had the choice any time to go get milk... it may have only Drank a litre at the time but was enough to keep them ticking along as they could do it a few times a day.
Having fierce problems with pneumonia this year... not my calves i am contract rearing them, there not getting the best start in life before me
I'd say we just bought the wrong feeder tbh.
Most of them pump the milk to the station, this one the calf had to suck it from the mixing bowl. Slow as a funeral as well only mixed a pint at a time and then would stop to mix more. It just was not fit for purpose but that doesn't stop them making great claims in their full page ads. I won't mention brands but you probably have a fair idea.
When you're set up you can feed a lot of calves quick, 12 calves drink their 3 litres in a couple of minutes. You know their all fed and job done. A sick calf is not going to wait 5 minutes in the stall to get a drop of milk split between 4 stations. Plus you are not forever checking to see if calves have got enough, getting them up and over to the feeder or filling the hopper.
 
Ye all have a serious wealth of information on calves,do you mind me asking for suggestions on a book on animal health and well-being
 
I was talking to a lad that's feeds soya to his heifers before calving but says it gives them awfull hard springings does any 1 else find this ?
 
I was talking to a lad that's feeds soya to his heifers before calving but says it gives them awfull hard springings does any 1 else find this ?
Depends on how much there getting.would feed them some of the milking coarse ration.oats are great feed for energy without outblowing the the calves to big or causing udder odema.some heifers with narrow chests are more prone as its something to do with the heart and removing water
 
I have some bucket reared calves that are weaned from milk this two months. Still getting a few nuts to help keep an eye on them but this will end this week. Would it be ok to let them join the main suckler herd then without them starting to annoy the other cows when they see calves sucking I wonder? Just want to put them together for convenience really.
 
I used pre calver licks in the run up to calving in the spring gone by ,always used to dust the silage other years ,never had as healthy of a crop of calves as the current year, could be pure coincidence?
 
I will have to try the oats here this spring (along with the pre calver minerals obuvisouly) because I am fair sick of calves getting bad scours etc ..
Where do ye get the oats from and in what quantity ?..
 
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I will have to try the oats here this spring (along with the pre calver minerals obuvisouly) because I am fair sick of calves getting bad scours etc ..
Where do ye get the oats from and in what quantity ?..


Can buy 40kg bags of oats in local merchants.

Key to a healthy calf with no scour is to get enough colostrum into him in the first hour or 2. We give a calf paste here the minute they are dropped. It is high energy. They are up and sucking very fast. We calved 60 cows both last year and this year and have not had a single case of scour.
 
I will have to try the oats here this spring (along with the pre calver minerals obuvisouly) because I am fair sick of calves getting bad scours etc ..
Where do ye get the oats from and in what quantity ?..

Are you skimping on the straw, my vet said you should be able to kneel down in the calf pen in your best clothes and not get dirty or damp, if not your not using enough straw. He also said our calving pen was to big and to half it. We done that last winter and had no scour, I would like to try it for another couple of years before I say for sure that was the reason we had no scour last winter.
 
I will have to try the oats here this spring (along with the pre calver minerals obuvisouly) because I am fair sick of calves getting bad scours etc ..
Where do ye get the oats from and in what quantity ?..

We rarely had trouble with scour, but this year was tormenting, the powder sachets didn't work so vet recommended to give them a scoop of milkshake mixed into the milk. Its some job not one with scour after and always drink full bucket.
 
I will have to try the oats here this spring (along with the pre calver minerals obuvisouly) because I am fair sick of calves getting bad scours etc ..
Where do ye get the oats from and in what quantity ?..
Are you going feeding the oats to the cows or calves?
 
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