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| Plan for healthy deliveries (Winter 2006) |
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What’s the number one cause of calf losses? It’s calving difficulties. That why it’s important to get prepared early for spring calving season. “One key item to have on hand is colostrum,” advises Cliff Lamb, livestock specialist with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. “If a calf has been through a problem delivery, it may not be able to nurse immediately. Tube-feeding the calf colostrum will greatly boost its chance of survival.”
Freeze it
How do you come by colostrum, that nutrient-packed first milk? “You can buy commercial colostrum mixes,” states Lamb, “but you are much better off with the real thing.” If there are dairy farms near you, you can see about getting a quart of a dairy cow’s first milk after calving and freeze it in a plastic bag. Then thaw it in a water bath when needed. (Microwaving could damage the protective antibodies and nutrients.) If you can hand-milk colostrum out of your cow after a problem delivery you can feed some to the calf and save some for freezing.
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