Possessive mother cows can be a challenge, but newborn calves are easy to handle and they are close by at birth so it makes sense to perform health procedures when you have the chance.
The most important task when dealing with newborn calves is to ensure the calf has adequate colostrum but there are other procedures that should be performed to improve herd health.
Most producers still routinely give injections of vitamins A and D in combination as well as selenium to the newborn.
Most of Western Canada is deficient in selenium and little of these nutrients spill over into mother’s milk so injections give the calf a good start.
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Use as small a needle as you can. A one-inch needle is preferable and selenium will flow through a 20-gauge needle. With the vitamin A–D combination, a larger 18-gauge is needed.
In larger calves you can inject in the neck muscles but in smaller calves I find there is very little neck muscle to be found. This is the only instance in which I suggest using the back leg muscles.
If you use the back leg, come in from the back of the calf, half way down the leg. This reduces the risk of hitting the large sciatic nerve, which courses close to the hips. Never give the shots anywhere close to the hip area.
Some newer selenium products can be given subcutaneously.
Some producers will also supplement with human vitamin E capsules (two of the 400 IU strength) if this is a problem in the area.
Vitamin E in A-D-E or Se-E combinations is present in small amounts as a preservative and is of no value to the calf.
Consult with your veterinarian about other supplements recommended for your geographic area.
Injectable selenium also comes in a double strength formulation so watch your dosage.
Many cattle producers, including purebred producers, are letting the polled bulls do the dehorning but for those who aren’t, dehorning should be mentioned.
At birth, you can used a paste or an electric dehorner such as a buddex. Horns grow from the cells at the base of the horn in the hairline so this area is where your efforts should be concentrated.
Buddex dehorners are good but require a second person to securely hold the calf. With paste you must separate cow and calf for a couple of hours so the nursing calf does not rub the caustic paste off and possibly damage the udder.
Concentrate on putting the paste on the circular area surrounding the horn bud. If there is a lot of bleeding, the paste has been applied too thick.
Using the same brand year after year allows the producer to become familiar with the product and the proper application rate.
The Dr. Naylors brand is again available in Canada. Brands vary in strength and viscosity and it takes a year to assess how effective your paste dehorning has been. A good paste job will have the calf almost looking polled later in life.
If you weigh your calves, wait until the navel is dry. This is preferable to handling a calf immediately after birth.
Most producers do not treat the navel. Some concentrations of iodine are too strong and burn or irritate the area. You would be wise to spend your time and efforts elsewhere.
If a real problem exists, your veterinarian may recommend prophylactic antibiotics and examine other reasons the navel area is becoming contaminated.
Tagging is an essential step for identification.
Calves born in 2008 will undoubtedly need a dangle tag as well as the radio frequency identification tags. If you use RFID tags in sequence, it is not onerous to get the calves entered into the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency database. This makes them eligible for age verification.
An easy way to do this is to record the sequence for your calves during the brunt of the calving system and register them all with the birth date of the oldest one in the group. This way the whole calf crop becomes conservatively age verified.
If boxes of 500 tags are purchased, you can get them consecutively numbered from some companies.
With dangle tags, purebred producers have an effective numerical method where a letter indicates year of birth. The calves are then numerically numbered oldest to youngest so are given the same number as their tattoo. The cow’s number is then put above this.
Different colours can then represent ownership, percent purebred, breed or sire group. Some even put the actual birth date on the back of the tag.
Time spent properly tagging helps with future management and marketing.
Castration is best done at birth when it creates less stress.
Most producers use castration rings. If done properly at one day of age, there are few complications.
Steer calves will not grow as quickly as intact bulls so they should be implanted.
This has been proven repeatedly to provide at least a 10:1 and possibly a 20:1 return on your investment.
When ringing calves, ensure that both testicles are trapped below the ring in the scrotum. If this cannot be accomplished leave them intact so they can be castrated with a knife in the fall.
