Manitoba cattle producers can manage difficult calving situations by following some tested strategies.
Tag Archives calving
Cattle producers can manage difficult labours with tested strategies
Dr. Shania Jack, a veterinarian at the Morden Vet Clinic, shares her tips and techniques for dealing with calving dystocia
Benchmarks indicate healthy calves
Cattle producers can prepare their new calf crop for success by closely watching a number of indicators of good health
With calving season in full swing, ensuring calves are primed to thrive is top of mind.
Enhanced calving biosecurity pays off
Creating a plan to prevent the spread of disease is crucial when cows and calves are more vulnerable to infection
Biosecurity is always of the utmost importance on beef operations. That importance is amplified at calving time due to two groups of animals being more susceptible to infectious diseases: new calves and their dams.
Free-choice supplementation often not enough
Free-choice vitamin and mineral intake over winter may not be enough to ensure that newborn calves are receiving sufficient nutrition through their dam’s colostrum.
Calving and pain management: What the beef producer should know
Controlling pain during calving can help keep both calf and mother healthy and lead to better outcomes
Painkillers for hard calf births can lead to healthy calves and beef cows this calving season, Manitoba veterinarians say.
Cameras can improve winter calving
Putting a camera in the barn takes the stress out of calving, provides peace of mind and makes checking cattle easier
Glacier FarmMedia – Winter is in full force and freezing temperatures, large dumps of snow and short days can make winter calving a challenge for seed stock producers. However, technologies such as calving cameras can help make it much easier by saving time and labour. For many, it has become a necessary tool on their […] Read more
Interest grows in DNA calf sampling
Proponents say testing purebred calves early allows producers to make better business decisions about their herds
Glacier FarmMedia – Calving is already one of the busiest, most hectic times of a cattle producer’s year. For purebred herds, which largely calve in the winter, there’s the urgency of managing the season with temperatures dipping to -30 C or beyond. DNA sample collection is adding another task to an already exhausting to-do list, […] Read more
Calves on pasture bring risks
Glacier FarmMedia – Calving is done, but producers should keep certain things in mind if they have to work with calves in the pasture and in the presence of a nervous mother cow. Reg Steward, a range contractor and commercial beef farmer near Williams Lake, B.C., stresses vigilance. “Keep your eyes on that mom. Don’t […] Read more
Calving drama deemed farm miracle
A rare act of science plus expert cattle handling help save a calf and its mother against the odds on a central Alberta farm
Calving season can be a stressful and dramatic time on the ranch. There’s a lot of new life but there is often death as well. Every once in a while, however, something happens that seems like a miracle. Just ask Chris Paulencu with Green Acres Cattle Company, a seedstock operation in central Alberta’s Lamont County. […] Read more
Preparation key to smoother calving
Checklists and making sure equipment is ready to use can make it easier for producers to navigate a stressful season
Glacier FarmMedia – Calving can be stressful for both people and animals. Preparation far in advance is one way producers can better ensure success for a safe and productive calving season. “Some of that preparedness starts well before calving season, if you think about herd health programs or nutrition, or making sure cows are in […] Read more
