Latest News From Calf

It is imperative that the newborn calf begins to breathe as soon as possible. To stimulate the initiation of the respiratory process, here are a few ideas that may help.

If you are targeting selling your calves during one of this fall's value-added or preconditioned sales, be mindful some of the required weaning dates are only days away.

If a small cow operation can market a sizeable number of calves together in one lot, it will realize a greater price per pound (on the average) than similar calves sold in singles or small lots.

This rancher’s innovative calf box keeps newborn calves out of the wind and warm until they can be brought to the barn.

The ongoing COVID-19 serves as a reminder to cattle ranchers about the importance of sound, common sense biosecurity measures that can aid in reducing the risk of a disease outbreak in the new 2020 calf crop.

Time is of the essence when a calving cow or heifer has a situation where the calf is coming backwards. If the umbilical cord is totally pinched by the pelvic rim, the calf can only survive about four minutes.

The healthy calves beat survival odds of 1 in 11.2 million.

Simply producing a black calf if not enough if the dairy industry wants to make permanent inroads into successful crossbreeding.

Due to an emphasis on animal welfare and newer pain mitigation options available, AABP updates its calf dehorning guidelines.

Cold and wet weather have added to the calving challenges of Iowa cow-calf producers. Iowa State University Extension beef specialist Beth Doran said both are ideal conditions for contributing to calf scours.

Even with nighttime feeding, a few calves still will be born in the coldest nighttime hours. These wet newborns may become hypothermic or cold stressed.

For those that calve in January and February, the rapid changes in temperature may have played a role in calf sickness and growth. 

As snow and frigid temperatures remind us that it’s still winter, it’s a good time to remind cattle producers that calves are especially vulnerable in these conditions.

Does the severity (coldness or mildness) of the winter have an impact on spring-born calf birth weights?

Despite our best efforts at bull selection and heifer development, cows or heifers occasionally need assistance at calving time.

There are methods of increasing the immune status of the baby calf so that when the calf comes in contact with the pathogens, it will have a much better chance of fending off the disease entity.

Neonatal calf diarrhea (commonly called “calf scours”) is one of the most costly disease entities in the beef cattle business.

Passive immunity obtained from colostrum was an important factor determining the health of calves both pre- and post-weaning, and indirectly influenced calf growth rate during the same periods.

The ongoing drought has impacted all segments of the cattle industry, and some of the hardest hit have been beef cows.

Neonatal diarrhea is a significant economic loss to the cattle industry and continues to be the most common cause of mortality in calves.

Bad weather and poor cow nutrition are the leading causes of weak calf syndrome.

While some pairs were reunited, unfortunately, other calves were not claimed and now cattlemen are dealing with the challenge of managing orphaned calves through the rest of the spring and summer.

A newborn calf is a reason for joy, but twin births in cattle are a reason for concern.

The best defense against failure of passive transfer (FPT) is good colostrum management, ensuring that each calf receives an adequate amount of good quality colostrum shortly after birth.