How to treat the dystocia calf
As spring calving kicks in to gear, leading US calf specialist Sam Leadley gives tips on how to care for newborn calves.
Calving difficulty, sometimes referred to as dystocia, affects 13-15% of Holstein calves. And the 48-hour survival rates of these calves drops drastically when deliveries require intervention, compared with unassisted births, says Dr Leadley.
What are the symptoms?
“When these calves hit the ground, they are typically ‘out of it’ compared with those born with unassisted deliveries,” he says. Symptoms include being less alert, being slower to lift their head and roll on to their belly, taking longer to attempt to stand, a slower heartbeat, sub-normal body temperature, erratic breathing, and being less responsive to stimulation.
What can farmers do?
During the first 30 minutes after birth, producers can use a large cloth to rub the calf dry and create a strong breathing pattern, says Dr Leadley. “Experience suggests that lots of attention to the neck and shoulders helps. The name of the game here is stimulation – as intense as you can manage and be persistent.”
What is the role of colostrum?
Most calves born from unassisted deliveries will nurse on their mothers within one to two hours, says Dr Leadley. “Unless there is a lot of swelling in the tongue and mouth that clearly prevents nursing, and you cannot feel any suckling response within two hours, work at getting the dystocia calf to drink from a nursing bottle.” During this time, producers are urged to continue rubbing the calf and try to get it to stand.
What do farmers need to do in the following weeks?
Producers needs to make sure the people looking after youngstock are aware of which calves have had hard deliveries, says Dr Leadley. “Routinely plan to give extra attention to these flagged calves; timely treatment is essential for successful therapy.”
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