K-State Vet Gives Tips For Spring Calving Success 1/23/03

MANHATTAN, Kan. – It’s so far, so good for Kansas cattlemen heading into the spring calving season. As of mid-January, the state’s health officials reported no major diseases in cow herds, and winter has been mostly mild in the Plains states.

But Kansas State University veterinarian Larry Hollis knows that the effects of past years’ drought are still bound to be felt.

"The lack of anything green to eat last summer left many cattle going into winter either short on or deficient in vitamin A," said Hollis, who specializes in cattle health management for K-State Research and Extension. "If a vitamin A injection was not given at fall pregnancy check time, many cows will be deficient, especially those from western Kansas."

First Hours Crucial to Newborn Calves

MANHATTAN, Kan. – While vaccines and other treatments for calf scours are available, Kansas State University veterinarian Larry Hollis thinks the key to healthy calves lies in the first few hours after their birth.

Scours, sometimes called calf diarrhea, is thought to cause more financial loss to cow-calf producers than any other disease-related problem. The condition can cause death in calves due to dehydration or a lack of electrolytes, which are secondary to the infectious cause of the disease.

Hollis, who specializes in cattle health management, urges producers to get calves to "mother up" immediately after birth, since research has shown that scours can be directly related to a lack of colostrum (or, ‘first milk’) intake by the newborn.

In other words, the sooner the calf nurses, the better.

Colostrum is a concentrated source of proteins, minerals, vitamins and energy, but also contains antibodies to diseases or vaccines that the mother has been exposed to.

"In the first 24 hours of life, calves absorb antibodies directly through their gut wall and into the blood stream," Hollis said. "The gut wall effectively ‘closes’ by the end of that 24-hour period."

He adds: "The calf can absorb more antibodies one to two hours after birth than 20 to 24 hours after birth."

For more management tips, including recognition, diagnosis of the cause, and treatment of scours, Hollis encourages producers to contact their local veterinarian.

The shortage of vitamin A in pregnant cows often results in a condition known as weak calf syndrome, where newborns lack the energy even to nurse. In many cases, the calf lies around and eventually dies if nothing is done to help them.

Hollis adds that other problems associated with vitamin A deficiency include the calf’s increased susceptibility to scours, pneumonia, blindness and central nervous problems.

As a precaution, winter feedstuffs should be supplemented with vitamin A, he said. "Even if an injection of vitamin A was given at pregnancy check time, vitamin A levels may be depleted before grass greens up this spring."

* Test corn and sorghum stalks for high nitrate levels. By this time of year, "cattle probably have consumed most of the fallen grain and many of the leaves, and the stalks may be the only feed available to them," he said. "These stalks contain the highest levels of nitrate in the plant and may be toxic if they become the sole source of feed during periods of snow cover."

* Move cattle to new feeding areas regularly. In short pastures, cattle eat more dirt, increasing their risk of picking up bacterial contaminants from the soil surface. Producers can minimize the risk by feeding supplemental forage, or changing feeding areas frequently.

For more information, Hollis encourages producers to contact their veterinarian.

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.