Calving disaster

gavd

Member
Location
aberdeenshire
Just come in from the latest stillborn calf, so far 3 stillborn out of 6 calved. Only have 20 sucklers and this year making me question having them. Seems a lot of work and hassle for very little reward.
Managed to get the second stillborn and placenta to the lab for a PM the other day. Still waiting for results.
Full term calves that look fine, normal calvings but just lifeless when they drop. Slightly cloudy eyes which vet says means died before calving most likely. Very disheartening. Any ideas ?
 

AGN76

Member
Location
north Wales
Can't say it would have helped in your case or not, but this totally changed our calvings
Screenshot_20220513-201401_Samsung Internet.jpg
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
I am using a bit of that just now. Or I was until a couple of weeks ago. From now on I’ll be using Starline pre-calver minerals with garlic. This last one has almost totally eliminated milk fever, retained placenta and fly bother to a large degree.
Could be coincidence these last three years of course.
 

Cowcalf

Member
Just come in from the latest stillborn calf, so far 3 stillborn out of 6 calved. Only have 20 sucklers and this year making me question having them. Seems a lot of work and hassle for very little reward.
Managed to get the second stillborn and placenta to the lab for a PM the other day. Still waiting for results.
Full term calves that look fine, normal calvings but just lifeless when they drop. Slightly cloudy eyes which vet says means died before calving most likely. Very disheartening. Any ideas ?
Heard of someone else near Alford that had the same problems
 

AGN76

Member
Location
north Wales
I am using a bit of that just now. Or I was until a couple of weeks ago. From now on I’ll be using Starline pre-calver minerals with garlic. This last one has almost totally eliminated milk fever, retained placenta and fly bother to a large degree.
Could be coincidence these last three years of course.
I'll have a look at that, but don't think I'd dare change now
 

gavd

Member
Location
aberdeenshire
Johnes level 1, bvd free. Not tested for lepto or ibr but not had issues previously.
housed over winter on silage with powdered minerals shaken on top. Altho for some reason dad has got different minerals this year. Cows have access to Norvite suckler mineral buckets currently. Cows are probably too fat.
2 of the living calves were very lively when born and up pretty quick. The other one a bit slower but managed to sook and getting going etc itself. Had one cow with a retained cleansing for about 5 days. Have previously used lifeline buckets but on the norvite ones this year. They don’t really seem to be touching them much. They are at grass.
 

Jop

Member
Location
Devon
Johnes level 1, bvd free. Not tested for lepto or ibr but not had issues previously.
housed over winter on silage with powdered minerals shaken on top. Altho for some reason dad has got different minerals this year. Cows have access to Norvite suckler mineral buckets currently. Cows are probably too fat.
2 of the living calves were very lively when born and up pretty quick. The other one a bit slower but managed to sook and getting going etc itself. Had one cow with a retained cleansing for about 5 days. Have previously used lifeline buckets but on the norvite ones this year. They don’t really seem to be touching them much. They are at grass.
From what you have said I would look very closely at iodine. If there has been a change of mineral product over winter and they aren't taking much of the buckets. We used to suffer terribly with slow calves but an iodine bolus 10 weeks pre calving has sorted our trouble out. I know some people spray iodine directly on cows back to good effect.
 

Timbo

Member
Location
Gods County
Johnes level 1, bvd free. Not tested for lepto or ibr but not had issues previously.
housed over winter on silage with powdered minerals shaken on top. Altho for some reason dad has got different minerals this year. Cows have access to Norvite suckler mineral buckets currently. Cows are probably too fat.
2 of the living calves were very lively when born and up pretty quick. The other one a bit slower but managed to sook and getting going etc itself. Had one cow with a retained cleansing for about 5 days. Have previously used lifeline buckets but on the norvite ones this year. They don’t really seem to be touching them much. They are at grass.
Iodine Iodine Iodine.
 

Timbo

Member
Location
Gods County
From what you have said I would look very closely at iodine. If there has been a change of mineral product over winter and they aren't taking much of the buckets. We used to suffer terribly with slow calves but an iodine bolus 10 weeks pre calving has sorted our trouble out. I know some people spray iodine directly on cows back to good effect.
We do 50ml Iodine on backs 3-5 weeks before calving.
 

Jonny B88

Member
Location
ballykelly. NI
We had a bad bother with calves last year, stillborn, or a small few a little dopey. Iodine deficiency was discovered. We gave bolus and 10ml iodine down backs twice over calving. Worked wonders for us this year very different calving this year to last.
 

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