Calf Kick Start
- Thread starter sjewart
- Start date
- Location
- Cheshire
Every calf gets a rota-corona tube soon as they hit the floor. Concentrated colostrum & egg protein. Gives them something too go at before they get on the teat.
- Location
- Cheshire
Definitely nothing beats colostrum!
Soon as the hit the ground I iodine navel & roto-corona then leave the cow to clean calf off and settle for a couple of hours before I go near them again. If she calves after 9pm calf gets iodine and tube then ileave them too it till morning. Not about getting killed trying to get a calf on while on your own at night! Worries me more that if the wife came out too look for me and got hurt too
Tubes are not much good for anything bar giving a calf thats a bit slow the taste of getting something in its gob and it does work in this respect
Colostrum is what it needs and the sooner the better, its the most important feed that calf will get in its life so worth taking the time to make sure it gets it.
And fake colostrum isn't worth a fat lot either
I leave the iodine until the cow has cleaned the calf as I found that after I put it on the navel that was the first thing she liked off.
Everything gets colostrum here no matter what the time is especially if the heifers calve, but we calve in the spring before the cows are turned out.
We buy in calves and rear them during the summer months, so roto and crypto can be serious problems here no matter how clean and the amount of disinfectant I put over the pens.
twizzel
Member
We like the rota corona type tubes too. Started using them with a flare up of rotavirus and every calf born indoors gets one now. It doesn’t do anything to protect against rotavirus though but does give them an energy boost to get up and find the teat. We’ve used mole valley ones, nettex and some from fane valley.
sjewart
Member
Thanks so brand not that important [emoji106]
Probably all made by the same company.
I wouldn't bother with the scour tubes above if you don't have a scour problem or are a dairy. Best thing for muscle y suckers is as I'm sure you know a 5ml jag of vitasel
see a lot on here about giving them a jab of vitasel but I have never used it or been recommended to use it by the vet, whats it meant to do ?
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
It will go some way to addressing a selenium deficiency (although better to have sorted it in the cow before calving). If you aren’t deficient, it won’t do anything bar lighten your wallet.
ahh I see, we had iodine deficiency problems years ago, we now bolus the cows twice a year and the ones we use also have selenium in them, since using them 95% of our calves are bright as a button and up and about in no time
AGN76
Member
- Location
- north Wales
sjewart
Member
Thanks everyone. I already use the Lifeline Pre-Calver tubs (calvers have access to it from 6 weeks before calving) . I also pour on an iodine solution on heifers' back a month before calving and vitesel every calf born (albeit im maybe a bit stingy only giving 2ml!).