13 min listen
How to maximise the health and welfare of the cow and calf around calving
FromThe Dairy Edge
ratings:
Length:
32 minutes
Released:
Feb 22, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Vet John Mee joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast with practical tips to maximise the health and welfare of cow and calf around calving.
John explains that management practices are the main cause of calving difficulty in dairy herds. Generally, in heifers, the calf is too big or the heifer is under grown or over conditioned and in cows the calf is presenting incorrectly or the cow has milk fever.
Calving accounts for 10% of the EBI owing to the economic consequences of a difficult calving including lower thrift in calves, reduced productivity in the form of milk production and fertility and higher mortality of the calf or cow.
John details the different stages of calving and reminds farmers that it is the cow’s job to calf down and it is the farmer’s job to observe and assist if necessary using the ‘two hooves, two hours’ approach to ensure cows aren’t calving for too long.
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
John explains that management practices are the main cause of calving difficulty in dairy herds. Generally, in heifers, the calf is too big or the heifer is under grown or over conditioned and in cows the calf is presenting incorrectly or the cow has milk fever.
Calving accounts for 10% of the EBI owing to the economic consequences of a difficult calving including lower thrift in calves, reduced productivity in the form of milk production and fertility and higher mortality of the calf or cow.
John details the different stages of calving and reminds farmers that it is the cow’s job to calf down and it is the farmer’s job to observe and assist if necessary using the ‘two hooves, two hours’ approach to ensure cows aren’t calving for too long.
For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/
Released:
Feb 22, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Spring Fertiliser & Fodder: On the first Dairy Edge podcast the focus is on spring fertiliser and fodder. Guests include Brian Garry, nutrition expert from Teagasc, Moore Park, dairy farmer, John Leahy and David Wall, research officer from Johnstown Castle. For more information g by The Dairy Edge