Drying off after losing calf

[Spencer]

Hi everyone

We unfortunately lost a calf during labour. Got stuck at the hips and by the time the vet got it out the umbilical had been compressed. Sad. We are now in the process of trying to dry the cow off. She has an enormous taught udder. Any recommendations on drying off strategies, particularly with regard to feed types/amounts and water amounts. Currently she is inside and has a small amount of membrane to still expel.

Cheers

Spencer

[woollard]

I would keep her inside until her udder was well down, i.e about 2 weeks, expecially at this time of year with all the fresh grass. Reduce her feed to hay only, and depending on the quality, not very much, one to two slices a day. Then when you let her out, do so only for short periods to start with. Feel the udder everyday to check for mastitis. It will be firm to start with but must not be hot or hard. Good luck.

[Spencer]

Many thanks for the reply. Should I restrict her water at all?

Spencer

[Sylvia]

So sorry to hear about your loss, we lost 2 calves last year in similar circumstances. Ours were out in the field and we let them stay there,it was later in the year so grass not so lush but full water troughs available. We did keep an eye on them (particularly udders) but didn't need to touch them, in fact one was suckled by other calves despite the fact they had their mothers' milk as well. They are both back in calf now (I hope).

[Spencer]

Thank you Sylvia,

Going off on a tangent slightly, after Sylvia's comments I wonder if the 'hips' issue relates at all to short vs. non-short? Last year's calf was a gangly long leg bull at 26kg and came out with three strains, easy. This year was a short leg heifer, we weighed her at 28kg, but she was really chunky. It was a different sire this year but I wonder if anyone has noted differences in calving ease between short and non-short calves?

Spencer

[Ted Neal]

Always a big disappointment when you lose a calf.
Have you thought about adpoting a calf on to her ?
If you do - try and avoid a pur Jersey as they are a bit reluctant to suckle. An Angus X Jersey or similar calf that is perhaps 10 days old will be bold enough to go in and suckle. At that sort of age you can get away with two feeds a day. Some cows take to it like anything and others can be a bit slower. At least this way you get something to sell later on.
All the best

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I would not say a definite no to Ted's suggestion, but you need to think carefully about the health situation before you bring in a calf from a different herd. If you have other calves in your herd at a vulnerable age you may introduce various scour infections, you may introduce BVD or other things if you do not already have them.

I don't say this to be alarmist, it is just an aspect of things you need to think about. In the sad circumstances you have to make your mind up fairly fast to have a good chance of the cow adopting a strange calf. If you are not confident and cannot get competent help you need also to think about what you will do with a bought in calf if your cow does not accept it.

On the other hand adopting may be just the thing for you to do, and good luck with it if it is. It certainly is not a good thing for a cow to have a year long holiday - they tend to get far too fat and then be difficult to calf again the next year.

This probably sounds totally conflicting advice, don't be afraid to question us all further if you like.

Duncan

[Duncan MacIntyre]

An additional suggestion I am making to suckler herd owners now that they are getting free of retention periods for individual cows as we shift to the single farm payment (so called) is that if a young fit cow has lost a calf at birth she may be persuaded to adopt the calf of an old done cow (not an old Dun cow, though it might be!) so that if one has to be culled the old one can go and the young one has a useful year rearing the old cow's last calf.

I know that in many small dexter herds this may not happen but it is worth remembering.

Duncan

[Spencer]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Have decided not to go down the foster route this time, perhaps when we have a little more experience! Any advice on the drying off process Duncan?

Spencer

[Jo Kemp]

Very sorry to hear of your dead calf - I had a hereford x dexter heifer which needed assistance and very nearly lost the calf. The vet arrived and had to use the calving jack - she lay down critically when the head and legs were out so the chest was in squeezed by the pelvic area. PANIC! I managed to undo and move a couple of gates just allowing the vet enough room. The male calf not keen to breathe but a bit of chest massage and straw up his nose worked. Bumble is called 'Nanny Bumble' because she has always looked after calves in the field. Her own one was no exception but feeding it was not an immediate response!
Milked a bit off fed to the calf in three goes and she got the message.
THe hereford influence gave the calf a broad head - significantly broader than the pure calves.....next year?
Jo

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I think there is a lot of good advice here already, only thing I would maybe add is that you do need to keep a close eye for mastitis, so have her accessible for the next few weeks. As others have said the udder will be tight, then slacken of as milk goes. I would try to avoid drawing off milk if you can, but keepa careful eye or hand on to see that the quarters are fairly similar - if one gets bigger whilst the others get smaller, or is hard or sore, be very suspicious of mastitis and if you are in doubt get professional help. You also will need to watch for summer mastitis if she is dry all through summer - unless you are lucky and are in an area where you don't get it.
Try to get her in calf again to calf in about a year, and watch that she does not get too fat.

Duncan

[Spencer]

Thank you everyone, fingers crossed next time round!

Spencer