Managing a fresh cow group and ensuring sufficient feed and
water intakes in fresh calvers were topics up for discussion at a
recent best practice workshop, Spond Farm, Alton,
Staffordshire.
Providing warm water with one litre of palm glycerol directly
after calving can go along way to getting cows "off the blocks",
said Tony Jackson,
Kite Consultant.
Speaking to a group of
Arla Foods Milk Partnership farmers as part of
Asda's DairyLink
group, Mr Jackson explained it was essential to provide water as
soon as possible as a cow's enthusiasm to drink declines the
further away from calving you move.
"Bring the water to her to ensure intakes. By including a
glucose precursor, she is also more likely to drink and will be
provided with an added energy boost."
A cow does not drink for eight to ten hours during calving, said
Alan Radourne, agricultural manager for Arla. "Consequently, at
calving she is extremely dehydrated and the last thing she wants to
do is eat."
A freshly calved cow should be presented with a fresh, high
yielding ration, straight in front of her nose as soon as she's
dropped the calf, said Mr Jackson.
"Calving a cow does not stop when the calf is on the ground, it
stops when a cow has warm water and fresh food in front of her.
"This may be seen as yet another job, but the amount of time you
will save by cows not having issues a few days later, is huge."
The next 14 days post calving are the next major consideration,
he continued.
"Setting up a TLC group on a loose straw yard is an excellent
way of monitoring fresh calvers."
When a cow calves, all the ligaments in the body loosen up,
including those in the pelvis and feet. "Everything collapses,
including the ligaments supporting the pedal bone. In fact it takes
two weeks for ligaments to harden so the pedal bone is in the right
place."
When fresh calvers have been put on concrete too quickly after
calving, this can manifest itself in a high incidence of sole
ulcers, three to four months later.
"In reality, how many farmers have increased the size of your
herd, but not the dry cow and fresh cow area?" he asked.
"You don't need must to cater for your fresh calves, but be
pragmatic on space, do not over-stock and ensure your fresh calvers
are not housed with your sick cows."
In an ideal world, self locking yokes are a good addition to
fresh calving yards to allow close monitoring. "Stethoscopes are
also a massively underused and incredible useful tool.
"At only about £10, a stethoscope is a good investment to
monitor whether the stomach has 'got going' in your fresh calvers -
the key is to be 24-48 hours ahead of any problem."
Speak to your vet and get them to talk you through how a healthy
stomach should sound, he said. "Ideally, it should sound like waves
coming in on a beach. If movement is sluggish, then something is
wrong."
During the 14 days post calving, stock should also receive 200g
of palm glycerol/head/day sprinkled over the ration. "This will
stimulate the liver to use the diet and not break down fat and give
animals a bit of a boost."
Dairy farmer, Adam Ball of Spond Farm, Alton has always managed
a fresh calving group in his herd of 200
Holstein Friesians.
"Managing these cows in a separate group is a huge advantage,"
he said.
"This allows us to keep a close eye on their performance and
monitor dry matter intakes. It also reduces stress post calving and
allows feet to recover properly before cows move back in with the
main herd."
Potassium is a 'dry cow
killer' |
|---|
| Forage potassium levels are a lot higher this year, according
to Kite's David Levick.
"My feeling is everyone should get a mineral analysis on silages
fed to dry cows because high potassium levels are a 'dry cow
killer'. "Be aware of slurry applications on forage - this can increase
potassium levels and potentially lead to milk fevers." And because potassium levels are high and there are some acidic
silages around, it may be worth including a buffer in the fresh
calver's ration. |