With lactation winding down and winter setting in, it is time to plan for the upcoming spring. The calving season is a frantic, sleep-deprived time on any dairy farm, and the best way to avoid disasters in the middle of August is to plan for them now.
Vaccinations
Most herds will be up-to-date with annual leptospirosis vaccinations by now, but it is not too late to get this job done. Remember that vaccinating the herd is the best way to protect you and your workers from the nasty symptoms associated with lepto.
Rotavec® Corona vaccine (Intervet Schering-Plough Coopers, P.A.R. class 1) stimulates the cow to produce antibodies that are then available to the calf via the colostrum. These antibodies may reduce the incidence of rotavirus, coronavirus and E.coli K99, and help to reduce the severity of diarrhoea should infection occur. The vaccine is given between 12 and 3 weeks prior to calving. With a long calving spread, it may pay to split the herd and vaccinate the later calving cows at a later date. The vaccine can cause injection site reactions, so it is important to ensure deep intramuscular (not subcutaneous) injection in the anterior third of the neck.
Equipment
While your planned start of calving may be the middle of July, every year a few cows will surprise you, and it pays to have your equipment on hand and ready to go before Daisy decides to drop.
- Metabolic treatments
- Cow cover - TLC can make the difference as to whether a down cow recovers or not
- Hip lifters - new or old, now is the time to get them oiled and ready to crank again
- Calving gear - whether you prefer chains or ropes, calving jack or pulleys, make sure they are in working order and easy to find
- Calving lubricant - have plenty on hand as calves look set to be big this year
Calf shed
Regardless of whether you are planning on rearing 20 calves or 200, their housing is vital to ensuring good outcomes.
The ideal shed is:
- Well ventilated without being drafty
- Dry and warm
- Sloped from back to front to encourage drainage
- Pens no smaller than 15m2
- Solid separations between pens to isolate different mobs
- Isolation pen for sick animals
- Smooth surfaces that can be cleaned easily and sprayed with disinfectant
- Fresh ground cover - sawdust best, followed by wood shavings (post-peelings a distant third)
If you have any questions about how to make the spring as drama-free as possible for you and your cows, contact either branch of Totally Vets.
