2020 Speckle Park Journal "Breeding Book"

look for respiratory stimulants and hopefully find one, but
will need to prescribe it to you as it may only be approved for
other species. In order for it to be useful, it must be close by
in your calving kit and readily accessible. Just a few seconds
at this critical point may make the difference, so it’s advisable
to have the dosage for a calf drawn up and ready to go.
If you are getting a large number of weak calves, there
are several factors to consider in the herd management. Is
intervention too slow, especially in the case of heifers? Once the
calving process has started and regardless of if the waterbag
has been broken, time is a ticking. A common misconception
with producers is they have lots of time if the waterbag has
not been broken and that simply isn’t true. Intervention in
Mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation is ineffective,
as the air simply goes
down the esophagus and
inflates the stomach – it
doesn’t get into the lungs
where it needs to go.
Dr. Roy Lewis, DVM
practiced as a large animal veterinarian
specializing in beef cattle for more than
30 years at Westlock, Alta. He now
works part time as a technical services
veterinarian for Merck Animal Health.
1-1.5 hours is a good
rule if no progress has
been made.
With breech births (calf
is backward with both
hind legs presenting)
and torsions, we know
often that time is
running out, so being
ready to stimulate the
calf is imperative. In such situations, once the tail head of the
calf comes through the pelvis, the umbilical cord is essentially
broken and the calf will try to start breathing. This is where
a faster pull from that point on will save calves, and is why it’s
recommended to always assist a backward calf when possible.
If placenta is starting to come first, again, time is critical
and it may already be too late, but attempt to get the calf
out as quickly as possible.
Weak calves may also be the result of nutrition, vitamin, or
mineral deficiencies, or imbalances. Strive to make sure that
body condition score is maintained on both cows and heifers,
and that they are on a good mineral and vitamin program.
These deficiencies develop as the calf is growing in utero,
and are not a quick fix to reverse. As examples, selenium
deficiencies can lead to the weak calf syndrome and iodine
deficiencies can cause a goiter and weak or stillborn calves.
If a calf is born dead, or weak and dies soon after birth, a
lot can be learned by a postmortem and having tissues sent
away to help with the diagnosis. This could shed light on
potential problems and allow time to correct them.
One last word of advice on delivering a calf and
preempting the need to resuscitate: check the viability of
the calf by putting fingers in their mouth to evaluate how
good the swallowing or gag reflex is. If it is very weak,
you can be sure the calf will be sluggish when delivered.
Also, if the calf is overly active and thrashing around, this
could be a sign that they are in distress and are oxygen
deprived. Try to get them out as quickly as possible and
then use your resuscitation skills as necessary.
In summary, be ready with effective resuscitation
techniques and be ever vigilant of the cases that may
predispose newborn calves to need reviving. With the
right tools, you and your veterinarian can save more
newborn calves this spring. SPJ
Speckle Park frozen genetics and breeding stock
GARRY & DONNA BERTING AND FAMILY
MIDDLE LAKE, SK | 306-231-7567
GARRY@RAVENWORTH.COM | raising speckle park since 2009
WWW.RAVENWORTH.COM
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THE SPECKLE PARK JOURNAL 45