What to do When Your Cow Retains Her Fetal Membrane (Afterbirth)
A retained fetal membrane, or retained placenta is when a cow or heifer doesn’t get rid of their afterbirth within 24 hours after parturition. This usually occurs 3-8 hours after calf delivery.
The incidence of retained afterbirth in healthy dairy cows is quite high, and ranges from 5-15%, whilst it is generally lower in beef cows.
Other occasions where incidence is higher is after abnormal events which cause the cow's hormones to be out of balance, such as the following:
Why Feeding at Night Could Offset Calving
Monitoring your herd at calving time is of paramount importance if you’re looking to wipe out calf mortality.
However, this can be difficult when you’ve only got 24 hours in the day and your cows could begin calving at any moment.
However, this one little trick could help it happen at the right time. Feed your calvers at night.
Twin Calves – What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Getting twins instead of a single calf seems twice as good on the face of it, but as with most things, there’s a catch. Breeding for twins isn’t for everyone, but it can suit some operations. Here are the pros weighed up against the cons.
How to Deliver a Calf with Abnormal Anterior (Front Facing) Presentation
Calving difficulties are the bane of every cattleman, and they are as unpredictable as they are inescapable.
However as abnormal presentations go, you could do worse than an anterior one.
However, in these abnormal cases, one or more of the pieces crucial to a normal anterior calving are missing. Here's what to do in each case.
Types of Abnormal Presentations & Malpresentations During Calving
Malpresentation is one of the top five most common causes of calving deaths. Just 3-4% of all calvings are malpresentations although that figure is higher in first calving heifers.
Malpresentation occurs when a calf or calves try to leave the birth canal in an abnormal manner. There isn’t anything you can do to prevent this unfortunately.
However, it is possible to remedy it; with this in mind, let's take a look at some abnormal presentations.
Diseases to Look Out For at Calving Season
While it is stressful enough trying to get calves on the ground during calving season, that is not the end of the job for the cattleman.
Calves are born with an underdeveloped immune system which makes them prone to infections and diseases older animals wouldn’t be.
While the Moocall calving sensor is useful for stopping calf mortality during the calving event, it is also useful afterwards when immediate intervention is necessary to stop the calf contracting a deadly disease.
Here are just a few things you should be looking out for:
7 Things to Consider When Designing Your Cattle Movement System
Moving your herd around can be a time consuming and  dangerous affair. It can also be costly if you have to hire in help.
However, with the right facilities and systems you can reap the rewards. Dehorning, castration and vaccinations will be a lot easier to perform when cattle are restrained correctly.
For farmers with a small or medium sized herd, building a well-designed handling facility could be costly initially.
However, in the long run it can prove cheaper, by allowing producers to work alone, thus reducing labour requirements.
A well thought out handling system will also allow easier movement and flow of animals, so less time will be spent chasing rebellious cattle into pens.
Here are a few ways to reduce the time cost and stress of moving cattle.
10 Things to Consider When Using a Calving Jack
While calving jacks or calving aids seem like a simple tool, they are anything but simple to use properly.
They require an experienced hand and a cool head when the stakes are at their highest.
While nothing makes up for experience, you can follow these rules to maximise your chances of a successful calving using the jack:
What to Do When Your Cow Won’t Accept Their Calf
In most calvings, the cow’s maternal instincts will kick in and she will know how to care for her calf.
However, sometimes things do not go that smoothly. A cow can be confused, cold or downright aggressive towards her offspring.
Here are a few things you can do to remedy this:
6 Reasons to Download the FREE Moocall Breedmanager App
Even if you don’t have a Moocall device, such as the Moocall Calving Sensor or MoocallHEAT, the Moocall Breedmanager App can make your cattle farm run a lot smoother. Here are 6 good reasons you should download it:
