Animal Production

Seyrani Koncagül, Ph.D.

Ankara University
Departmen of Animal Science
Ankara
2020
Cattle Breeding
 Calving
Cows post-calving
 Recently calved cows are fragile and need close monitoring. If you assisted
the birth, check for a twin.
 Keep a close eye on the colostrum cows and report any that are showing
signs of being unwell.
 Find information about managing mastitis and looking after transition
cows during the post-calving period.
Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
There’s no single best way to raise calves. What works on one farm may not be ideal
for another farm. But you should have and enforce a newborn protocol and calf care
plan that remains consistent from day to day. Proper management can greatly reduce
the illness and death rates of calves.

Poor facilities and improper animal care make raising healthy calves impossible.
Recognizing this and understanding calf growth, nutrition, health and behavior can
help you successfully care for your calves.

The following practices for raising calves can:

• Decrease the exposure of calves to disease.
• Improve calf health.
• Improve calf survival rates.
• Improve growth rates.
Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Calf growth
Use both survival and growth rates to measure calf-raising success. Dairy
replacement growth rates ultimately affect the timing of puberty. This affects
the age of first freshening and lactation milk production.
Properly raised calves will be healthy and ready to freshen between 22 and 24
months.
Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Monitoring Calf growth
Disease can harm a calf's growth rate and create chronic problems that limit the calf
from reaching full genetic potential. Calves that have recovered from illness will likely
lag behind healthy herdmates by weeks or months. If their illness was severe enough or
long term, permanent damage or chronic pain may result in these animals becoming
economic risks:

• Measure and record heart girth and wither height in inches.

• Weigh calves using a scale or regular tape measure.
• Check height using a yardstick or altimeter stick with parallel level bar.
• Calculate:
• Average daily gain (ADG)
• Percent of weight-gain goal for each heifer
• Averages for the group
• Graph the number of heifer calves with weights above or below optimum by age. A
computer program can help you with this.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Causes of ilness
Forestomach acidosis
 Milk can rapidly ferment and cause acidosis if it ends up in the reticulorumen. When calves
are born, they are essentially simple stomached animals without a functioning rumen.
 In newborn calves, the rumen contains a structure called the esophageal groove. The closure
of the esophageal groove sends liquid feeds directly into the abomasum.

 If the esophageal groove does not

close properly there is potential for
milk to be deposited in the
reticulorumen.

 The esophageal groove opens

because of low quality milk
replacer, irregular feeding times
and cold milk temperatures.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Causes of ilness
Forestomach acidosis
 Another potential reason for forestomach acidosis is feeding more milk then the abomasum
can hold. Many farms have a policy to tube every newborn calf with 3.8 lt of colostrum
shortly after birth. This is a good guideline for average size Holstein calves weighing 40 to
45 kg.
.
• Calves born early (Jerseys) and
many crossbred calves are much
smaller than Holsteins. Smaller
calves have smaller abomasa and are
at high risk of milk reflux.

• A better guideline is to only tube

colostrum at 10 percent of a calf's
birth weight. Only tube colostrum
once and follow up with a bottle
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Causes of ilness
Poor sanitation
Everything the calf comes in contact with should be clean and dry, especially the bottles and
buckets.
To properly clean feeding equipment:
 Rinse off dirt and milk residue with lukewarm water.
 Manually scrub with a brush using hot water. Use a chlorinated alkaline detergent.
 Rinse with warm water in an acid solution.
 Let dry.
 Sanitize with a 50 parts per million solution of chloride dioxide within two hours of use.
Following these steps and using the correct soaps and acid will emulsify the fats and break
down the carbohydrates and proteins. It is important to have the correct size and shape of
brushes to clean bottles and especially esophageal tubes. Equipment will not get clean by
just rinsing with hot or soapy water. Do not forget to replace brushes on a regular basis.
They also can get dirty and harbor pathogenic bacteria.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring (housing types)
Calf housing should be completely separate from the main dairy housing barn and have
separate ventilation. Keep ventilation inlets and windows screened at all times to control
flies.

Hutches
Calf hutches should:
• Provide maximum air flow.
• Protect the calf from weather elements including
the sun in the summer months.
• Allow warmth from the sun in the winter months.
• Allow calves easy access to feed and water.
• Allow for easy cleaning and sanitizing.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring (housing types)
 Keep hutches far enough apart so that calves can’t come into contact with each other.
 Also be sure the hutches drain water and urine, so the calves stay dry. .
 The "super calf hutch" or "counter slope barn” designs are ideal for grouping and feeding
calves after weaning. They are also easy to clean.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring (housing types)
Shelters
Open-front shelters with individual pens should be easy to access with a skid-steer loader or
small bucket tractor when cleaning.
In cold weather
Place a plywood cover over the rear part of the pen to reduce drafts and to keep in the
calf’s heat.
In warm or hot weather:
Use a removable panel at the back of the shelter and open it to provide more air flow.

Select shelters with upright or nearly upright sidewalls to

reduce leaks from runoff. Move the pens further in if rain or
snow blows inside.

Place the shelter where it can catch the wind in the summer
and the sunlight in the winter.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring (housing types)
Greenhouses
Monitor air temperature and quality throughout the day in greenhouses. This will allow you
to adjust the natural ventilation as needed to make the environment good for calves.
Move pens away from the sidewalls if rain or snow blows in. Using a well-graded stone base
will promote draining.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Grouping calves
 Disease resistance differs between calves of different ages. Thus, don’t allow older and
younger calves to have physical contact during the first three to four months of age.
 Group post-weaned calves by age and size with three to five animals per group. Groups of
6 to 12 are ok when calves reach about 4 months of age. This approach lessens the calve’s
competition for feed.
 Large-group pen housing increases the odds of respiratory disease and diarrhea. It’s natural
for calves to lie next to each other. Thus, calves of different ages in large groups are more
prone to respiratory illness. Diarrhea in group housing is more severe than cases in
individual housing.
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Clean housing
Whether cleaning calf pens or hutches the same principles apply. Make modifications based on amount of
manure and bedding.
 Take apart pens and hutches and move to a clean area. Don't use power washers inside any calf or cow
housing facility. Power washers can aerosolize pathogens increasing the risk of disease spread.
 Remove all manure, bedding and feed from housing area. Don't forget about floors in calf barns.
Alleys between calf pens are often neglected and can harbor disease-causing organisms.
 Soak all surfaces with water to loosen up any dried-on organic material.
 Scrub or foam with an alkaline soap.
 Rinse with water.
 Scrub or foam with an acid cleaner.
 Rinse with water.
 Dry. It is best if panels or hutches can be dried in the sun.
This will help kill bacteria and they will dry faster
 Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Bedding
Bedding plays a key role in calf comfort. Managing bedding during early preweaning is
important. An ample, dry bed of fluffy material can:
• Provide a cushioned resting surface.
• Help calves stay clean.
• Act as a moisture absorption media.
• Decrease the risks of disease.
• Reduce stress.
Selecting bedding
 Overall, bedding types don’t affect average daily gain and dry matter intake of calves with
proper management. There are many types of bedding including:
• Straw
• Shavings
• Sawdust
• Sand
• Gravel
Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Selecting bedding
Fly control
Of the bedding types, straw promotes the highest fly populations.
Sawdust is less desirable for maggot growth because it
• Poorly absorbs liquid.
• Has little organic matter.
• Is harder to breakdown.

Comfort
Sand and gravel bedding tend to compact and get dirty after a few weeks. Adding fresh
straw over soiled bedding will keep the calf comfortable. But this will allow the bedding
to hold more moisture and possibly ferment.
Shavings and sawdust differ in size, which can affect animal comfort and productivity.
Thus, you should use a reputable supplier for bedding.
Cattle Breeding
 Calf caring
Keeping calf bed clean and dry
A clean living space reduces the number of pathogens the calf must overcome. In dirty
conditions, calves use energy to fight mud, heat or pathogens. In clean conditions,
calves can use this energy for growth and maturing instead.
 Check calf bedding regularly to make sure it isn’t constantly wet. Pathogens don't do
as well in dry environments.
 Remove soiled bedding and manure from pens and add fresh bedding to keep beds
clean and dry.
- Don’t walk or use equipment between pens and animals. People and equipment
can spread disease.
 Always replace bedding between calves.

Provide deep bedding if your hutches are directly on the ground or other solid surface.
Cattle Breeding
 Some Definitions
Lactation Length (LL)is the period of time that a cow secretes milk from her mammary glands.
Ideal length is 10 months (about 305 days)

Calving Interval (CI) is the period of time between one calving and the next. In an ideal
stuation, cows calve every 12 months, as they must calve in order to be able to produce milk.

Involution Length (IL) is the period of time that the sexual organs of a cow shrinks or returns to
the former size after calving. It takes about 38-45 days after calving.

Servis Period (SP) is the period of time between date of calving and date of successful
conception. The optimum service period helps the animal to recover from the stress of calving
and also to get back the reproductive organs back to normal. For cattle the optimum service
period is 60-90 days.

Dry Period (DP) is the most important phase of a dairy cow's lactation cycle. During this phase
the cow are not milked, the cow and her udder are prepared for the next lactation; hence any
abnormalities during the dry period will have a negative effect on the cow's health and milk
production after calving. Ideal time is the last 2 months of pregnancy
Cattle Breeding
 CI, LL, GL, IL, DP, SP
CI (ideal=365 days)

LL (ideal=305 days)

GL (about 280 days)

IL
DP
About 2 months

SP
Cattle Breeding
 Milking
Milking is the act of removing milk from the mammary glands of cattle. Milking
a cow is considered a fairly simple task in the farming world but in actuality it
requires many important and essential steps. Milking may be done by hand or by
machine. Here are four steps to milking a cow by hand:

1. Timing and routine is everything

Cows are accustomed to routines and therefore you should get into one too. You
should milk your cow twice a day at the same time every day. Also, following
the routine part, always sit on the same side of the cow so she knows exactly
what you’re doing.

2. Cleanliness
Make sure that everything is clean. This includes your hands, the cow’s udder,
the cloth you use to clean the udder and the milk pail. Cleanliness should be one
of your top concerns to help prevent your cow from getting diseases such as
mastitis.
Cattle Breeding
 Milking
3. Safety
Remember, you are putting your body near the animal that has very powerful legs and
might be willing to use them on you. If you are unsure of how your cow will act while
getting milked, be sure to use a stanchion. Also, you should always be in a position to
make a quick “escape.” Don’t even sit cross-legged on the ground when milking a
cow. In most cases it’s probably best to use a stool.

4. Getting to the logistics

After placing your pail, it’s time to start by milking the cow. Start by gently squeezing
the teat at the top with your thumb and index finger. Slowly work your way down by
adding one finger at a time to the teat until all of your fingers are on it. This will force
milk into the pail. Continue until the milk flow has substantially slowed and the udder
feels soft.
Cattle Breeding
Milking by Hand
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