Time management is the key to a successful calving season

Farmers who manage their time correctly during calving season will save money as well as a lot of hardship. Whether you farm full time or part time, there is an a ordable way to make this challenging time of the year a lot easier, says Moocall.

Calf mortality throughout calving season is most often caused as a result of dystocia problems or di culties during labour. The majority of losses occur with heifers who can tend to have a more stressful rst time calving or cows that are in calf to a known di cult calving sire.

Close attention and early intervention where possible is required in order to ensure any signs of complications can be addressed by the farmer when needs be. From here, you can take the necessary steps in order to pull a live calf to the ground and give it the best start to life.

According to Teagasc, all farmers need to target their mortality rate to be as low as 2.5% at birth and no more than 5% at 28 days.

The Moocall Calving Sensor is a non-invasive, tail mounted device that is “absolutely invaluable” when it comes to time management at calving. It measures the cow’s spinal contractions and tail movements to accurately predict the onset of calving to the nearest hour.

As a farmer, all you need to do is turn the device on and place it opposite the vulva on the cow’s tail. Moocall will then notify you by text message and app notification once calving activity is taking place. With over seven years on the market and over 16,000 customers worldwide, the company says it has proven what a valuable piece of technology its Calving Sensor is and all the great benefits it can bring to farmers.

Visit www.moocall.com or contact Moocall directly for more information. FG

Taking steps to improve reproductive success

Heat stress considerably reduces fertility in lactating dairy cows and impacts the reproductive system weeks before ovulation. Hormone levels fall and oestrous expression is reduced, making it harder to detect cows in heat, explains Gary Walker, Dalton Engineering.

Inseminated cows also have reduced conception rates and a rise in early embryonic loss is common as newly formed embryos are less heat tolerant during days 0-7 of development. Consequently, days open will rise.

Heat stressed dry cows reduce DMI with negative implications for milk production in the next lactation. In-utero heat stress can permanently change tissue structure and function in o spring. Studies show calves from heat stressed mothers have lower birthweights, impaired colostrum absorption and potentially reduced immune function and lower liveweight gains. The resulting milk production of daughters from heat stressed mothers is negatively impacted for up to three lactations. The productive life of daughters and granddaughters is also reduced. Taking measures to alleviate heat stress in milking and dry cows is crucial to reproductive success. Improving ventilation and providing high speed air using fans to aid in the cooling of cows is a management decision. Make adjustments to housing to reduce the severity of the heat stress experienced by cows, and target high risk areas such as collecting yards where heat production and humidity is high. Targeting the lying areas will reduce standing times – and do not forget the dry cows! FG