Lean into your consultants and fellow producers to troubleshoot and come up with solutions. Every operation is unique and will require unique solutions that work for your employees, facilities and budget.

Newborn calves occasionally encounter challenges that undermine them in the early hours or days of life. Difficulties such as birthing stress, weakness or an inability to nurse effectively may leave them unable to consume the vital colostrum and nutrients they require.

“Be prepared” is a motto to live by, especially during calving season. With that in mind, here are a few items that are essential to have on hand, plus some best-practice tips to consider.

Weak calf syndrome is exactly as it sounds; newborn calves are born weak, fail to thrive and often never get up to nurse. This is not a new phenomenon, and the industry has been combating it for decades.

Hypothermia – lower than normal body temperature – is one of the major causes of death in newborn calves. Warmth and colostrum are the two most important factors in calf survival.

As calving season progresses, we hear of miracle remedies that will get an unthrifty calf up to snuff in no time. Whether oral or injectable, it’s good to understand what the active ingredient in the “cocktail” is that may – or may not – give the calf a boost.

Supplementing calves with colostrum after the first day of life can reduce the duration of diarrhea and possibly improve survival rates during high disease pressures. This article details the benefits of colostrum for older calves and how it can be integrated into calf management plans.

Colostrum is the “superfood” for calves, but it isn’t new. It has been around since the first cow calved. It was vitally important then, and it still is today.