Care of new born calf
- Observe that the newly born calf is normal
- Clean the mucus membrane from the nostrils and mouth of calf for following it to breath freely
- Wash the body of calf lukewarm water and with a clean towel
- Cut the navel cord of calf leaving 5cm from the body with sterilized scissors
- Apply tincture of iodine to cut part of navel
- Feed colostrum to calf: colostrum is rich in antibody which provide immunity against various diseases
- If possible follow the weaning system
- Calf should be housed separately
- Weigh and identify the calf (by tattooing)
- Dehorn the calf at an early age preferably within 15 days
- Extra teats should be removed
- Calf should be vaccinated against HS at the age of 15 days and at the age 3 month they should be vaccinated against anthrax 15 days thereafter it should be vaccinated against B. Q.
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Reason for calf raising is to prevent high mortality of calves in tropics due to:
- Poor feeding and management
- Inadequate health of calves
- Worm infestations.
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Raising of calves is necessary for following reasons:
- For early maturity on high plane of nutrition
- For good returns of capital
- For avoiding risk of infection in herd
- For building a good dairy herd