Be Prepared for Spring Calving Season

Calving season may begin towards the end of this month or the first of next month. Being prepared for calving is very important. Right now is the time to restock your birthing supplies which should include: OB gloves, OB lubricant, esophageal feeder, bottle and nipple, chain straps/chains, calf puller, sterile syringes and needles, batteries for flashlight or spotlight, old rags or blankets, toolbox to keep calving equipment, colostrum replacement, electrolytes, etc. Make sure all items are in good working order, haven't expired, etc.

Be prepared to make feed adjustments for nursing cows. Lactating cows require a 10-11% crude protein and 58-60% TDN. If nutrient demands are not provided, young calves will not grow and develop and cows will become thin and rebreeding may become an issue.

Castrate male calves at birth or at 3 months of age. Bull calves are usually discounted $5 per hundred weight. Castration early in life is less stressful on the calf. Research with calves castrated at birth, grow at similar rates of gain compared to their intact male pasture mates. In addition, male calves castrated by stocker producers following sale barn purchase are 2.5 times more likely to become sick than a steer calf purchased through a sale barn market.

Don't forget to collect calving records. Valuable records for selection and management include: body condition calving, calving difficulty score, calf gender, calf birth weight, and don't forget to tag calves - records are less valuable when they cannot be linked to animals and herds. To help you keep these records, request from the Extension office the free pocket sized "Livestock and Forage Record Book."

As the spring calving season progresses you need to evaluate current bulls used and select bulls for the upcoming breeding season, for both mature cows and replacement heifers. Easy calving bulls are very important for breeding replacement heifers. And most importantly, which is most often overlooked, is to work with your veterinarian to determine bull's breeding abilities which includes checking semen quality.

BERNI KURZ, COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT STAFF CHAIR, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE.