Cows Have Calves

An introduction to the life cycle of cattle from birth to adult, discussing appearance, food, instinct, and nurturing.

Factors Affecting Calf Crop summarizes the latest information available from leading cattle physiologists and geneticists regarding factors known to influence the production of live calves at weaning. You get practical information on management techniques for improving reproduction efficiency in the herd. You'll also learn about the functioning of the reproductive system and how this may affect reproductive processes in the cow herd. Managers will benefit from a clearer understanding of the factors known to limit efficient reproduction, while veterinarians and other professionals who advise cattlemen will appreciate the substantial reference material and color photographs for defining cow condition scores. Color photographs are also used to illustrate the discussions of testicular thermographies and their applications. Other chapters in the book cover developments in improving reproductive performance of the replacement heifer, the brood cow, and the bull. Topics on reproduction include physiology/endocrinology, the use of growth promotants, genetics and physiological and economic considerations in selecting the age to breed heifers, heritability of fertility, length of the breeding season, prepartum and postpartum nutrition, nursing by the calf, cloning of embryos, and much more.

From birth to first calving, the replacement heifer undergoes tremendous changes anatomically as well as in feeding and management practices. The calf changes from being a pseudo-monogastric to a full ruminant within a period of two months. During the same period, the calf is fed colostrum, milk, or milk replacer, and starter with or without hay. Notably, the lifetime milk production and health of a dairy cow is highly dependent on early life nutrition and management of the calf and, subsequently, the heifer. Hence, animal scientists continue to investigate critical areas such as colostrum feeding, the level of liquid feeding, gut microbial succession, energy and protein levels, housing, health management, and their interactions with the animal in an effort to help dairy producers raise successful and sustainable dairy enterprises.

Easy-to-follow text and photos introduce readers to cows and their calves. Plus each title includes bonus augmented reality video to help readers learn more.

The aim of this manual is to improve the welfare of dairy cattle in tropical developing countries, and by doing so, optimise cow and herd performance. It gives the stockmen and farmers directly concerned with the cattle a better understanding of animal behaviour and the ways cattle communicate their comfort or distress. The book discusses normal cattle behaviour and shows how domestication and breeding can affect behaviour to achieve high levels of production of milk, live weight gain and fertility. Animal welfare is important for producers because it can affect the health, production and contentment of cows. Animal welfare practices which adversely affect cow and herd performance on tropical small holder dairy farms are identified. Advice is then given to change the animal's environment or modify a handler's technique to ensure cattle have the degree of comfort needed to achieve more profitable and sustainable systems of livestock farming. Cow Talk will be a beneficial resource for farmers who want to improve animal welfare, farm advisers who can assist farmers to improve their welfare practices, educators who develop training programs for farmers and dairy advisers, and other stakeholders in tropical dairy production such as local agribusiness, policy makers and research scientists.

Describes the growth of a calf from birth to adulthood, and what life is like on the farm.

These books will facilitate students' understanding of how young animals resemble their parents. Engaging photos and simple sentence structure will help early emergent readers grasp these concepts quickly.