Handbook Of Calf Health And Management A Guide To Best Practice Care For Calves

A guide to calf management authored by veterinarians with years of experience in both practice and research. The focus is on rearing a calf for optimal health and enhanced productivity, with a focus on welfare and best practice. Handbook of Calf Health and Management employs a lifecycle approach to management, seeing the calf through from conception to bulling age. Topics covered include feeding strategies and feeding behaviour, hygiene, weaning, grazing, husbandry advice and disease management. The approach throughout is of animal and keeper working together. The information presented has a solid research foundation and is evidence based and up to date. Practical tips from the authors’ own experience are also included. Handbook of Calf Health and Management is a must have book for both cattle veterinarians, veterinary students, farmers and stockpeople with an interest in calf management. 5m Books

This comprehensive textbook provides detailed information on calving management in dairy and beef cattle. Enriched with diverse learning opportunities, it conveys the fundamentals of reproductive anatomy and physiology, parturition, birth complications and various obstetrical manoeuvres, as well as dam and calf care. In order to promote best practices in this specialized subject, the book covers all significant points from conception to calving and the perinatal period. Clear chapter structures, a wealth of illustrations and videos, obstetrical case studies, and question-and-answer lists round out the reading experience, making the book a unique source of information on how to support mother cows and obtain viable offspring. In addition, readers can download the free Springer Nature Flashcards App and benefit from 77 digital study questions to test their knowledge. Calving is a significant event in terms of providing care and nutrition for mother cows and calves. The reproductive health status in cattle farms is crucial to immediately initiate lactation and new conception. Assistance by technical personnel, dystocia and stillbirth occurrences can reach ca. 50%, 14% and 6% of parturitions, respectively. Hence, zootechnical and veterinary management of calving is of great importance for animal welfare. This textbook makes a valuable contribution to teaching and everyday practice in cattle medicine and obstetrics. Veterinary students, residents, practitioners and technical personnel will discover it to be a rich learning and reference resource.

Discusses how to maintain the day-to-day health of one's cattle, covering symptoms, preventive care, and treatment of common diseases, body system disorders such as digestive and foot problems, and other ailments, accidents, and injuries that can occur, with case histories and anecdotes.

Every cattle farmer — from the keeper of a family milk cow to the rancher overseeing a large herd — will gain confidence and control by becoming more knowledgeable about calving. Healthy pregnancies, safe births, and thriving calves are critical to every cattle operation, and in remote farm locations, the veterinarian is not always readily available. Even if the vet is nearby, the farm's finances will be healthier if the farmer can oversee most of the calving process. Heather Smith Thomas, an expert on livestock with decades of firsthand experience, covers every routine situation likely to arise before, during, and after calving. And when the calving process is out of the ordinary, Thomas guides the farmer through pregnancy problems, difficult deliveries, recognizing when to call in a vet, and postpartum complications. Her thorough coverage of what to expect in every situation gives farmers the knowledge they need to care personally for their cows. The second half of the book is dedicated to ensuring that every calf gets off to a healthy start. Thomas helps farmers work with cows reluctant to nurse, substitute mothers, and frail calves. A complete chapter on calfhood illnesses explains warning signs and offers tips on prevention and treatment. As people return to farming in growing numbers, the demand for safe, humane livestock knowledge continues to increase. Farmers will turn to this reliable volume again and again as they welcome each new calf.

Calf Rearing is recognised as one of the most informative and accessible guides on the subject, covering growth, nutrition, health and behaviour, with descriptions of various calf raising systems and facilities. John Moran, an expert in the field, also gives considerable coverage to calf welfare, post weaning management and calf communication. Practical economic information on feedstuffs, labour requirements and losses is provided to assist producers in selecting the most appropriate calf rearing system for their farms.