Feeding tube for dairy calves

I. feeding preparation of newborn calves

1. Nursing care of newborn calves

Immediately after the calf is born, wipe off the mucus in the mouth, nose and ears with a clean towel and dry the cow body. The body should be dried when the weather is cold and the temperature is low, and wipe the body with a dry dishcloth to speed up blood circulation. When the calf is breathing weakly, artificial respiration should be carried out; squeeze out the blood retained in the umbilical cord, cut the umbilical cord about 5 mm from the base of the abdominal wall, and soak the broken end in 7% iodine tincture for 1 minute; feed the first colostrum 30-50 minutes after birth, feeding about 2 kg for 5-7 days; weigh the calves, fill in the birth records, and file the newborn calves.

two。 Make ear labels, ear numbers, etc.

Accurate marking of cows is the basis of breeding, milk production records and immunization. There are two kinds of marks: permanent and non-permanent. Permanent impressions (acid, alkali, fire and liquid nitrogen freezing), patterns and ear prints; non-permanent methods include collar and lacquer marks.

3. Corner removal

The aim is to prevent cattle from hurting people or other cattle. 7-30 days after removal of horns, soldering iron or 20% fire alkali to destroy keratinocytes. The methods of horn removal include electric cauterization of calves before 30 days old, caustic soda (potassium) burning method for calves of 1 week and 3 weeks, and chisel or sawing for larger calves and adult calves.

4. Single-lap feeding method

It is an individual feeding method to raise newborn calves in a separate calf feeding pen. A calf is always raised in an enclosure from birth to weaning. Its advantages are: ventilation, fresh air, sufficient light, freedom of movement, which can enhance the physique of calves and improve disease resistance. Calves are always kept in a single barn, which avoids the chance of sucking and contacting with other cattle, reduces the spread of pathogenic microorganisms and reduces the incidence of calves. Ensure the food intake of calves and avoid the phenomenon of grabbing each other. It is easy to find sick cattle, easy to treat and observe, and can play a role in isolation of diseased calves. The enclosure is small, easy to clean and disinfect, and is conducive to disease control. The structure of the enclosure is simple, and the construction cost is low, once the disease breaks out. The enclosure is contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms, and the calf pen can be disinfected and transplanted to a new site to facilitate the renewal of calf breeding grounds. Practice has proved that calf single-loop feeding method plays an important role in controlling the occurrence of Escherichia coli and reducing umbilical cord inflammation in calves.

2. Key points of calf management

Make sure the calf gets 2 to 3.8 liters of colostrum within 1 hour of birth, use a stomach tube or bottle if necessary, and ensure the quality of colostrum. Within 12 and 24 hours of birth, calves should be fed colostrum for 3 or 4 times, about 2 liters each time. The survival rate of 2-day-old calves should reach 95% (there is no correlation between calf birth weight and subsequent yield). Feeding bovine colostrum should be fixed in time, quantity, person and temperature (the average colostrum temperature is 38 ℃). Practice has proved that feeding quantity, quality, first feeding time and feeding duration of colostrum are all very important.

III. Management methods from birth to weaning

1. Management goal

The mortality rate from birth to weaning is less than 2%; before weaning, the concentrate intake of calves should reach at least 1 kg / day; the rumen function is gradually improved; the average daily gain is more than 700 grams, and the daily gain is positively correlated with the first fetus per unit yield.

two。 Characteristics of change at this stage

It is extremely prone to infection of some diseases, such as pneumonia, diarrhea, limb paralysis, and septicemia; it has poor adaptability to adverse environment, less body fat deposition and high mortality; newborn calves basically do not digest protein, fat and carbohydrates before rumen development; calves grow mainly after the development of rumen function and the feeding of dry forage and open feed.

3. Feeding method

Feeding open feed and high-quality forage begins 5-7 days after birth, because feeding is the key to functional rumen development; calves should receive appropriate amounts of nutrients from open feed in the second week. In order to encourage calves to feed, calves should be given free access to water and nutritious and palatable food from the first week until they are weaned. Ensure the quality of fresh milk (eliminate alcohol positive milk, antibiotic milk, low-fat or low-protein milk). However, too much milk will delay the development of food intake and weaning age. In hot (cold) climates, the supply of cold water (warm water) 2 to 3 times a day helps to resist hot (cold) stress and promotes calves to increase feed intake; if free drinking water, calves can drink 4.97.6 liters per day in the first month of life, so it is necessary to provide plenty of clean and hygienic drinking water. Fresh water is necessary for calf growth and dry feed intake (nutrients, solvents, temperature regulators and osmotic regulators). The sink should be accessible to calves, not more than 71 cm from the ground. There is an one-week interval between weaning and herding, and the calves should be transferred after 1 or 2 weeks of weaning until the calves adapt to the stress response of weaning. The postponement of weaning is often caused by improper rumen fermentation caused by poor development of rumen and reticulum. If calves are ground too finely, it is not conducive to the development of papillary processes or reticulum in the rumen. Generally, the hay should be cut into 2.5cm long and mixed with calf feed at 1 ∶ 10. More than 10% hay will affect the intake of open food.