The ending of the festive period is an indicator that the calving period is not far away for spring-calving dairy herds.
Although many farms don’t start calving until early-February, some begin calving in mid-January.
Ahead of the start of the busy period on farms, and the arrival of calves on farms, it is important that farmers get organised and get all of the supplies ready.
Calving supplies
The list of supplies that will be needing for the calving season is somewhat long, and there will always be some variation from farm-to-farm.
Over the coming days you should look around, and order/purchase any supplies that will be needed.
Below is a list of materials that should be stocked and ready to go before calving gets underway:
- Disposable plastic gloves (long and short);
- Gel and paper towels;
- Calving ropes (minimum of two pairs);
- Calving jack;
- Oxytocin, calcium bottles/boluses and magnesium;
- Disinfectant for navel;
- Brix refractometer to test colostrum;
- Stomach tubes have a minimum of two as you should have a separate one for electrolytes/sick calves and another for feeding colostrum to calves;
- Calf tags, notebook or a phone app to record calving information;
- Infrared lamp for sick calves;
- Footbaths with disinfectant.
Spring-calving
The spring-calving period is a busy time on farms and when many of the supplies outlined listed above are needed, they are urgent.
For this reason, it is important to have supplies on-hand, and to not be rushing to the local co-op or agricultural supply shop for them.
In some cases, some of the supplies or equipment may already be present on farms, but you need to check that they are still usable and or in full working order.
You should check the calving gate and jack to ensure that they are both working correctly, prior to cows beginning calving.