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| Calves born after dystocia are at a high risk of failing to receive
adequate colostrum by natural suckling because of greatly decreased colostrum
intake. Calves that are born to a prolonged stage II of parturition
very often suffer from severe respiratory acidosis. Acidotic calves
are less efficient at absorbing colostral immunoglobulins even if artificially
fed colostrum, therefore effort should be made to provide weak newborn
coaves with the best source of colostrum available via bottle suckling
or tube feeding.
The amount of immunoglobulin ingested is also a major determinant of final serum immunoglobulin concentration. A practical "rule-of-thumb" is to feed 5 to 6% of the calf's body weight within the first 6 hours and repeat the feeding when the calf is about 12 hours old. For an 80 pound calf, this will equate to approximately 2 quarts of colostrum per feeding. Read more about these important topics in OSU Fact Sheet F-3358, Disease Protection for Baby Calves. This is available at any county OSU Extension office.
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