Content
Calf hypotrophy is a common non-communicable disease that occurs for many reasons. Malnutrition is most common in large dairy farms where milk is the primary concern of the owner. Calves on these farms are treated as a by-product of their production. If a cow, after one calving, gave milk for the rest of her life, she would only be covered for the first time.
But the lactation period in cows is limited in time. The animal will give milk again only after calving. A diet that provides the maximum amount of milk and an artificial reduction in the dry period on a dairy farm promotes the birth of calves with malnutrition.
This disease is not only a scourge of large dairy farms. Private owners can also face malnutrition, since the causes of the disease are quite numerous.
What is hypotrophy
The prefix "hypo" means a lack of something when it comes to the health of a living being. But if in everyday life the terms "hypovitaminosis" and "vitamin deficiency" are used as equivalent, then it is no longer possible to say "atrophy" instead of "hypotrophy". The first term usually refers to the degradation of soft tissue due to a disease. Atrophy can occur at any age.
The term "hypertrophy" is used when a weak, underweight baby is born. With hypotrophy of moderate severity, the calf weighs 25-30% less than the norm, that is, individuals with a normal weight. In severe malnutrition, underweight can reach 50%.
After birth, malnutrition cannot develop. But due to the similarity of symptoms, casein-protein disease is often mistaken for hypotrophy, which occurs a few days after birth and has a similar etiology. The video shows an autopsy on a calf with casein protein disease. Usually, there is no need for this procedure, unless the owner has decided to deliberately starve them to death.
The reasons for the development of malnutrition in calves
Among the reasons for the development of malnutrition in the first place is the violation of the diet of a pregnant cow. In second place is lack of movement and poor living conditions. With improper maintenance, metabolism worsens, which leads to malnutrition of newborns. Over-exploitation of the dairy cow and artificially shortened dry periods are the third cause of malnutrition.
Other reasons are possible, but they are rather in the nature of a statistical error:
- inbreeding;
- infections: in this case, fetal abortion or the birth of a freak is much more common;
- pathology of pregnancy: as well as infections usually lead to abortion or missed pregnancy.
Early mating of a cow, at 8-9 months instead of 15-16, also usually leads not to malnutrition, but to the birth of a premature calf or death of the uterus during calving.
Symptoms of hypotrophy
The main external symptom of the disease is lack of weight. In addition, hypotrophic calves are observed:
- wrinkled, dry, inelastic skin;
- lack or absence of subcutaneous fatty tissue;
- frequent, shallow breathing;
- weak pulse;
- pale or bluish mucous membranes;
- muffled heart sounds;
- lowered or at the lower limit of the norm, body temperature;
- cold in the lower leg;
- absent or mild pain sensitivity.
A normal calf rises to its feet within an hour after calving.In hypotrophic patients, this time lasts from 2.5 to 3 hours. Sometimes it can take 6-7 hours.
Hypotrophic gets tired quickly, trying to suck his mother. Pain sensitivity is checked with a pinch on the croup. The normotropic in this case jumps back. The hypotrophic reaction is absent.
Calf malnutrition treatment
Hypotrophic is a full-term underweight calf. Treatment for these babies is timely feeding and an additional dose of vitamins and minerals.
Since the body temperature of such newborns is low, the first step is to place them in a warm place so that they do not freeze. If the calf itself cannot suckle, colostrum is often soldered to it, but in small portions.
On farms, to treat malnutrition, calves are injected subcutaneously with the blood of a healthy cow. But studies carried out at the Krasnodar Research Veterinary Institute have shown that the use of complex vitamins is more effective.
Calves with malnutrition, receiving a complex of Abiopeptide and Dipromonium-M, a month later weighed 21.7% more than the rest of the individuals. The control group received the treatment practiced on industrial farms: injections of blood from healthy cows.
The recovery of calves from the experimental group, which received complex preparations, vitamins and glucose, occurred on average on the 26th day. The safety of animals in this group was 90%: 20% higher than in the control. The resistance to diseases of young calves in the experimental group was also higher than in animals in the control group.
Which of the treatment methods to choose is up to the owner of the cow. The old method with blood injection is cheaper, but more troublesome and the result will be worse. The new method can scare off the high cost: the cost of a bottle of Abiopeptide is from 700 rubles, and Dipromonium-M should be prescribed by a veterinarian. In case of an overdose, Dipromonium can cause poisoning.
Forecast and prevention
The prognosis for malnutrition in calves is favorable. If treatment is started right away, the cub will be fully recovered after a month.
But it is not possible to do without consequences in case of hypotrophy. A calf born with malnutrition will forever remain smaller in comparison with normotrophic individuals. The owner of such a calf loses several kilograms of meat from a bull and the opportunity to leave the heifer for breeding or for sale. This is not counting the significant labor costs in the first month of the calf's life.
Since the main cause of malnutrition is an inadequate diet of a pregnant cow, prevention of the disease lies in proper feeding. Pregnancy lasts an average of 9.5 months. The active growth of the fetus begins in the last trimester. It is during this period that malnutrition develops with improper livestock maintenance.
The same period is called dry. The cow no longer gives milk, directing all the forces of her body to the development of the fetus. In the case of a reduction in the dry period or an inadequate diet, the fetus does not receive enough nutrients it needs. It is these calves that are born hypotrophic.
Prevention is quite simple here:
- do not shorten the duration of the dry period;
- provide a sufficient amount of protein in the diet: 110-130 g per 1 feed. units, as well as a sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals and easily digestible carbohydrates;
- monitor the normal sugar-protein ratio, 0.9: 1.2, adding molasses and root crops to the feed;
- limit silage by completely eliminating it 2 weeks before calving;
- exclude vinasse, brewer's grains and sour pulp from the diet;
- do not feed spoiled feed;
- provide animals with daily exercise.
2-3 days before calving, concentrates are excluded from the diet. This will not affect the presence or absence of malnutrition, but it will contribute to a problem-free calving.
An approximate diet during the dry period should include:
- 25-35% hay and grass meal;
- 25-35% concentrates;
- 30-35% quality haylage and silage;
- 8-10% root crops.
This diet has an optimal ratio of all nutrients, which reduces the chances of calf malnutrition.
Conclusion
Calf hypotrophy is not uncommon today even in beef cattle. On farms where livestock are raised, the percentage of calves with the disease can be as high as 30%. And the cause of hypotrophy in this case, most often, also lies in a violation of the regime of detention and an inadequate diet. A private trader can usually avoid giving birth to a weak calf in a dairy cow by following the rules of keeping and feeding.
