WEST LAFAYETTE Ind. — Remember last winter? The extreme cold and snowy winter?
We’d like to forget it, but cattlemen, in particular, hope they don’t see a repeat of winter’s impact on the 2010 calving season.
Difficult births
Many calves were born with heavier birth weights, which resulted in more cases of dystocia, or difficult birth, in some herds, according to Purdue Extension beef specialist Ron Lemenager.
“In a cold environment, cows shunt some blood flow away from their extremities to the internal organs in an attempt to maintain core body temperature,” Lemenager said.
When this happens, there is not only an increase in blood flow but also an increase in nutrient flow to the pregnant uterus and developing fetus, he explained. The fetus grows faster in response to the increased nutrient availability and there are typically larger calf birth weights.
Ration-al thinking
Another factor that can increase birth weights and the chance of dystocia is cow nutrition. Feeding excess protein to cows during late gestation can contribute to both.
Significantly overfeeding protein can occur when feeds such as high quality alfalfa hay are the primary forage or when cows are fed high levels of distillers grains or corn gluten, Lemenager said.
In an ongoing Purdue research study, cows were fed dry distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) to supply all of the protein and majority of the energy needs of cows during the last trimester of gestation. Compared with the control diet, the DDGS diet provided equal energy but provided nearly double the protein required.
Both calf birth weights and incidences of dystocia were significantly increased.
Lethargic calves
Heavier birth weights not only contribute to more dystocia, they also can result in lethargic, less vigorous calves that are slower to find the udder. This slowness is typically associated with oxygen deprivation resulting from a prolonged, difficult delivery.
“Even when these calves are presented normally with the head and front feet exposed, the umbilical cord can be compromised and oxygen flow from the dam to the fetus can be restricted before the calf is capable of breathing normally on its own,” Lemenager said.
“These calves typically need to be fed colostrum by esophageal feeder within six hours of delivery to not only provide passive immunity, but to provide essential energy.”
Body condition
Cold weather also contributes to dystocia by affecting the cow’s body condition.
With a colder-than-normal winter, cows in some herds might have been thinner than normal. Thin cows can have a higher incidence of dystocia, retained placentas and lower colostrum quality.
Dystocia can increase the number of retained placentas, and both can affect a cow’s reproductive performance during the following breeding season.
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I moved up here from Oklahoma last Aug. and I enjoyed the winter you all had, lots of snow but it wasn’t all that cold. My cows had thier first babbies three weeks after we got moved in and by the time winter hit the were big enough to take it. They are due again pretty soon and they look good. Least there isn’t alot of wind up here that blows the cold right through your bones like there is back home. Ohio is beautifull lots of green grass and my cows and horse thought they had gone to heaven when they got here from Oklahoma. They love the grass but they still come up for grain every morning though they don’t get but a coffee can full apeice I know they are fine if they are waiting on me every morning at 6am sharp lol. They have me trained pretty good. People say it is hard for cows to calv durring summer but they do just fine and the calves are big enough durring winter they make it through good.