Calf losses often attributed to difficult births or diseases, which can be influenced by cow nutrition.

March 19, 2020

2 Min Read
Kansas State cow calf pair.jpg
Kansas State University.

Maintaining cows in good condition and raising calves in a clean environment are two steps in minimizing death loss of calves, according to Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) experts who tackled the topic of calf death loss on a weekly podcast.

“Nationally, beef producers lose about 2% of calves at birth or within the first 21 days of life and another 2% prior to weaning,” veterinarian Bob Larson said. He noted that there are wide herd-to-herd and year-to-year variations in those numbers.

These losses are attributed to difficult births or diseases such as scours that can weaken the calves in their first few weeks of life.

“Difficult births can cause the calf to be born dead, but also, those that survive may be weak and unable to get up and get the necessary colostrum,” Larson said.

One of the factors BCI director and veterinarian Brad White said contributes to birthing difficulties relates to cow nutrition.

“If the cows are really thin, that can lead to calving challenges and potentially hamper nutrition for the calf, so it is important to maintain the cows in good body condition,” White said.

Larson added, “A cow that is thin often doesn’t have enough energy reserve to take care of her calf.”

One of the ways to support body condition for cows consuming low-quality forage is through protein supplementation.

“In late gestation, a cow will need a couple pounds of protein,” Larson said. “She typically will get a pound from low-quality forage available this time of year, and the balance will need to come through a cube or some other form of a protein supplement.”

Larson encouraged producers to work with their veterinarian or nutritionist to calculate the correct amount of supplementation needed for their management situation.

Another factor to minimize calf death loss relates to the environment, the two said.

“We prefer to have cows calve on grass rather than in a dry lot, where there is more potential for mud,” Larson said. White added that it is also important to make sure the cows and calves are current on their vaccinations.

For those who are experiencing calf death loss, White stressed the importance of understanding why that is happening in the herd.

“Your biggest category of death can’t be an ‘unknown cause,’ because it is very hard to solve that problem,” he said.

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