What Is a Calf? Current Prices, Diarrhea Medication and Key Points of Newborn Care Explained
Cattle are herbivorous, and some species are livestock (including domestic cattle, yellow cattle, water buffalo and yak). They have a sturdy build, and some bulls have a pair of horns on their heads. Cattle can help humans with agricultural production. So what is a calf? What is the current price per head? What medicine is used for diarrhea? What are the key points for caring for newborn calves? From the Shandong cattle farming base, it is learned that the prices of Simmental cattle and Luxi cattle are about the same: those not exceeding 200 jin are around 2000 yuan; those 3-5 months old are 3000-4500 yuan; those 6-10 months old are 4500-6000 yuan.
What is a calf?
A calf is a type of crossbred cattle. Mainly, improved beef cattle breeds such as Simmental cattle, Charolais cattle and Limousin cattle are used as the sire, and Luxi yellow cattle are used as the dam for crossbreeding improvement. Their crossbred offspring generally have the characteristics of tolerance to coarse feed, strong adaptability and fast growth.
Calves show significant improvements in birth weight, daily weight gain, draft power, meat quality and dressing percentage, demonstrating good hybrid vigor.
What medicine is used for calf diarrhea?
1. To expel the contents of the gastrointestinal tract, for sick calves whose diarrhea is not very severe, a laxative (saline or oily laxative) may be used.
2. After clearing the gastrointestinal contents, to maintain body nutrition, diluted milk or artificial colostrum may be given (cod liver oil 10-15 ml, sodium chloride 5-10 g, 2-3 fresh eggs, 1000 ml fresh warm milk, mixed and stirred evenly), fed 4-6 times a day.
3. To restore gastrointestinal function, digestion-aiding drugs may be given:
(1) Oral physiological hydrochloric acid aqueous solution (sodium chloride 5 g, 33% hydrochloric acid 1 ml, cool boiled water 1000 ml), or warm black tea 250 ml.
(2) Sugar-containing pepsin 8 g, lactasin 8 g, glucose powder 30 g, mixed into a lickable paste, taken orally in three divided doses daily, with 2 ml dilute hydrochloric acid added at the time of use.
(3) Pepsin 3 g, dilute hydrochloric acid 2 ml, gentian tincture 5 ml, warm boiled water 100 ml. Mix and administer orally.
(4) Artificial gastric juice: pepsin 10 g, dilute hydrochloric acid 5 ml, ordinary water 1000 ml. An appropriate amount of vitamin C may also be added. Dosage: calves 30-50 ml each time, administered orally.
(5) Acidophilus milk, 2 g per kilogram of body weight, taken orally 2-3 times a day.
(6) Hawthorn, medicated leaven and malt 15 g each, chicken gizzard lining 9 g; fry the above four ingredients until yellow and grind into powder, add nifurazolidone 0.2-0.4 and glucose powder 30 g, mix into a lickable paste, taken orally 3 times a day.
(7) Potassium iodide 0.2-1 g, taken orally with water.
In addition, digestion-aiding drugs may also include pancreatin, amylase, lactasin or yeast, etc.
Appendix: Key points for caring for newborn calves
1. Ensure breathing. Immediately after birth, wipe the mucus from the calf's mouth and nose with a dry cloth to make the calf breathe as soon as possible, then dry the rest of the body, or let the cow lick the calf dry.
2. Disinfect the umbilical cord. In most cases, the calf's umbilical cord breaks naturally, leaving only a few cm on the abdomen. If it has not broken, cut the umbilical cord about 15 cm from the abdomen, squeeze out the mucus in the umbilical cord, and disinfect the umbilical cord and its surroundings with high-concentration iodine tincture (7%) or another disinfectant. Under normal circumstances, the remaining umbilical cord shrinks and falls off in about 15 days.
3. Feed colostrum as early as possible. Within 1 hour of birth, a calf should consume about 2 kg of colostrum (milk from 1-7 days after calving); at 6 hours and 12 hours after birth, 2 kg of colostrum should also be fed respectively; in the following days, feed 1/5-1/4 of body weight, 2-3 times a day, 1.25-2.5 kg each time, and the milk temperature should generally be around 37°C. Colostrum is best fed by bottle; for weak calves that cannot suckle colostrum, the esophageal tube forced-feeding method may be used to feed colostrum.