How to Care a Calf

A healthy and strong calf can become a well productive bull or cow in future. Care should be taken for pregnant cow and calf for getting high productive cow. Traditional natural breeding with native bull has to be stopped and artificial breeding with modern technology should be practiced. In this way, we can get improved crossbred calf for a dairy farm. Overall caring for calf is discussed below:

1. To get a healthy calf, balanced diet should be provided to pregnant cow.
2. Pregnant cow should be kept in neat & clean and dry place during parturition.
3. Birth place of calf has to be made soft by using dry straw and gunny bag.
4. Calf should be kept on gunny bag just after parturition and cleaned out mucus from the nose and mouth for easy breathing.
5. After cleaning, calf should be brought to near the cow so that it can clean the calf by licking mucus from nose, mouth, eye, and body. 
6. If possible, calf coat should be dried thoroughly with dry cloth.
7. If the navel flap is not removed out, it should be cut by blade at 5 cm away from navel and used tincture iodine, benzene, dettol or savlon.
8. Colostrum should be provided to calf.
9. Calf and cow should be kept in separate room from other animal.
10. Care should be taken so that calf can take sufficient milk.
11. If required, Milk Re-placer and Kid Starter can be provided.
12. Calf should be allowed for moving around so that it keeps calf healthy and strong.
13. Male calf should be castrated timely.