We are now in the last week of January so we are half-way through the winter. It is hard to believe that we still do not have snow at this late date. Temperatures have been above normal because we do not have snow.

This is my first winter as full-time manager of Hill Top Dairy. We try to plan and be ready for very cold temperatures along with periods of strong wind and blowing snow. Yesterday was the coldest day in two years. We were below zero (Fahrenheit) all day long. This makes more work on dairy farms. Problems show up in a hurry. Our biggest problem was one phase of electric power shut down. This burned out both motors that pumped water to our cows. Today we put in a new back-up system. Motors need to have safety switches to prevent damage from loss of electric power. Both motors had safety switches but the fuses were too large.

Manure pumps often have problems in cold weather. Our pumps froze up but only required a few minutes to thaw out. Ice builds up around water fountains and cow alleys are slippery. We have only had one heifer with frozen teats.

One of the main challenges in cold weather is the new born calves. It is difficult to get them dry and keep them warm the first 24 to 48 hours. These calves suffer from hypothermia. They become weak and inactive. Hypothermia often leads to death in just a few hours.

We had a set of live triplet heifers last week. Everyone was excited about this event. Our excitement turned to sadness when two died very rapidly at 6 to 8 hours after birth. We are not sure but part of the problem may have been hypothermia. Now we make certain that new born calves are placed in a warm room, fed one gallon of colostrum, and are completely dry before they are placed in calf hutches. The hutches are indoors, are well bedded with straw, and equipped with heat lamps.

One night this week we had two sets of twin heifers. We are happy to say all four heifers are doing fine. It seems like cows like to calve at night. I wish we could train them to calve during the day when it is not so cold and they are easier to care for.

Remember to warn your clients about hypothermia in calves. The body temperature of the calf is usually one to two degrees above the rectal temperature of the dam immediately after birth. The temperature of the calf will drop to about 102 degrees F within 15 to 30 minutes after delivery. A sign of problems is a body temperature that continues to drop below this level Hypothermia can occur even in warm surroundings so I hope you all understand the seriousness of this problem.

It is common for calves with hypothermia to look fairly normal for 15 to 30 minutes after delivery. Then the calves gradually become weaker and less responsive. The good news is that calves are remarkably resilient and can survive well if we give them sufficient care. I like to give calves 2 to 3 times more straw than they need. I think dry straw saves many, many calves and is very cost effective.

Go to Japanese Edition

News Letter from Dr. Whitmore, February No.3 2003