How cold stress affects newborn calves
Heather Smith Thomas
Calves that are chilled at birth, without immediate assistance to warm/dry them and make sure they ingest colostrum in a timely manner, have poor survival rates. If a calf’s mouth gets cold before he suckles, he may not be able to get the teat in his mouth and suck, and therefore does not obtain crucial energy (for keeping warm) and the antibodies he needs – to protect him against disease.
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