Navel {i think i nspelled it correctly}

[Dixieangus]

How many of you do something to the calves navel..Some do and some dont but whats the best...Can anything happen bad if you dont.Because those huge ranchaes of hunderds of cows how in the world can they get to every one

 

[angie1]

I don't dip the navel, the calves are born out in the pasture on nice dry grass. If they were born in an environment I felt was unclean, I would dip the navel. It has to be right away after they are born. They can get navel ill, and it is very difficult to treat in my experience. I bought a young calf that got navel ill, I treated her aggressively and she died anyhow.

edit here ~ I just read Alans post and I should have added that, by rights, it should be done every calf, every time. He is right about prevention. Dip is cheap, and it only takes a second. I was just telling you what I do. Never lost a pasture calf, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

[Alan]

I do "dip the navel on every calf (well I use a spray bottle and spray it), I also do the ear and tag before i tag the calf. All calves are done within 24 hrs of birth ( I also give each a dose of Bo-Se and a dose of vit A,D, and E). But I have a small operation and my cattle are pretty quiet around me, I agree on a big operation it may be hard to do if they are out on a couple of thousand acres.

An ounce of prevention....

Alan

 

[Dixieangus]

So what do u dip it in..

 

[Alan]

So what do u dip it in..

I use Iodine, but sometimes I use betadine.

Alan

 

[1982vett]

How many of you do something to the calves navel..Some do and some dont but whats the best...Can anything happen bad if you dont.Because those huge ranchaes of hunderds of cows how in the world can they get to every one

We don't. Keep a healty environment and Mother Nature will do the rest. In the event she doesn't, then you have to step in.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

We dip all calve's naval shortly after birth. Real cheap insurance. But, "generally" operations that calve on pasture "might" not need it since it should be a clean environment. But, if you ever saw naval ill, you would agree that it is cheap insurance - not saying it prevents problems 100%.

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

We use iodine... however, the meth heads have made it difficult to find anywhere and are making the switch to Betadine...

We put it into a syringe and coat the navel when we give the calf their 1st shots (Eartag, Bo-Se and TSV-2 intranasal - given in the 12 hour to 24 hour alive window).

 

[grannysoo]

We use iodine... however, the meth heads have made it difficult to find anywhere and are making the switch to Betadine...

You can't buy iodine around here without getting on "the list".

 

[Roadapple]

I use a small plastic cup and iodine. Run it up the cord and hold it against their body for a few seconds and then shake it making sure cord and body is coated.

 

[CKC1586]

I use a teat dip cup to iodine the navels.

 

[ANAZAZI]

I remember 600 calvings; never sprayed or dipped. Born indoors on straw, or into manure, and outdoors on clean grass or occasionally in mud. The cow cleans them well imo, a few calves have had slight hernia in navel but it grew away.

 

[SixBucksADay]

We have many hundreds of calves each year. At birth we give each a shot of multi-min, vit A and D, weigh them, band the bull calves that are over our weight criteria and spray the navel with an idodine solution ( if we get to them within a half hour of birth; a neighbor uses Nolvasan for a disinfectant). They also get a ranch ID tag and an RFID tag at birth. The navel is an open path to the system for any pathogen, but if you don't get to them soon, you are not doing any good. We also move calving areas to keep calving on clean ground. It's alot of work, but it is all we do during calving season (plus feeding). It pays for us with a very high percent live calf crop. It's alot of work, but we are confident, it's worth the time and effort (for us).