Preventing and treating reproductive problems in cattle

At a regenerative farming day held earlier this year in Paarl, Western Cape, Willie du Plessis, chairperson of the Southern Dexter Club, shed some light on ways to treat calving and reproductive emergencies. Glenneis Kriel reports.

- Glenneis Kriel

Calving problems in Dexter cattle are uncommon, with veterinary intervention rarely required and even less often than with most other cattle breeds.

Willie du Plessis, chairperson of the Southern Dexter Club, explained that the birth canals of these hardy, small-bodied cows, such as those of some dairy breeds like Jerseys, improve their ease of calving, allowing them to give birth, without assistance, to calves considered quite large in comparison with their own bodies.

In the absence of birth complications, cows rarely contract reproductive infections, which in turn supports good fertility and longevity.

“Reproduction of some Dexter cows starts to decline from 12 to 13 years of age, which is quite old compared with some beef breeds. I, nevertheless, have had a few cows that gave me a calf each year until they were 16 years old and even older,” said Du Plessis.

Despite this, birth and reproduction complications may occur under some circumstances, usually because of heifers calving too young, diseased females, or the animals being over- or underfed.

MATURITY AND BODY CONDITION

Dexter cattle reach sexual maturity at a young age. Du Plessis said that he had seen some bull calves trying to service cows when the females were about four months old, and some heifers taking when they were only five months old.

He advised farmers to castrate young bull calves that will not be used for reproduction when they are six weeks old to prevent them from wreaking havoc on the farm. Young heifers should be kept away from bulls to avoid ‘pregnancies’ that might ruin the former for the rest of their lives.

“A calf that takes when she is five months old will struggle to produce an offspring, and if she succeeds, will struggle to raise the calf and struggle with reproductive problems for the rest of her life,” Du Plessis said.