Resuscitation and Critical Care of Neonatal Calves

The perinatal‌ period is the most perilous in the life of all animals. Perinatal calf mortality in the first 48 hours of life has been estimated to be between 3 and 10.3%. More than 60% of producers have reported‌ that most of their calf mortality occurs at birth. The main causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality are‌, in descending order of importance‌, combined respiratory and metabolic acidosis‌, parturient trauma, hypoglobulinemia, congenital infections and deficiencies, and omphalophlebitis. Some‌ 90% of calves that die in the perinatal period were alive‌ at the start of calving, and so much of this loss is preventable. Management of the newborn‌ dairy calf is best achieved through implementation of simple protocols that document‌ the correct strategies to be followed at the herd level and the correct procedures to be performed‌ at the individual animal level. These protocols cover management of the prepartum cow, management of calving (monitoring of eutocia and detection and management‌ of dystocia)‌, and newborn calf care. Therefore, it is imperative to provide immediate evaluation and care of newborn calves to ensure calf survival and health and prevent economic losses‌ associated with perinatal‌ mortality.