Calf Suck Reflex and Stomach Tubes
Ensuring calves suckle and absorb enough colostrum is important.鈥疉 good suck reflex is essential for sufficient ingestion and absorption of colostrum. 伊人直播 Veterinary Services recently highlighted findings from a research project carried out by the University of Calgary, which looked at the factors which can be assessed in newborn calves to predict colostrum intake.听听
Dystocia (difficulty of calving) was a strong predictor of whether a calf would ingest colostrum or not. Calvings were scored according to the level of assistance. A summary of the results is included below.听
A calf鈥檚 suck reflex was also found to be strongly correlated with colostrum ingestion. Calves that have a weak suck reflex after birth, tend not to absorb colostrum well.鈥疻hen combing the dystocia score听with suck reflex calves at the highest risk of听hypogammaglobulinaemia听were identified as shown in the table below.听听听
Hypogammaglobulinaemia听in calves is a caused by inadequate colostrum, poor colostrum quality (low IgG), or delayed consumption e.g. outside the first 6 hours. It is crucial for calf survival that calves which have had a difficult calving and or have a poor suck reflex are given听sufficient听timely听colostrum.听
Stomach Tubes听听
With calves that are slow to stand or have a weak suckle reflex, a stomach tube proves听invaluable at calving time to ensure that a calf听gets the colostrum it needs.听It is essential to ensure that stomach tubes are in good condition (cleaned and disinfected) and free from any sharp edges.鈥疞ast spring 伊人直播 reported a case of a 48-hour-old calf, which had been fed by a stomach tube several times听due to lack of suckling to have a ruptured oesophagus, oesophageal听laceration听and damage to the soft tissues. This is most likely to have been caused by a sharp edge on the tubing equipment.听听
Although it is听not uncommon听to see mild bruising, and occasionally ulceration within the oesophagus, more severe trauma is less likely unless equipment is badly听maintained听or staff are not adequately trained. Check your stomach tubes now to ensure they are smooth and have no damage from听previous听use. Make sure that farm staff using stomach tubes are appropriately trained.听
Sarah Balfour, Beef Consultant,听Sarah.Balfour@sac.co.uk听听
Posted by SAC Consulting on 18/02/2026
