What do you think is the most dangerous predator to cattle? Coyotes? Bears? Flies? It’s flies, yes, flies. Believe it or not, in our case, flies have killed more of our calves than any four legged predators.
We try to time our calving season to happen in the Spring. It might be cold in the Spring but there aren’t many flies either. While this year most of our calves were born in cool weather, one calf, born in June at a remote pasture, was the victim of “fly strike.” This year was unusual because of the drought and the abundance of flies which seem to thrive in dry weather. The flies overwhelmed this calf, laying their eggs in his dew moist fur. Normally the calf warms up during the day killing the eggs. Also when the mom licks the calf the eggs die or are brushed away by the mom’s tongue. This year the flies were so abundant their egg laying out paced this calf’s ability rid himself of the larvae. When we found him, still alive, he was weak and covered with maggots. We got to him soon enough to save him and even named him “Marty McFly” but others have not been so fortunate.
Perry, newly born, is cleaned by him mom, Sarah.
In the past we have lost two calves and saved four from fly strike attacks while we’ve only lost one calf to coyote attacks. We do our best to avoid fly strike by keeping the expectant cows close to home. When detected early, bug spray on the calf is the best deterrent. In most cases fly strike, except in extreme cases, can take days or even weeks to kill a calf and if found soon enough can be reversed. This year’s drought brought on the flies which made cattle management more challenging than usual. Other farmers noticed the increased fly population this year, did you?
Another calf management issue we ran into this year was, “milk theft.” Not by two legged critters by by weaned calves. We put an expectant cow in our holding area with two newly weaned calves, Sassy and Lilly. The cow was due in a few days and her udders were bursting with milk. Thirsty Sassy and Lilly started nursing on this cow. The cow probably appreciated the release of udder pressure but unfortunately these two moochers also drank much of the colostrum the unborn calf needed. We separated the moochers from the expectant mom but the damage had been done.
When Perry, a bull calf, was born there was little colostrum available to him. Colostrum contains antibodies to protect the newborn against disease. We saved Perry’s life by watching him closely and treating him early but it was a close call.
Perry survived, even though he got reduced colostrum at birth.
As tiny as flies might be they can be dangerous, sometimes more dangerous than coyotes. No need to flee when you see a fly but if you have cattle, pay attention to those winged critters and those mooching calves. Remember the wolf in sheep clothing tale? There is wisdom in those words.
Here is some wisdom for your next meal. Potatoes are always a good idea and here is a great recipe for butter and parsley potatoes which are yummy anytime!
http://www.milessmithfarm.com/butter-parsley-potatoes.html
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