If you are getting ready for calving or lambing soon, many jobs will undoubtedly be on the list. Getting calf pens filled with sawdust and shavings, looking at bringing cows back to the farm if they have been grazed off, sorting your colostrum mobs out (up here, we tend to calve early) and looking after your herd while they're dry.

There are many homeopathic remedies you can use over this time, and below, we have made a list of good remedies to help prepare for calving.

Six weeks from calving, it would help to start putting Caulophyllum and Cal / Mag in the water trough 2-3 times a week. This is best done six weeks before calving, as it gives the remedy time to assist the body.

Caulophyllum is an excellent remedy for preparing and toning the uterus for up-and-coming calving. We all want our cows to have easy calving. This remedy will assist with this and is also perfect for first-time calvers and cows that previously had trouble.

Cal / Mag is a homeopathic blend that helps a cow assimilate the calcium and magnesium they get in their food to reduce the risk of milk fever. Many farmers find this an invaluable remedy and use it all year round.

Ignatia, Aconite and Arnica are great remedies if you are transporting animals. Ignatia helps with the emotional upset. Aconite helps with fear and fright. Arnica helps with the bruising, as they can be jostled around in the truck. Cows are creatures of habit, so being moved from where they are, filed through cattle yards, put on to trucks and confined for some time can be stressful and physically traumatic. Any stress and anxiety lowers the immune system and increases disease susceptibility. So, these remedies will help the cow deal with the pressure, recover well, and bounce back quickly. It can be given daily for a week after the event.

Rotavirus can be a problem in many cows and flow into a massive problem in calf rearing. So giving your herd the rotavirus nosode a couple of times a year is an excellent way to help reduce the risk. Do daily for one week: at three months, two months and one month leading up to calving.

Follow our next page, calving, to see what remedies help over calving time.