ABSTRACT 

Calf mortality is a very important issue to cattle producers, who depend on the annual production of progeny from productive cows in order to make a profit. The long gestation period of cattle (about 9 months) makes this exceptionally true. In Nigeria, there is a high mortality rate of calves due to poor feeding and bad management (Okorie, 1993). Practicing good husbandry reduces this high mortality rate. Scouing, (which results on account of mechanical causes, nutritional causes, or infection) and calf'pneumonia, (including internal parasites) can lead to calf mortality (Okorie, 1993). However, birth weight, among other factors like uterine environment, hormonal control, (Calving Difficulty in Beef Cattle, 1994) etc, can lead to calf mortality. In recorded calf rearing units, calf immortality was about 4 percent but in the bottom third of units, it is twice as high. The target should be mortality rates below 3 percent, with a low incidence of the two scourges of calf-rearing — enteris and pneumonia (Okorie 1993). Akusu amid Ajala (2000) included seasons as a factor affecting birth weight. The effect of the seasons oti' birth weight probably derives from the effect of seasons on the quality and quantity of forage feeds available to the animals. It is an already known fact that the nutritive value possessed by pastures decreases with maturity especially during the dry season (Humphreys, 1987).