Calving season 2011 for me

[Nesikep]

Well, 2011 is officially underway in the bovine world around here, 3 calves in 3 days.. if you go back to viewtopic.php?f=19&t=55563, my 2009 thread, you'll remember the "chairman of the board" heifer calf, well, she calved 4 hours ago, and was a star... though she wasn't quite sure what to do, she was perfectly cooperative... After I got the calf started sucking, I got out the electric sheepshears to trim some dirty hair around her udder, and she didn't even flinch, got it on video, me on one side with the shears, the calf sucking on the other.. we're at 3 heifers for 3... the first was from a cow which I really don't like, she's agressive as be nice and has a bag a 20 year old cow would be ashamed of (she's 7), and never licks her calf though she stood still for it to suck, which is good. The second was her daughter, first timer, also doesn't lick the calf, but she isn't aggressive, and let me help the calf nurse, once I got the calf going, I gave her a petting, she had her head in my arms and started chewing cud... so all's well that ends well... though I don't like her bag either

I'm starting to figure out what really makes a good bag though.. the teats have to point downward even when the bag is full, and be cylindrical. when the teats face sideways/outward, they are too close to the leg and it makes them harder to find for the calf

Also, I went through 19 years of calving notes and entered them on a spreadsheet to look for patterns, and I found a lot of them, I also found the average gestation time in our herd is 286 days, did a bunch of statistics on cull age/reason depending on what the original dam (cow we bought) was, Twinning, DOA calves (1 cow is responsible for 5 of 7 DOA calves, successfully raised both twins 0 out of 4 times)
Another cow's line has had 2 of 4 heifer calves live to 15 or more (the other 2 are still alive at 5 and 7 years old).. I'm going to see if I can put the spreadsheet on google docs. I also have come up with 650 names for calves for those of you who name them

[Nesikep]

Here is the spreadsheet https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?hl= ... utput=html



Here is the vid of me trimming... I dare most of you to try starting a hair trimmer so close to a cow with a new calf


If the images don't fit on the screen properly, go to http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/Rx7man/Moo/



All tired out after a good day's work!




The first 2 heifers calves with mommas, the heifer being the daughterof the old cow

[Double R Ranch]

Nice Calves!

[jilleroo]

OMG can't believe you did that with the clippers.....

[CKC1586]

Thanks for sharing! Can't believe how docile that girl is letting you shear her belly with that new baby. Nice calves/good job, Moms!!!!

[bigbull338]

fine looking calves you have there.

[Nesikep]

well, in the next 2 days we had 2 more, 1 steer, and 1 120 lb heifer, that heifer was SO strong, you couldn't hold or carry her, if she wanted to go somewhere, there wasn't much that was going to stop her.. Called her Atilla... she's actually really docile so far

Maddy is a well behaved girl... I thought she would at least twitch when the clippers started up... I guess she's used to it, I've clipped her before, but it's been nearly 2 years

[Nesikep]

Well, i've had a mixed bag over the last week... 4 calves on sunday, they were all fine, but then tuesday came along and I had a 125 lb bull calf on a heifer, the head/shoulders weren't too bad to get (just me pulling), but he got hiplocked as well.. luckily for him, he was able to breathe when he was halfway out, and he was bawling the whole time (the calfing chains aren't exactly comfy), and then my dad and I we pulling on him, twisting him, and after about 20 minutes we finally got him out, and then he stopped breathing.. I felt he still had a pulse, so I started CPR.. which nearly made me pass out from hyperventilation after working so hard to get him out... anyhow, she started back up.. couldn't stand on his own for the first day, and was wobbly for the next 2, but he's well on his way now and a very hungry big guy!.. the cow, well, she's got some sort of fierce tears, and took 4 days to lose the placenta, she couldn't get up for a day and a half, and is still pretty wobbly, but I have her on dex and tetracycline.. she's a bit of a pincushion.. she's had 10 shots in 4 days... but as long as the hind end can heal, I think she'll be OK, though I probably won't keep her for another season.. .she's a bit feverish now, but alert and eats well (I just started the antibiotics this morning)...

Then on wednesday night I had a picture perfect birth, 1 hour from water break to calf sucking.. beautiful 100 lb heifer calf, and mom new exactly how to do it all.. what a strong calf too

[Nesikep]

Very sore Momma and "Isaac Newton" (he is all about gravity)

A few days later, he looks a bit better



Here is the picture perfect mother, the calf is "Chroma"


Here is Ceres, another really nice heifer that I'm probably going to keep


This is another, she looks really nice and is well mannered, but heredity scares me with her.. AWESOME milk, MISERABLE udders and hooves

[Nesikep]

Oh, one more thing that happened over the last week... I was in the shop taking a nap and suddenly there was a commotion from be nice in the paddock, and I ran out to see what the fuss was about, the cows and calves were all running around.. the cows looking for their calf, and the calves thinking it was play time.. and then I heard a branch break over the bank... I ran over there and looked... 2 yearling cougars.. I've never seen any before... we managed to get a shot off on one of them, but we couldn't tell if we hit it or not... hopefully it got the message though

[Nesikep]

well, no more sightings of the 2 big cats, which is nice.. however I did have to eliminate a coyote today..

Heifer who had the huge calf is doing well, though she's starting to shy away from me when I hold a needle, her calf is doing great, running and playing as he should be

we had 4 over the course of the week, nothing eventful, however my milkable cow, or "Horse" as she's known around here, had her calf, and, as usual, he's 20% heavier than the next heaviest guy at 140 lbs... this time she was nice enough to do it in the daytime while I was watching... I gotta say she's got the trick down pat, she squirms and stretches at regular intervals, then pushes well.. Once she laid down and really got down to business, it was all over in 5 minutes.. I have it on video too, but it's too big to post for now until I edit it...
Here he is at 2 days old

Him and Mommy



And here's the heifer with her 125 lb'er



Here's Caddy, the one I mentioned did it picture perfect last week... i'm considering this heifer as a replacement, I regretted nutting her 2 brothers, they were so nice.. we'll see come fall time


This is Yanka, with her calf Vega, I *might* keep her, depending on how she fills out, Mother has a good udder, disposition, milk and hooves



This is another that I will most likely keep, she looks like she'll do really well, and her mother is great too.. (though maybe a bit tall for many people's tastes.. Frame 7ish)


Another heifer that is an optional replacement, but I'm definitely waiting til fall to make up my mind she's the first calf of this cow.. She's the one who's mother I was clipping udder hair half an hour after she calved... she's nice so far.


And this one my dad will make me keep.. I'll say she's a beauty, but her mother is awful despite she has a lot of milk, she has an awful udder, mediocre disposition, and bad hooves.. though I think the calf will have a good nature... Can't see her well, but her mother's eating at the manger


And this one.. well.. all the same problems as the previous, but looks nice, and probably will in the fall too... I'm just worried about how they look at 6 years old...


Where my old man and I differ is that I'd sacrifice some productivity for cows that get old and produce.... But that's material for some other thread.

Last, because it doesn't exactly belong here.. Yearling heifer butts



Is that enough for now?

[Double R Ranch]

Hey,
By any chance, do you love your shorthorns? nice pics glad those monster are doing well!
Double R

[Nesikep]

I do, but I love the gelbviehs as well...

The calving season is down to waiting on the stragglers now, got 5 left, 1 should be in a couple days, another in a week, and then who knows when on the others.. nothing like waiting!

[highgrit]

How many pounds do your cows weight. Sure have some large calves. Thanks

[Nesikep]

average full grown cow is around 14-1500 lb, but we have a couple who are probably 18-1900 lb monsters

I don't have a real scale, so I'm limited to using chest girth as a measurement... the biggest cow has a 92" heart girth when she isn't pregnant, and probably in the frame 7 area, the heaviest calves come from a cow who weighs about 1500ish (82" chest).