cold weather calving ?

[BAR_R]

Has anyone else ever noticed that you can have a cow looking for all the world like she is going to pop at any minute and when you get her in the barn with warmth, her own water, fresh small sq hay from the loft and no real pressure they seem to back up and hold onto that calf?

We have had two moms this year go over their due date by more than a few days. I wonder if being out of the weather stress induces them to not calf as quickly? Would it be similar to a human female who is put on bed rest to slow her contractions?

[dun]

Could be they're not as comfortable in their new surroundings without the rest of the herd.

[grubbie]

Our cows calve in weather like that every year, outdoors with no protection but sagebrush. The only time we interfere at all is if they get chilled down so quick they cant get up and suck. Usually it is cold temps plus wind that does this. If the calf gets up and sucks within the first hour, we don't worry about them any more after that. I can think of once in the last five years we had to bring a calf in to warm up, and that was cause mama went down and couldnt get back up.

[angus9259]

Our cows calve in weather like that every year, outdoors with no protection but sagebrush. The only time we interfere at all is if they get chilled down so quick they cant get up and suck. Usually it is cold temps plus wind that does this. If the calf gets up and sucks within the first hour, we don't worry about them any more after that. I can think of once in the last five years we had to bring a calf in to warm up, and that was cause mama went down and couldnt get back up.

That sure hasn't been my experience this year.

[Alberta farmer]

Used to calve in the winter. When the market decided they didn't want to pay decent money for calves, we switched over to selling as yearlings and started calving in May/June. Sure is a lot less work.
Calves born on grass seldom have "weather issues" to contend with.
Not sure if it is more profitable to do it this way or not? Not sure there is much profit right now, however you do it, but I would never go back to living with the cows all night in January/February!
Still have the barn, maternity pen, hot air blower, space heater, calf box, barn living quarters...just don't use them anymore.

[Victoria]

-18C when damp and windy is much worse than if it is dry. Really it isn't too bad though, -40 is when things get interesting. Our cows calve outside they do have trees or sheds depending on which area they are in. The most important thing is LOTS of bedding. You need to keep the calf off of the frozen ground. When the calf is born make sure it is up and has a drink. It's even more important this happens quickly on a cold day. If the calf is cold warm them up - we have either put them in the truck with us for a bit or if they are really cold then we bring them to the house and they get a nap in the kitchen for awhile.
When we are concerned about ears we use one of these cozy caps. They work really well unless the cow licks them and moves them which then makes for a blind calf. All depends on the cow.

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Oh, I like the cozy caps. Stunning! I've lost a few tips of the ears, but never whole ears (I've seen some - yuk).
We're having a heat wave - up to 10 F - but no wind & sunny - beautiful out. Don't mind the temps if the wind stays away. Cattle are spread out on the snow enjoying the sunshine.

[angus9259]

-18C when damp and windy is much worse than if it is dry. Really it isn't too bad though, -40 is when things get interesting. Our cows calve outside they do have trees or sheds depending on which area they are in. The most important thing is LOTS of bedding. You need to keep the calf off of the frozen ground. When the calf is born make sure it is up and has a drink. It's even more important this happens quickly on a cold day. If the calf is cold warm them up - we have either put them in the truck with us for a bit or if they are really cold then we bring them to the house and they get a nap in the kitchen for awhile.
When we are concerned about ears we use one of these cozy caps. They work really well unless the cow licks them and moves them which then makes for a blind calf. All depends on the cow.

Where does one procure a cozy cap?

I tried the duct tape approach suggested earlier in this forum after having one two nights ago whose ears kept freezing up.

[angus9259]

cozy caps - $12.00

http://www.mcbethshorthorns.com/cozycaps.html

[CKC1586]

That picture is just the cutest darn thing!!!! Love the leopard print.

[rockridgecattle]

Loved the pic!!! That would be easy to make when one has time! I think our ears were about 8-12. Had them for a couple of years. I think yours would be bette cause they utilize the heat of the calf's head to keep them from freezing.

[Victoria]

Yes the leopard print does make her especially stylish.
They do work really well because of the heat utilization rockridgecattle but we did have one cow last year that would always turn it so that the eye holes were under the chin. Then there would be this poor blind calf laying there. I don't know how many times I flipped that thing around. He does have ears though. I was thinking with the muffs you could put in those boot warmers (you know the ones at Canadian Tire for a few bucks) then put in a sock over the ear so the ear doesn't get too hot, that would give it more heat than just the muff. That might work on the cow that likes to blind her calf.

[Susie David]

O'l Boss cow dropped her calf at the feed bunk; three weeks early (second preemie this year) moved them under the loafing shed and the litt;e heifer was up and nursing quickly so we didn't worry. Next morning she led her baby out in the snow ( record snowfall this year) and I had to carry the animal into the barn to warm up..,the cow went in later. They will stay in their stall until the snow goes down and the calf gets bigger. DMc

[ArrowHBrand]

We always calved early in the year, January-March, and would bring the cows up to th ebarn as they were to calve. Deep bedding and keeping an eye on them so we could get the calf up and nursing ASAP. I never worried about the temperature and calving until it got closer to 0 then we would sometimes towel dry the calf after the cow had cleaned off the afterbirth. I remember one calf I had to go out every few hours and towel it off because it was so cold that it would get frost on its hair. Never worried too much about ears and tails freezing off except the show stock.

[msscamp]

I know it gets much colder in many of y'all's neck of the woods. Anyway, got a friend who has nine more cows due to calve anytime. We are supposed to have some near 0 temps in the next few days, anything he can or should do to help the chances of survival for the calves? Or will mama simply know best and just let her do her job?

Yes, watch the cows and make sure the calf sucks within 30 minutes of birth if the weather is cold/windy. If the calf has not nursed by then, jump start it with a 16 oz bottle of warm store bought milk(not milk replacer). We have never used heat lamps, but we have tucked the calves in a shed(with a bale of hay across the door to discourage them from exploring) if there was a storm going on and they were severly chilled. If it is storming(and the temp is significantly below 0), we have also been known to bring the calf into the house, he/she spends the night on the porch, and is reunited with Mom first thing in the morning.