No more heifers, thank you.....

[grubbie]

I've had it. Thought I was sooooo smart. Doin all the right things, using low BW longhorn bulls on the heifers, feeding right, selecting good quality large heifers,....it has worked for my family for generations. It just gets worse every year. I have one heifer left to go. Have had to assist most of them, two had their calves, but dropped them in the creek. One prolapse. I work a full time rotating shift, if the heifer has trouble and I'm at work, she, or the calf, or both, are going to die. Came home tonight to a heifer with the feet and nose sticking out, her back legs doing the "splits" on the ground. Another heifer, who had lost her calf, was claiming this half-born calf, licking it. Got the cow rolled and pulled the calf, had to bring them in cause the other heifer wouldn't leave them alone. Mama and calf doing well now. But this is it for heifers for me. Anyone want to buy some heifers and a longhorn bull??? Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Grubbie you are not the first nor the last person this has happened to.
I always figured the next year will be better.

take a deep breath and go have a shot of your favorite drink. :cowboy:

 

[angus9259]

I'm a heifer sell and not so much of a heifer keeper myself. They have to be pretty much top shelf heifers for me to even think about it - even then I think about getting good money for top shelf heifers and buying some 4 year old cows. Even if the heifer calves normally and owns the calf, keeping them in a separate location to feed them to keep body condition up and getting them bred back is a whole other chore.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. LH are "supposed" to be that maintenance free heifer bull.
I calve our heifers every year, and don't find them any more of a problem than my cows. Pretty much the only ones we ever touch are the malpresentations. I "worry" more about the heifers & watch them closer, but that's about it.
Sounds like a bummer of a calving season.

 

[bigbull338]

sorry your having such a rough time calving heifers this year.sometimes when you do everything right everything goes wrong no matter what.weve been through 1 of those winters this year.but thats another story that wont be told.

 

[Beef Man]

W calve 50-75 heifers every year and have to say it is a very rewarding expierence. They do take a little more TLC but its just part of the cow biz. We have had ups and downs but nothing that bad. Some years we have never touched a heifer except backwards or maybe leg back. Other years we run into a little more problems.Have even considered custom calving heifers. When we do some for neighbors we insist on having the heifers here for 2-3 months prior t calving date. Don't give up as just when things look the worst times will change for the better. Incedently we do breed our heifers straight. Hereford to Hereford and the custom heifers are black to black.

 

[dun]

I calve our heifers every year, and don't find them any more of a problem than my cows. Pretty much the only ones we ever touch are the malpresentations. I "worry" more about the heifers & watch them closer, but that's about it.

Same as what Jeanne says

 

[HOSS]

I have built my herd strictly on heifers. I have not bought a single mature cow. So far (and I am knocking on wood) I have not had to pull a single calf or losta calf or heifer during the birthing process. I did have one heifer slip a calf last year after a few months. I sure hate it for you that is a tough break. I hope the rest go smoothly for you.

 

[grubbie]

W calve 50-75 heifers every year and have to say it is a very rewarding expierence. They do take a little more TLC but its just part of the cow biz. .

I agree that it is normally a rewarding experience raising your own animals and trying to i mprove your herd. Maybe when I "retire" I can go back to calving heifers, but for now, working full time and no one to keep an eye on things, I think I will give it up for a while. We have a ton of grass and the cows are fat, that could be a contributing factor. The calves are coming out pretty darn big, maybe growing too much during that last trimester. I am going to miss all the different colors on those longhorn calves.

 

[plumber_greg]

I just love calving period. Grubbie, sorry you're havin' trouble. When you work for the public all day, the joy of coming home and workin' with cows, and heifers, is what keeps me sane( or as some would say, somewhat sane). Gotta' admit though, I calve around my busier times, so I can be there more. gs

 

[1982vett]

I just love calving period. Grubbie, sorry you're havin' trouble. When you work for the public all day, the joy of coming home and workin' with cows, and heifers, is what keeps me sane( or as some would say, somewhat sane). Gotta' admit though, I calve around my busier times, so I can be there more. gs

I prefer: Take the check to the bank day. But I don't mind riding the pastures and finding baby calves either. :nod:

 

[MO_cows]

Geez, sounds like a nightmare. Sorry you are having so much trouble. And, really surprised to hear that Longhorn-sired calves are coming so hard. Maybe try a Corriente or Lowline bull to get the birthweights down even more next time? Or maybe it was just a fluke caused by this winter's weather and their feed intake. Makes me glad we only have 1 heifer calving this year, one of the few upsides to being smalltime I guess. Glad that your heifer who did the splits was able to get up, at least you had a little luck on your side there.

 

[2/B or not 2/B]

That's awful, Grubbie. I would feel the same way. Were they a random set of heifers or did they share sires?

 

[regolith]

note the "good quality large heifers". What might the birthweight EPDs of the heifers have been?

Even using Jersey bulls, I expect a slightly higher rate of heifers needing help than cows. Heifers bred to larger bulls I've seen 30% pulls, well enough to convince me to stick with Jersey when it was my own herd.
bb said it. Sometimes you can do everything right and still have no luck.

The most memorable calves are the ones you pull out of the creek that survive.