When will Honey calve?!

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simme said:
"Cydectin® (moxidectin) Pour-On is approved for use on dairy cattle, including lactating dairy cattle, for the treatment of infections and infestation of internal and external parasites. Cydectin is a market-leading internal and external parasite solution with a zero milk withhold and zero slaughter withdrawal."
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Thank you!!
 
TexasJerseyMilker said:
It's great your heifer is coming due and I understand the anxiety of when will the calf come. I have a close up old pet cow living in my front yard now so I can watch over her, even getting up at night to look with a flashlight. Dairy cows are not like beef cows. Generally, lactating Jerseys do not do well on all 'grass fed' diets. They lose so much weight they look like walking death and do not breed back. Generally, Jerseys are fed 3 lbs of 16% protein dairy feed per gallon of milk produced each day. You have to gradually increase the amount of feed that is required according to their milk output. Dairy feeds are already formulated so you don't have to worry about adding this and that.

If you 'share milk' and I do not advise it because cows and calves dont reaaly want to share. Cows hold up their milk and cream for the calf and what you get is mostly skim. And you don't know what her milk production actually is in order to feed her the right amount of grain. In addition, dairy cows produce so much milk the baby calves are overfed and get scours (diarrhea). Aggressive nursers, usually bull calves, cut up the cow's teats. If you take away the calf after she licks it off and bottle raise it out of her sight they quickly forget and there is no calf sharing drama. If you hand milk please wear disposable gloves and do not wash with water. I use an iodine teat dip leave it on for 60 seconds then wipe it off with clean cloth, using a clean spot for each teat and dip again after milking. So the dip is on the teat while the oriface is still open after milking. Cows get mastitis, the worst is staph aureus that lives on the skin of people's hands and can ruin a cow because it never really goes away. There are other mastitis pathogens best avoided. I have an old timey Surge belly pail machine and I love it. Still, I never touch her teats with my bare hands.

I milke a first calf heifer. You don't know what first calf heifers are going to do. They might not allow themselves to be touched or milked or kick off the calf. It's best to have some good quality powdered colostrum on hand you can mix and feed in a bottle. Because the calf has got to get colostrum in the first hour or 2 of birth or they have no immunity. Get the good stuff. its more expensive but it's made with cow colostrum protein. Avoid products containing soy and these cheap 'all species' colostrums. It's better to have and not need than need and not have. It's a good thing I had colostrum because my nice mannered heifer after calving she went nuts.

Also, I would advise putting out purina Wind and Rain high mag (magnesium) loose mineral along with a salt lick. Cows can get grass tetany when the green grass comes in.
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Thank you so much for the information. We definitely plan to bottle feed from the start! I’m not willing to mess with calf sharing
 
Update:
Still no calf! But she is super engorged and as of this morning dripping milk! She is also getting really loose under the tail, but no discharge as of yet. Any opinions on how much longer we have? I would think it was any time if it wasn’t for the lack of discharge, does that make a big difference?
 

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simplejoyshomestead said:
Update:
Still no calf! But she is super engorged and as of this morning dripping milk! She is also getting really loose under the tail, but no discharge as of yet. Any opinions on how much longer we have? I would think it was any time if it wasn't for the lack of discharge, does that make a big difference?
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Definitely getting closer. Hard to tell but definitely getting closer. How exciting. She may get a lot more edema before going. Our last jersey heifer was so full and had so much edema she squirted for days before calving. That is quite an adorable little udder. :love:
Can't wait to see the SHE's CALVED and it's a beautiful healthy calf post. :love:
 
TexasJerseyMilker said:
I also have one that is taking her time. She's living in the front yard now and I check her at night with a flashlight. It's like being a kid on Christmas eve, getting up many times to see if Santa has come yet.
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I feel this so much 😂 I don’t even want to leave the property, sure she will wait until she sees me pull out of the driveway and promptly go into labor!
 
simplejoyshomestead said:
I feel this so much 😂 I don't even want to leave the property, sure she will wait until she sees me pull out of the driveway and promptly go into labor!
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Yep, they don't want an audience... so will purposely wait !!!!! Then you will get back a half hour later and little spindly calf will be on it's feet trying to figure what all happened ....

By the looks of her vulva area, I will stand by my original estimation of 10 days to 2 weeks from the 23rd when you first posted... Probably after Wed/Thurs... When the weather changes... variation in atmospheric pressure will often cause them to go into labor... either going into a storm, or after when the storm has passed and the weather changes again....
 
farmerjan said:
Yep, they don't want an audience... so will purposely wait !!!!! Then you will get back a half hour later and little spindly calf will be on it's feet trying to figure what all happened ....

By the looks of her vulva area, I will stand by my original estimation of 10 days to 2 weeks from the 23rd when you first posted... Probably after Wed/Thurs... When the weather changes... variation in atmospheric pressure will often cause them to go into labor... either going into a storm, or after when the storm has passed and the weather changes again....
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That's so true. We had a weather shift yesterday and bunch delivered on the dairy like clockwork in the evening. Today it's storming. Always count on a bunch when the weather shifts.
 
farmerjan said:
Yep, they don't want an audience... so will purposely wait !!!!! Then you will get back a half hour later and little spindly calf will be on it's feet trying to figure what all happened ....

By the looks of her vulva area, I will stand by my original estimation of 10 days to 2 weeks from the 23rd when you first posted... Probably after Wed/Thurs... When the weather changes... variation in atmospheric pressure will often cause them to go into labor... either going into a storm, or after when the storm has passed and the weather changes again....
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Yes! Our beef cattle will ignore the beautiful 60 degree days, and wait for a nasty ice storm to calve almost every time! So frustrating but that’s how it works!
I think you may be right in your estimation. We have a storm tonight, and some more weather coming so we will see! I will keep you all updated
 
Ok guys, things may be close! She’s spraying milk everywhere today, her bag has grown inches since I fed her last night. She’s having clear mucous discharge and her ligaments are softer than last night. She is also so much more narrow, which makes me think the baby is lining up in the birth canal. We had a big storm last night here, and I’m wondering if it may have triggered things! She was way more reluctant than normal to come up for her feed and acting uncomfortable. What do we think? Will it be today??
 

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