After calving practices?

[BryanM]

wow, I didn't mean to cause a (to be nice a measuring contest). The reason for the post was for me and possibly other people to pick up some ideas on what is normal practice or at least a few ideas that I may pic up on to make my Hobby herd a little more successful!

Let me tell you my practice, remember I have a small enough herd and all have been handled so they are use to human interaction. I like to pen my expectant mothers in a pen where I can observe and get hands on if I need to. (For the record, I messed up where I believe I missed signs on 2 heifers that they where going to calve a bit early and I believe it cost me 2 calves. One of the reason for this post). After the calves are born this is my vets protocol: inforce 3 intranasal, cattle master gold, naval tincture of iodine, multimin 1cc per#40, slow release bollettes and st-bac implant. He wants that done at birth, although I break it up a bit. I understand that too a lot of you and to my friends who own cattle, this may be a costly and a bit over the top and maybe unneccasary, but I have talked to a few well known cattlemen in or community who follow this protocol and swear by it.

 

[BryanM]

And as a follow up, we have also recently have installed barn camera system that can be viewed from cell phones and places away from home. We, that's my wife and I got right after we lost calves that we thought this may be a tool to help us out.

 

[Alan]

Bryan, I think you mistook friendly jabs as measuring, this site is made up of mostly hobby folks. A freindly exchange because of all the hobby guys jokes here, this place can get pretty heated at times.

While I agree your methods are not cost effective you still need to put a price on your comfort level during calving and the cost of a calving education.

As far as losing two calves out of heifers I would look at the bull your using on heifers, you should use a well proven calving ease bull on first time heifers. It may be due to something else but with the information so far that is where I would start.

 

[Nesikep]

Unless you AI, how do you use "proven" bulls on heifers?

 

[BryanM]

Alan, glad to hear Im not starting a war :lol: Ya, I agree with using proven easy calving bulls. And that's what I did, by the way different bulls both proven. The one bull I have use multiple times without any problem. After talking with vet he thought for sure one calve was due to what he called dumb heifer syndrome. The other was the same or still born.

I guess what I am saying is using a easy calving bull, is in the plan. As far as heifers go, you can be sure I will be watching them a lot closer in future years.
I have posted more in the last 2 weeks than in the last five years!! This is different for me ;-)

 

[branguscowgirl]

Ya Bryan, our pokin at one another is all in fun. You did not say anything to get us going.

 

[Alan]

Unless you AI, how do you use "proven" bulls on heifers?

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have use the word "proven". Of course with AI you can find a proven bull. Live cover it would be a best guess type of deal. If I used a son of a proven low CE bull out of a low CE cow you would have good odds of a having calving ease bull covering heifers. But I think you knew this already, my mistake for using the word proven. :tiphat:

 

[ANAZAZI]

Unless you AI, how do you use "proven" bulls on heifers?

Prove it first, use it on heifers second. Not all bulls are too big to breed heifers when they are two years old.

 

[randiliana]

Last spring, we calved over 200 head, in March, a very cold March at that. Almost every cow went through the barn. All calves got 2 tags, were banded if they were bulls and dehorned if needed, within 24 hours. This year we will also be giving them a shot or 2. Hopefully the weather is nicer.

It keeps us busy, but I firmly believe that the little extra work we do for 1-2 months more than pays for itself with bigger calves in the fall. We are not hobby farmers, this is our living...

 

[Nesikep]

With these prices, big operation or hobby farmer, losing a calf is still $1200-1500 bucks any way you slice it it's off the profit.

Some might call me crazy, but I check my cows every 3-4 hours at calving time if I'm suspecting one is close. I don't have calving cameras, though in time I might get some when the prices come down a bit..
If you want good ratios of calves born to calves weaned, you have to be checking on them.. If you don't mind losing a few, then by all means throw them in the back 40 and let them fend for themselves, but don't call the rest of us stupid.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Last spring, we calved over 200 head, in March, a very cold March at that. Almost every cow went through the barn. All calves got 2 tags, were banded if they were bulls and dehorned if needed, within 24 hours. This year we will also be giving them a shot or 2. Hopefully the weather is nicer.

It keeps us busy, but I firmly believe that the little extra work we do for 1-2 months more than pays for itself with bigger calves in the fall. We are not hobby farmers, this is our living...

:clap: It pays to do things right no matter what size your operation is.
It is just a matter of "what's right for you."

Good to hear your process Randi.

 

[branguscowgirl]

With these prices, big operation or hobby farmer, losing a calf is still $1200-1500 bucks any way you slice it it's off the profit.

Some might call me crazy, but I check my cows every 3-4 hours at calving time if I'm suspecting one is close. I don't have calving cameras, though in time I might get some when the prices come down a bit..
If you want good ratios of calves born to calves weaned, you have to be checking on them.. If you don't mind losing a few, then by all means throw them in the back 40 and let them fend for themselves, but don't call the rest of us stupid.

Well said Nesi.

 

[BryanM]

NesiI I couldn't agree more. To be honest I never even considered a barn cam, I too checked a couple times a night(that gets old quick, my respect for the guys and gals doing that with the big herds).

My camera is a wireless system called foalingcamera.net by Riverbend surveillance. I thought it wasn't to bad in price and still gave a decent picture. Plus it can be viewed from my regular job. Very easy to install wireless and wired! Anyway look it up when you get a chance. no I am not working for them :lol: I mentioned it because I too thought it would be outrageous.

 

[Nesikep]

I can afford to wait a while yet, we do shifts for cattle watching, I take the late shift, my parents get the early morning ones, so we all still get some sleep.. Doing it alone would be another story!
The cameras do look pretty good, but I'm going to hold off on it until the pan/zoom cameras are reasonably priced... With the current resolution, you can't see squat of what's really happening 60 feet away at night, which is about how far I need it to reach... I figure a couple years they'll be more commonplace.
Dlink had some pan/zoom cameras out but didn't have infrared capabilities when I looked, and they went over wifi so didn't quite have the range I needed.

 

[randiliana]

We have 2 cameras at the moment, and one on the way. The 2 we have are just stationary cameras, but they have pretty good infrared, and we put them on a scanner, and they are awesome. One is in the barn, which is 32x56 and it more than covers the barn, the infrared is more than enough in there in the dark, although if we do have a cow inside we usually have a light on.

The one we are getting is a 27x PTZ, we have neighbours who have one of these and you can read the names on the sides of the semi trailers going down the highway 5 miles away.

If anyone's interested, check out https://www.allenleigh.ca/

Here are a couple of videos from the 2 cameras we have at the moment.
This video is of the inside of the barn, it only shows half the barn and there are no lights on. This was done before we got the scanner.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10202464831755679&l=5692714422506317790
And here's the corrals, with our other camera, it has a scanner.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10204817874060266&l=7418479182953479463