Any tips for winter calving in a cold environment?

[msscamp]

By the way if she's late this year she will be late next year,the most you can gain is a couple of months unless you sit her out next breeding season.

Really? You mean she can't calve and have another in a few months?

I'm not saving any heifers out of her.

Can I ask why you have made this decision?

Well, maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought fertility was heritable. She's settled late twice now. She's a decent looking cow, but I am only retaining heifers out of my cows that are breeding on time.

Fertility does tend to be inheritable, but since you specifically stated that this was a cow - as opposed to a first time heifer - I'm thinking she has already delivered a calf on time at least once. That leads me to think that perhaps the problem is not inherently with her fertility. There are a lot of things that can cause a cow to 'settle' late - improper feed, lack of mineral, possible health issues, early term abortion, disease, the list goes on and on. I would take a good hard look at this cows track record, and the kind of calf/calves she produced previously before I decided to not keep her daughters. I don't know how long you have had this animal, but you specifically stated that this is the first year she settled late. That tells me that she did her job at least one previous year, and that is further reason to not automatically discount her daughters as possible breeders.

 

[badaxemoo]

Fertility does tend to be inheritable, but since you specifically stated that this was a cow - as opposed to a first time heifer - I'm thinking she has already delivered a calf on time at least once. That leads me to think that perhaps the problem is not inherently with her fertility. There are a lot of things that can cause a cow to 'settle' late - improper feed, lack of mineral, possible health issues, early term abortion, disease, the list goes on and on. I would take a good hard look at this cows track record, and the kind of calf/calves she produced previously before I decided to not keep her daughters. I don't know how long you have had this animal, but you specifically stated that this is the first year she settled late. That tells me that she did her job at least one previous year, and that is further reason to not automatically discount her daughters as possible breeders.

Thanks for the information. Maybe I'm too quick to not save heifers out of her, but let me give you a little more detail and see what you think.

1. Like I said in one response, she has settled late (about 3 months) on two occasions.

2. Perhaps it could be a feed-mineral deficiency, but my other cows have all settled in a two month window. I'm always open to suggestions on feed and mineral, but at at this point my hay and mineral seem to be generally working and I'd like to stick with the current program.

3. She seemed to come back to cycling normally after calving, and she cycled normally prior to her first calf, and I saw the bull attempted to breed her on several locations. I don't think she was aborting, unless it happened quickly? What are some simple explanation about why she might not be settling?

I guess with my small herd, I want to make sure I keep the best heifers. I will probably only run about 20 brood cows and I already have 15, so I'm being pretty fussy about who I keep.

 

[rockridgecattle]

Even if the other animals settled, it could still be mineral deficentcy (SP). Reason, she might not be getting what she needs. She might not be at the feeder, eating the mineral cause in her opinion, why? i know it sounds stupid but some animals do not consume enough like the rest.

Second, you could get her tested. Test for IBR BVD the things that cause abortions, and there is another one neo something.

third, what was here last birth like when she was on time.
Was it
Tough for her?
Retained placenta?
foot back?
Mal presentation?
What was that year like for food? protien in the hay? What shape was that calf in. What BCS of the cow? how did she come off the pasture in that year?

A hard birth or maybe tough feeding that year like drought year, could have been hard on her while feeding a calf. All these factors factor into breeding back on time.
A palp can tell you alot about her internal breeding organs. Maybe the uterus got damaged? Infected?
Maybe that calf was real hard on her for what ever reason and she is late.

So many reasons for a late breed back it's not funny. Recall what happened that year she bred on time to now. It could tell you alot. It all has an effect on the here and now. Even her age.

The way i figure it what happened two years ago affects what happens now.

Everything we do to our cattle at this point will show up year and a half, two years later when we sell the next calf at the sale barn.

 

[KNERSIE]

Even if the other animals settled, it could still be mineral deficentcy (SP). Reason, she might not be getting what she needs. She might not be at the feeder, eating the mineral cause in her opinion, why? i know it sounds stupid but some animals do not consume enough like the rest.

Second, you could get her tested. Test for IBR BVD the things that cause abortions, and there is another one neo something.

third, what was here last birth like when she was on time.
Was it
Tough for her?
Retained placenta?
foot back?
Mal presentation?
What was that year like for food? protien in the hay? What shape was that calf in. What BCS of the cow? how did she come off the pasture in that year?

A hard birth or maybe tough feeding that year like drought year, could have been hard on her while feeding a calf. All these factors factor into breeding back on time.
A palp can tell you alot about her internal breeding organs. Maybe the uterus got damaged? Infected?
Maybe that calf was real hard on her for what ever reason and she is late.

So many reasons for a late breed back it's not funny. Recall what happened that year she bred on time to now. It could tell you alot. It all has an effect on the here and now. Even her age.

The way i figure it what happened two years ago affects what happens now.

Everything we do to our cattle at this point will show up year and a half, two years later when we sell the next calf at the sale barn.

You are right, there are a million and one reasons why she might have settled late, and it would be good practice to find out whether BVD, Brucellosis, etc might be the cause before it becomes a epidemic in a small herd.

All that being said, she doesn't sound like the genetics that is suited for that operation, she has had two chances, I won't keep heifers out of her either, in fact I wouldn't even keep her for another go. It's hard enough making a decent profit out of efficient adapted cows, if you have to carry a few parasites its even harder. In a small herd its even more pronounced.

Cull her after she weans this calf, replace with a better one, that will save time and money in the future.

 

[rockridgecattle]

an std like tric can do it too.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Ship her. We all know how easy it is to make excuses to keep one, I find it is MUCH harder to NOT give them "one more chance" - you have made up your mind - that is the hard part - do it. You gave all the right reasons. We all know them. Most of us have problems actually following through.

 

[msscamp]

Fertility does tend to be inheritable, but since you specifically stated that this was a cow - as opposed to a first time heifer - I'm thinking she has already delivered a calf on time at least once. That leads me to think that perhaps the problem is not inherently with her fertility. There are a lot of things that can cause a cow to 'settle' late - improper feed, lack of mineral, possible health issues, early term abortion, disease, the list goes on and on. I would take a good hard look at this cows track record, and the kind of calf/calves she produced previously before I decided to not keep her daughters. I don't know how long you have had this animal, but you specifically stated that this is the first year she settled late. That tells me that she did her job at least one previous year, and that is further reason to not automatically discount her daughters as possible breeders.

Thanks for the information. Maybe I'm too quick to not save heifers out of her, but let me give you a little more detail and see what you think.

1. Like I said in one response, she has settled late (about 3 months) on two occasions.

Yes, you did - and I missed it. My apologies.

2. Perhaps it could be a feed-mineral deficiency, but my other cows have all settled in a two month window. I'm always open to suggestions on feed and mineral, but at at this point my hay and mineral seem to be generally working and I'd like to stick with the current program.

3. She seemed to come back to cycling normally after calving, and she cycled normally prior to her first calf, and I saw the bull attempted to breed her on several locations. I don't think she was aborting, unless it happened quickly? What are some simple explanation about why she might not be settling?

I guess with my small herd, I want to make sure I keep the best heifers. I will probably only run about 20 brood cows and I already have 15, so I'm being pretty fussy about who I keep.

I can certainly understand where you are coming from, and why. Since she has bred back late twice, I believe I would ship her. My question of why you were not retaining any heifers out of her was based on thinking she had bred back late only once, and that is not true. Again, I'm sorry for having missed your reply that this was the second time she bred back late.

 

[badaxemoo]

I can certainly understand where you are coming from, and why. Since she has bred back late twice, I believe I would ship her. My question of why you were not retaining any heifers out of her was based on thinking she had bred back late only once, and that is not true. Again, I'm sorry for having missed your reply that this was the second time she bred back late.

Please don't apologize! I appreciated your input and should have been more clear in the first post that she has settled late twice.

It would be less confusing to me if she just remained open. She has always had good body condition and has had no obvious health problems. It's too bad, because she has a nice disposition and she has the frame and proportions that I am looking for.

She does tend to shed later in the spring than some of my other cows, but part of that could be attributed to the fact that she is from a line of cows that tend to do that.

 

[msscamp]

I can certainly understand where you are coming from, and why. Since she has bred back late twice, I believe I would ship her. My question of why you were not retaining any heifers out of her was based on thinking she had bred back late only once, and that is not true. Again, I'm sorry for having missed your reply that this was the second time she bred back late.

Please don't apologize! I appreciated your input and should have been more clear in the first post that she has settled late twice.

I screwed up, and missed an inportant post - why would I not apologize for that? You were clear, I just didn't read carefully enough. Thank you for your response, but I need to make sure I don't miss things. That was my fault, not your's.

It would be less confusing to me if she just remained open. She has always had good body condition and has had no obvious health problems. It's too bad, because she has a nice disposition and she has the frame and proportions that I am looking for.

I know. It's much easier to make these kinds of decisions when the girl in question simply turns up open.

 

[George]

You normally calve all your cows from april to july,and now you are going to bother winter calving one cow?Not worth the headache for just one cow,ship her and go buy a different cow that is more in line with your program.