Big, dumb bull calf syndrome

[Howdyjabo]

Bcking Annie on this one--- even if there is a medical issue that causes a problem in a herd(like selenium def). Unless you saw the problem cross the board in all the calves-- that individual calf needs to go to butcher.

on my sheep and goats(don't breed cattle) I am ruthless-- if I have to work on an individual at any point--I 'll treat them and get them to live or heal up- but they are not staying here for long.
I knotch ears so I never forget which ones I had to work on.

Figure that one has somekind of weakness-- or the whole group would have been giving problems.

 

[randiliana]

Solutions are lighter calves or hooking the chain to em as soon as you see the big feet..not much help I know

Yep, calving ease to me means easier on the owners! As we all know, EPDs don't mean jack when you're up to your knees in wet manure and afterbirth with a worried 1300lb cow in your face. Four calves in three days, 71, 60, 101, 77. 77 was out of a heifer who had it unassisted while we were in the barn trying to get 101 to figure out what an udder was. 60 was out of a heifer daughter of the cow who had the 101. All the same bull. The average birthweight is fine, but statistics don't tell the whole story.

Ok, our average BW is between 90 and 95 lbs. We rarely ever have a calf that won't suck, and even then quite often it isn't our biggest calf. We have a couple of cows that will throw 115+ lb calves, and we don't have to help them at all. Preferrably all the calves would be in the 85 - 95 lb range for us, but that is not the case. Usually the calves that need assistance are the ones that had a long hard birth. Cold weather has something to do with it too, and so do genetics. Perhaps we are lucky, but I am not going to mess with a good thing ;-)