bumping calves

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GMN

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Does anyone know a sure fire way to accurately bump a calf, and get accurate results? I ran into this man at the vet office awhile ago, he said they bump their cows at a certain time, and get it within a few weeks of calving everytime, any thoughts?

Gail
 
when i milked cows.id always bump them.most times you can bump the calf at 6 to 7 months.depending on how an where the calf is laying.an it worked for us.if we had cows we couldnt bump.we wouldd have the vet arm them.
 
We wait until before feeding usually in the late afternoon, right side of the cow right behind the ribs. Some cows are really easy to bounce and some calves kick back, that's a real pleasant surprise. Other cows I just can't feel the calf and end up with a cow that wants to lean on me. I try to give them a bounce every time I'm feeding or working...yeah, I know...pets, well maybe a few. Dmc
 
Thanks for the replies, I'll have to give it a try. I usually have the vet out every couple of months, but I thought if I could bump them and then go with the date I saw them with the bull, I could save myself the extra work of having him come out and running them thru the barn. Thanks again.

Gail
 
bigbull338":ypyrq4gm said:
when i milked cows.id always bump them.most times you can bump the calf at 6 to 7 months.depending on how an where the calf is laying.an it worked for us.if we had cows we couldnt bump.we wouldd have the vet arm them.
Click to expand...
If you're still wondering at 7 mo, if a cow is bred you aren't much of a cowman.
 
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way to go la.once again you prove that your dense.an that all you know how todo is make fun of ppl.go a head make fun of me an my ways all you want.it just shows how little you know.if i dont know somerhing i dont blow off unlike you.your 1 of the know nothings on this board.b/c you go round making fun of people thats smarter than you.
 
GMN":3hma9m38 said:
Thanks for the replies, I'll have to give it a try. I usually have the vet out every couple of months, but I thought if I could bump them and then go with the date I saw them with the bull, I could save myself the extra work of having him come out and running them thru the barn. Thanks again.

Gail
Click to expand...

I wouldn't stop palpating. My boss runs herd bulls and we see most of the cycles, but not all. Seems we still miss a few. We have the vet out on a regular basis and there are always some cows that I never saw cycle, but they're bred. And then we have one dry cow right now that should have calved around the first of the year, but I must have missed seeing two, if not three cycles. She's already had 90 days dry. The vet checked her and says she is bred, but has a ways to go yet. Oops.

Some of the big gutted cows with a lot of volume you can't find a calf on. Cows with twins are sometimes hard to bump a calf on. Small cows aren't usually too hard. After 150-180 days the calf is big enough to bump - whether a person can find them or not is another matter.

Dairy cows NEED 45-60 days dry - short them much more than that and production is severely reduced for that lactation. Speaking from experience. By palpating you have a much better knowledge of how many days bred they are and when to dry them off. My vet is most accurate between 32 and ~90 days bred (usually to the day); over that and he can be off by as much as 30 days. I can guess if a cow is open or bred by when I saw her covered or thought I could bump a calf, but I would not make any culling or dry-off decisions based on that.

To be honest, it'd be a very poor management practice to rely solely on bumping as your means of pregnancy confirmation. You'd have to wait until six months after seeing a cow serviced before you have a chance of knowing if she's bred or not, and in the meantime you might be keeping an open cow - or one with a chronic uterine infection. Or you might miss seeing a few cycles and the cow ends up without any dry time, or only a few days dry. Again- it would be a very poor management practice to rely solely on bumping as your means of pregnancy confirmation. More accurately - it would be stupid.
 
bigbull338":y21rn1yk said:
way to go la.once again you prove that your dense.an that all you know how todo is make fun of ppl.go a head make fun of me an my ways all you want.it just shows how little you know.if i dont know somerhing i dont blow off unlike you.your 1 of the know nothings on this board.b/c you go round making fun of people thats smarter than you.
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With a cow bred for seven months, any decent cowman shouldn't be wondering if she is bred. It should be pretty obvious.
 
I have always had the vet out, but I am a one person operation during the week, with many responsibilities, other than just milking and feeding calves, and all else. I KNOW it is best to have a vet out to check cows, I know there are some cows who you think are bred that have cysts, infections, etc.. even if they have been previously treated for infections, they still linger sometimes, I know bumping calves is an art learned thru experience, however I know a few very good dairy people who do rely on this method, are they all stupid, I don't think so. Did I say I was going to rely solely on this, I'm just asking for info and advice. I think you did offer some very good advice, but saying anyone who relies on bumping is stupid, is not very nice in my book. I have accepted there are many ways to farm out there, every farm is different, I realy like this site and have learned alot from other people, I'm always looking for better ways, or different ways of doing things.

Thanks to all for their advice.

GMN
 
I never said a person that relied on bumping as their means of preg checking was stupid. I said that to rely solely on bumping or not bumping a calf as a means of preg checking, and therefore dry-off or culling, would be a downright stupid management practice, and I will stand by that. I didn't say anything about you or anyone you might know who bumps calves, only about management practices, but if you want to take it personally, that's your call.

I know folks that bump calves - my boss frequently bumps calves before drying a cow off unless she was preg checked close to the dry off date - but, he has all cows palpated once to confirm pregnancy and most done twice before drying them off.
 
good for your boss, and no I didn't take it personally, life is too short to get all riled up over the lil stuff.

GMN
 
You would be better off to palpate. I have helped alot of folks in getting their cattle AI'ed. I also taught them how to palpate and AI. I guess you can bump them and I do know how, but dang when they are in the chute getting worked it takes no time at all to palpate them.
 
hopalong":35x8wu0i said:
almost afraid to ask this, so many educated cattlemen seem to ridicule those of us that want to learn! but how do you Bump them!
Click to expand...

On the right side of the cow, just behind the ribs...........

Take your fist and push sharply straight into the cow several times to get the innards rocking. If there is a large calf in there and you are at the correct spot you can feel it.
 

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