calf stuck

[Dap]

I had a heifer making no progress calving yesterday. I put her in the chute and found the head of the calf twisted all the way back to the left, and both front legs fully extended down. Talk about a square peg in a round hole. Anyway, it took about 2 hours to get the thing straightened out. Calf was DOA, the cow is a little slow and swollen, but at least she's up and moving.

This was the toughest calf I've had to get out. How about you all? What's the worst positions you've had to correct? Misery loves company.

 

[Crowderfarms]

I had a heifer making no progress calving yesterday. I put her in the chute and found the head of the calf twisted all the way back to the left, and both front legs fully extended down. Talk about a square peg in a round hole. Anyway, it took about 2 hours to get the thing straightened out. Calf was DOA, the cow is a little slow and swollen, but at least she's up and moving.

This was the toughest calf I've had to get out. How about you all? What's the worst positions you've had to correct? Misery loves company.

We had one 2 years ago that was hung so bad we extracated the calf a piece at a time.Lost the Cow too.We had several wrecks that year with having to pull quite a few.We shipped the Bull, and so far we are having no problems this year.

 

[warpaint]

Breach, by far the worst I've dealt with. Fortunately, I raise Longhorns now, and calving ease is one of their best qualities in my book.

 

[jkwilson]

Upside down and backwards. He lived. I stuck a fence post through the chains and twisted. When the calf was in the right position, the vet pulled. Took about an hour to get everything right and done. Like to wore all of us out.

 

[novaman]

Two hundred pound calf. Talk about a freak of nature.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Set of twins, both upside down & backwards & coming at same time! Took Ken a little to get them sorted as to what belonged to who, but pushed one back in & flipped them over & pulled each one - one at a time.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Two hundred pound calf. Talk about a freak of nature.

what breed of cow was this calf out of... simmental?

 

[Bama]

Two hundred pound calf. Talk about a freak of nature.

what breed of cow was this calf out of... simmental?

Did you have to cut the cow in half to do a c section? :shock:

 

[born2run]

Not one of my own, but saw one of my dad's cows have an embryotomy performed. Calf was dead with the head back. Holstein, of course. :roll:

 

[Workinonit Farm]

2 years ago had a 140 pounder, after an hour of pulling, both survived. Momma never really walked the same again after that.

Where I work, last year a backwards, butt first, didn't survive.

Katherine

 

[buckaroo_bif]

2 years ago had a 140 pounder, after an hour of pulling, both survived. Momma never really walked the same again after that.

Where I work, last year a backwards, butt first, didn't survive.

Katherine

:shock: holy smokin jehosaphat Katherine!

 

[ERNIBIGB]

Had one a few days ago backwards.After trying for two hours and talking to two vets on phone(one couldn't/wouldn't help,other two hours away)left her in the barn til morning.Was never before happy to look in barn and see DOA calf with momma up walking around.We had just bought the cow three weeks earlier and she werent cheap.She will be fine and will get to try again next time.

 

[buckaroo_bif]

my advice, shoot the vet

 

[novaman]

Two hundred pound calf. Talk about a freak of nature.

what breed of cow was this calf out of... simmental?

Did you have to cut the cow in half to do a c section? :shock:

The cow was 1/2 Char and 1/2 Gelb. She was 7 years old when she had this calf. She averaged 84 pound birthweights with her previous calves. She was bred to the same Gelb bull that she had been for the previous two years. So it's a big head scratcher. She had a normal length gestation and all. I think it must just be one of those freaky things you hear about. And yes we had to have the vet come out and do a c-section. First one we've ever had to do on our ranch.

 

[longhorn314]

I had a heifer last year bred to a charlois and the calf was breech.The calf was already dead in her and the vet had to cut the calf up to get it out and lost the heifer 2 weeks later due to paralysis.I had to pull several by that charlois and he got shipped off after losing that cow.

 

[Beefy]

we had a heifer with an ectopic pregnancy one time. lost em both.

another time when i was 16 i was checking on cows right after school like i did every day and there was a heifer down in a waterhole with a dead calf hiplocked so i had to wade out in the water and pull the calf, underwater. yeah, i had a normal childhood. :roll:

then there was the rotten calf that fell apart every time you pulled on an appendage. so you wound up falling on your butt with rotten crockpot juice all over you, and a leg (or whatever you happened to be pulling on). real nice!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

we had a heifer with an ectopic pregnancy one time. lost em both.

another time when i was 16 i was checking on cows right after school like i did every day and there was a heifer down in a waterhole with a dead calf hiplocked so i had to wade out in the water and pull the calf, underwater. yeah, i had a normal childhood. :roll:

then there was the rotten calf that fell apart every time you pulled on an appendage. so you wound up falling on your butt with rotten crockpot juice all over you, and a leg (or whatever you happened to be pulling on). real nice!

eeewww = you win!!!

 

[buckaroo_bif]

whats a epotopic pregnancy beefy? :oops:

 

[LFF]

Last night was my toughest yet. I tried calving a register angus heifer to BT Righ Time 24J and bred her when she was 14 1/2 months old. The calf weighed 72 pounds so I can not complain about the bull. According to state university recources; producers should breed their heifers to calve at approximately 24 months of age. They also say you need to preform a pelvic exam to determine if they should calve safely. I did not do the exam , big mistake! The heifer weighs 950 pounds and has a body score of 6, her frame size is a 5. The calfs head came first and feet stayed under calf. This should not have been terribly difficult to correct but it was. Her pelvic area is too small to get a hold on the feet with the calves head out. We pushed the calfs head back in and still could not get both feet pulled up into the birth canal. We got one foot and the head back into the canal and used mechanical pullers to finally get the calf out. The heifer is walking but came close to being paralyazed, calfs dead. All of this could have and should have been done differently and with positive results. The following should have been done.

1) pelvic exam and cull due to small pelvic
2) call vet for assistance.....I called experienced help not vet
3) have vet preform C-section
4) let heifers get older before breeding ...... not recommended because of creating register calves that will not preform to commercial producers needs

Any thoughs?
Thanks

 

[MikeC]

Last night was my toughest yet. I tried calving a register angus heifer to BT Righ Time 24J and bred her when she was 14 1/2 months old. The calf weighed 72 pounds so I can not complain about the bull. According to state university recources; producers should breed their heifers to calve at approximately 24 months of age. They also say you need to preform a pelvic exam to determine if they should calve safely. I did not do the exam , big mistake! The heifer weighs 950 pounds and has a body score of 6, her frame size is a 5. The calfs head came first and feet stayed under calf. This should not have been terribly difficult to correct but it was. Her pelvic area is too small to get a hold on the feet with the calves head out. We pushed the calfs head back in and still could not get both feet pulled up into the birth canal. We got one foot and the head back into the canal and used mechanical pullers to finally get the calf out. The heifer is walking but came close to being paralyazed, calfs dead. All of this could have and should have been done differently and with positive results. The following should have been done.

1) pelvic exam and cull due to small pelvic
2) call vet for assistance.....I called experienced help not vet
3) have vet preform C-section
4) let heifers get older before breeding ...... not recommended because of creating register calves that will not preform to commercial producers needs

Any thoughs?
Thanks

Sometimes these things just happen when everything has been done to insure them not to.

If you continue to have calves you will lose some. That's a fact.