Calves and Old cows

[Banjo]

I have been seeing some thing this year that i find puzzling. Last year my favorite cow in the herd didn't calve, She is probably 10 years old at least. Up till now she has always been one of the first to calve....usually a nice size calf, the cow always stayed in good condition...i.e. an easy keeper. I let her pass on not calving and this year she has had a calf at least 6 weeks into the calving season and her calf is smaller than usual...compared to the rest, but it is doing fine....not growing by leaps and bounds but some...otherwise healthy.
My thinking is .....after having set out for one year it looks like she would have a nice big calf that would hit the ground running.
I also have another older cow, 10 years or older that just had a smaller than average calf.
Is it just the age that is causing these small late calves and should I just sell the ones especially the older one that don't calve in a certain calving window?

 

[TCRanch]

Same bull as the other cows & previous years? Age & nutrition are certainly factors. Some of my older cows are still calving on schedule but their calves are getting smaller, not as slick, not putting on as much weight. Still keeping condition, short solid mouth, good udders but I definitely won't be retaining any heifers from them any more. Cull prices are pretty low so I'm keeping them as long as they still raise a decent calf. I culled hard last year based on a defined calving window, most of which weren't older cows. Is this a hobby, money making operation or are you sentimental to some of the older ones that have earned the right to die on your ranch? Whether you keep or cull is entirely up to you!

 

[gcreekrch]

That old girl told you she was done when she came up empty.

 

[Nesikep]

Could she have bad teeth or something causing her to not eat properly?

I've only "retired" a few cows here.. they come up open and maybe I'll give them the summer.. that's only for exceptional ones that have given me like 15 calves that have done well themselves... This year it's my dad's 'pet'.. she's 16, she'll calf in the fall sometime.. kinda thinking she was a dumbass and ate pine needles and aborted.

 

[Banjo]

Same bull as the other cows & previous years? Age & nutrition are certainly factors. Some of my older cows are still calving on schedule but their calves are getting smaller, not as slick, not putting on as much weight. Still keeping condition, short solid mouth, good udders but I definitely won't be retaining any heifers from them any more. Cull prices are pretty low so I'm keeping them as long as they still raise a decent calf. I culled hard last year based on a defined calving window, most of which weren't older cows. Is this a hobby, money making operation or are you sentimental to some of the older ones that have earned the right to die on your ranch? Whether you keep or cull is entirely up to you!

Yes this is a money making operation. The cow in question wasn't fat or thin just good condition. I know I should have culled her now.....I just kept waiting for her to calve and she never did.
I guess I'm thinking that those that are late in the calving window should probably be culled instead of doing too much wishful thinking,

 

[Banjo]

That old girl told you she was done when she came up empty.

Yes. You're right

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

I have a nice 9 year old half angus- half simmental cow (BC Lookout) that is taking a ride this year. She has had several AI calves, but I mostly use her for a recip. She always stuck the first embryo, and looked good raising a calf. Last year she got real thin raising her calf, and I had the vet check her. Nothing specific, just getting older. This year, she is open. We have put two embryos in her and AI'd her twice. I tried one cycle with the yearling bull we have, and figured I would sell her as a bred at the auction. She came back in at 14 days post her live cover (and she had a bleed off after the live cover so I know she ovulated). Time to take a ride. She is still young, but she has told me for two years now that she is done.

 

[greybeard]

It's fall on the cow outfit.

Time to get out the WD-40 and grease up the handles on the squeeze chute. Maybe find the three or four syringes that work, buy some new gaskets and barrels along with a box of needles. Time to look for the ear tagger, nose tongs and dehorning saw. You could stock up on hot-shot batteries and plastic whips and shovel out the chute floor before it freezes.

That'll be the easy part of workin' your cows this fall, the mechanical tasks associated with good management. Yet, laying in wait like the hangover after the night before, is that ominous responsibility that all good cowmen dread … that's right, boys … the open cow.

You know they are in the bunch. And you can bet your hired help, your neighbors and your family will all be lookin' over your shoulder anxious to see your decision. They will be full of advice. But, in the end, whether you keep that open cow or not, will be strictly between you and her.

Say she bangs into the chute. Her teeth are good, she's fat, 5 years old and just weaned a 550-pound calf. The vet shouts "Open!" The vaccinators are poised waiting for your decision. You rapidly calculate that open cow will bring $880 at the sale Wednesday.

You dither, remembering her first calf. You had to pull it. It was a cold night in February. The two of you spent four hours in the shed getting' that calf to suck. Once he was goin', she took 'im and never looked back! Dang, you hate to see her go. You bite the bullet. … "Cull her!" you say, but you can't look her in the eye.

In comes a first-calf heifer. Sorta thin, not full grown. She's showin' some potential but when the preg-checker calls out "Open!" you realize she won't have a calf next spring. If she settles, she'll wean her second calf 24 months from today. That's a long time to hold your inventory. "Cull 'er," you say. Wow! Yer, feelin' like a businessman!

In the last chute load, an old redneck mama comes through. You recognize her. When the boy punches her with the hot shot, you wince. Popcorn teeth, hollow flanks and a scruffy tailhead. Her bag hangs like a four-dollar drape. She raised a big strappin' calf this year but it took all she had.

She was in the first bunch of heifers you bought when you took over the ranch 12 years ago. She put you over the fence a time or two but now she doesn't seem to care. Too old, too wore out. "Open," comes the intrusion.

The silence is heavy. Your eyes travel down her spine and back to her lifeless eyes. "Run 'er one more year!" 'She'll die on this place.' Nobody says a word.

Baxter Black is a cowboy, veterinarian, poet and humorist. His website is www.baxterblack.com.

 

[Little Cow]

I love Baxter Black.

My herd is cut way back. The market bottomed out for my breed. We already culled as much as we could when we moved to a smaller farm. All we have left are the pets. My decisions are much easier now. An open cow means one less calf to raise, lol!