Calving in late summer

[snoopdog]

Despite the obvious potential fly problems , what are your concerns ? I like the fact that they will be a little more hardy going into their first winter. The potential for yearling sales , with minimal input, in jan/feb looks pretty good, thoughts ?

 

[farmerjan]

Actually, we are going to push our fall calving group back from Sept/Oct to start in August if possible. Bulls are going in the first of Nov instead of Thanksgiving. Both in the older cows and the young first calf ones. I also want to get the calves a little bigger going into winter and to have them a little bigger to sell in spring as feeders. In fact, I have our fall group of first calf heifers having their calves in early Sept and the calves seem to eat a little better by the time we get into cold weather. Last year we had no real winter, but I am afraid if we get a tough winter the calves will not do as good and the young cows will lose too much condition. Bull will be going in with them in 2 weeks, some of the calves will only be 30 days and some have not calved yet. They were at the tail end at the preg check so may just get held over to become spring calvers .

We haven't had too much fly problem with the fall calves, knock on wood. More pinkeye earlier than late in the season. Not near as many buzzards around this time of year so that's a plus. Nor do we have the coyotes in the fall as much. We still have more calving in the spring, but since I do most of the calving/checking, I told my son I wanted to back them up a month in the fall. We have plenty of hay, so that is not a concern and I can creep feed if I have to, or supplement the young cows with protein. We will be feeding some grain sorghum silage to some at the one farm. If it doesn't work, they can always be held the following year to go back to regular fall calving in Sept/Oct.....Have 8 virgin heifers and 8 first calf that will all get bred back to the easy calving bull, then when they have the 2nd calf will get assimulated into the cow herd. Unless they are real big, they get bred to easy calving bulls for 2 years. Then they seem to just go on and have no problems in the future. This is what works for us, might not fit anyone else's program.

 

[Chocolate Cow]

Snoopdog, I'm in Kansas and have a spring and a fall calving herd. Falls usually start calving the 5th of Sept. As hot as we are in September I sometimes think I have them starting too early. Heat is so awful hard on a newborn calf. The cows calve for 60 days so if I try to push farther into Sept, I'll find myself into winter with baby calves and that's not good either. August calving is a big no-no around here. Best thing is to have shade trees or something that offers shade in your calving pasture. As for flies--I have a 15 gallon sprayer filled with insecticide on my Gator and spray the cows often. Dumping out a bag of cubes allows me to spray them really well. Mostly, they don't like being sprayed. I watch the condition on my fall cows closely. They're trying to keep warm, recover from calving, breed back and raise a calf. Protein is sure necessary. I don't short them on mineral and salt. Bulls go in around Thanksgiving time and come out 60 days later. A fall herd is nice for cash flow. I have two calf crops to sell every year. Fall cows can be expensive so I think it's important to watch the size of the cow. Those huge 1,600-1,800+lb cows won't work. A smaller size cow seems to be very adaptable to a fall herd situation. my :2cents:

 

[snoopdog]

Thanks , agree that heat is also an issue, we have lots of shade. Turned the bull in yesterday despite advice to the contrary , I would have waited another 2 weeks at least probably but had to take posession . After getting him up and him developing a sort of nasty attitude about it , Idecided to take him straight to the field instead of bringing him to the homeplace . We started calving this year at the very end of july and just finished , hoping to tighten that up for sure , should be a couple of weeks before he goes to work , from observations .

 

[Lucky_P]

"Fall" calving season here is slated to begin Aug 1... but we invariably have some that come as much as 2 weeks early... and it's invariably doggone hot, which can pose some problems, when mama puts that black baby down out in the open and goes to the shade, leaving the little feller to heatstroke out there in the sun.
But... by calving in early Aug... cows are 3 months or more into lactation before we pull them in off pasture and start feeding - so, they're past their peak nutritional drain before they hit any limited nutrition issues that may be posed by our limit-feeding system - and... the calves learn to eat the ration they'll be expected to consume at weaning time next spring.

 

[TCRanch]

"Fall" calving season here is slated to begin Aug 1... but we invariably have some that come as much as 2 weeks early... and it's invariably doggone hot, which can pose some problems, when mama puts that black baby down out in the open and goes to the shade, leaving the little feller to heatstroke out there in the sun.
But... by calving in early Aug... cows are 3 months or more into lactation before we pull them in off pasture and start feeding - so, they're past their peak nutritional drain before they hit any limited nutrition issues that may be posed by our limit-feeding system - and... the calves learn to eat the ration they'll be expected to consume at weaning time next spring.

I have actually parked the Polaris next to a calf left out in the sun and secured golf umbrellas in the utility holes, moving/repositioning as necessary and occasionally giving the calf electrolytes. All while I reconsider why I even kept the cow (or in most cases 1st calf heifer) in the first place.

 

[cowgirl8]

We had a new calf the other day...We were like WTH. Any other herd and i'd say a neighbors bull got in, but not this herd. No other neighboring cattle. Its a mystery...Her tag fell off so when we get them up, i'll check her number. We did move some from another herd who had a bull with them all winter.. But, still, she would have calved way before since we moved them in Dec...

 

[VirginiaCattle]

We top out in the lower 80's here due to elevation so I'd like all the Fall calves to arrive on August 15th if I could pick a date.

 

[Ky hills]

Most years, we end up with a few straglers that calve in June-August. Most times they do ok, but it seems like they don't grow quite as well as other calves born earlier. Sometimes they tend to just lay around out in the sun. This year we had a few more than usual come late, and we had a fiasco with them, pinkeye didn't bother the older calves much at all, but some of the late born calves got pinkeye very quickly, also treated 3 for pneumonia, and we had to treat one for being flyblown.
Another issue that may be somewhat trivial to some, is that when we have calves born in Feb and March, I am still feeding the cows some grain regular, and those calves come up along with the cows and soon learn to eat. They are much more calm and easy to handle, than the ones that are born later, when the cows are just on pasture and even though I still feed them some they don't regularly come, and the calves are noticeably more flighty.

 

[Brute 23]

Put a little ear on them and go fishing. :tiphat:

 

[snoopdog]

Put a little ear on them and go fishing. :tiphat:

SHOOT ,then Id have to put a blanket on em this winter :lol:

 

[Post Oak]

A few years I was at a point (2012?)when my cows were calving from August to October. I had to make a decision about wether to stay there and fall calve or leave my bull in year around and move them back to spring calving over a few years. Well several years later I have the results of leaving my bull in year round to try to move them over "the hump" (summer). The cows with Brahman influence are spring calving now and the straight Angus and Herefords have stalled out in July because they won't concieve until it gets cool in October. I wouldn't calve in August/September in my part of the world unless I had Brahman influenced cows coupled with plenty of stockpiled fescue and/or winter annual pastures. A cow standing beside a hay ring eating hay with a calf nursing her makes no sense to me.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

We calve August-October except for heifers. I've never had one freeze to death or mashed to death near a bale ring in the mud like when we calved early spring. Keeping pastures free of tall weeds is key to dodging pinkeye outbreaks, and healthy cattle don't generally have an issue. (I'm not starting a mineral debate.....) Pinkeye vaccine is cheap. I have more time in the winter, so it's easier for me to get calves worked, etc if we calve in the "fall". We have a very good vet, and he swore to me that there is nothing a fly carries that will kill a calf. Every calving season has it's advantages. This is the one that works for us.

 

[HDRider]

Interesting read.

 

[Lucky_P]

We have both Spring and Fall calving groups.
While the heat may be an issue for the very earliest of those 'Fall' calves, it's still nothing like the problems we can encounter with snow/mud, etc. in the 'Spring' group... although we shoot for March-April calves, some invariably come in Feb.
I'd a whole lot rather deal with pushing a calf to the shade than having to bring one in to the house to warm up after its dam pushed it out into 6" (or 18") of snow, and it melted down to the ground, with its legs sticking up in the air, or the calf can't find the udder, 'cause it's down in the snow.

 

[angus9259]

Falls usually start calving the 5th of Sept. As hot as we are in September I sometimes think I have them starting too early. Heat is so awful hard on a newborn calf. The cows calve for 60 days so if I try to push farther into Sept, I'll find myself into winter with baby calves and that's not good either. August calving is a big no-no around here.

X2. If I were in OK, I would start end sept. In MI, 9/1 - 10/15 is about the best window.

 

[angus9259]

We have both Spring and Fall calving groups.
While the heat may be an issue for the very earliest of those 'Fall' calves, it's still nothing like the problems we can encounter with snow/mud, etc. in the 'Spring' group... although we shoot for March-April calves, some invariably come in Feb.
I'd a whole lot rather deal with pushing a calf to the shade than having to bring one in to the house to warm up after its dam pushed it out into 6" (or 18") of snow, and it melted down to the ground, with its legs sticking up in the air, or the calf can't find the udder, 'cause it's down in the snow.

X2

I got out of "spring" calving altogether for these reasons. April could still mean blizzard here. Or worse - 38 degrees and rain.