Calving Season Routine

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randiliana

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So, in light of a couple of other posts about calving and how you do it, here is how WE do it.

First off, a few things that we do, if we have a cow calving, once the water bag is out, we expect to see a calf or significant progress within about 1/2 hour for cows and 1 hour for heifers. I would rather help out a cow that didn't really need it than leave one that DID for too long. Newborns are checked to make sure they have been up and sucked within about 4-6 hours. If they are weak, or on a cow that we are concerned may not have enough colostrum (say twins) we will milk the cow if necessary, and/or supplement with frozen or boughten colostrum. Cows calve in one area, and are moved to another shortly after calving (usually within 24 hours), this reduces problems with mis-mothering, and sick calves. Calving area is pretty much only used for calving and the Maternity area ONLY sees cows during calving season. Manure is cleaned out of both every year. Cows are sorted into the calving area on an as needed basis, so around noon we will try and snag the heavies when they come to drink, failing this, we will bring the main herd in and sort the heavies off.


We start calving about Mar 10 this year. Which can be really nice weather or really cold, or anywhere in between. On a normal year (not too cold) here's the routine. Starting about 7 AM

7 AM, first check of the day. On foot, the cows are penned up in an area small enough to walk through in a few minutes on foot. Takes about 20 minutes if things go well.

9 AM, we start feeding and bedding when all the cows are busy eating. May leave bedding til later if we have cows busy calving.

10-11 AM feeding is done. Now we will do another walk through, and bring whatever babies were born in the last 12-24 hours up to the barn for processing. Can be anywhere from 1 -10 of them, although we try to keep newborn numbers low in the calving area, to reduce the risk of mismothering. We find that around this time is a good time to move them because they are usually up and bouncing around. They have to want to move, or its not worth the effort.

11 AM - process any new babies that were brought up to the barn. This involves Tagging, banding, dehorning, weighing. Also may include some shots if needed. Then take a walk through the 'Maternity Ward' to check on the newer babies and make sure everyone is healthy.

NOON - time to eat, hopefully, if has gone well in the morning.

11 AM -2 PM - Hang around the watering bowls, and try to pick off any heavy looking cows, and redirect them down into the calving area...I will usually check this area out several times in this window of time as this is when most of them come to drink.

2-4 PM - Afternoon check.

Late Evening (7-8 PM) last check before dark. This is when (if it is really cold out) we will bring any cows that we are suspicious about up to the barn yard, or barn for the night. In theory, this makes our night checks easier... but in reality, we are often wrong about the ones we bring up...

11-12 PM/AM - Another check. This is usually my time, since I am a night owl. DH is usually in bed by around 10. I will stay up later if I have a heifer or cow calving (depending on how far along they are) to make sure things go well.

3-4 AM - DH usually does this one, and if things have been going well and the weather is nice, he may not get up.

and back to 7 AM...

As a side note, when the weather is nice, we only use the barn if we have to help a cow/heifer out. When the weather is nasty, cold below -10 C or windy (even when the temps are above freezing) most cows will go into the barn either (hopefully) before they calve, or as quickly as we find their calf.

We have a camera in the barn, in the corral outside the barn, and we are in the process of getting a PTZ set up to cover the bigger calving area.

Here's a couple videos from last year when I brought a cow up the hill to the barn. Keep in mind that she's an older cow and knew the routine, and was quite co-operative.....

Up the hill
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 3608348307
Into the Barn
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 0783091652
 
How soon before calving do you cut out your 'heavies'?
I usually aim to get mine into the calving mob two weeks beforehand, and draft from the dries once weekly. But it seems like you'd want to keep as few as possible in the calving group with that system.
 
our cows and heifers calve on pasture.they are checked in the morning to see if any calved over nite.plus to see who needs checking during the day.if any are in labor they are checked till they calve.then they are checked before dark.we check and count all calves pretty much daily.
 
Things are pretty similar around here randi, We don't have nearly as many, so a lot of the jobs take minutes instead of hours, leaving just enough time to pick up a tool and try and remember where you were in a project before you hear a moo and think that might be it!

The cows in the pasture get fed once a day, brought up to the corrals hopefully before they have a calf (not always),... the ones in the corral get fed once at midnight, and once in the morning.. I do the last check around 12-1 AM with the feeding, parents take care of the 3am and early morning checks, unless I tell them there's nothing that's going to happen.

I keep the newborns in a corral for about a day or two, make sure they know who momma is, make sure momma has no RP, tag, band, and then kick them out into a 1 acre paddock in front of the house where they learn what the electric fence is.

Rinse, Repeat!
 
Very interesting post. I love to see how other people run their places and it looks like you have everything down to a science. Very nice.
 
Supa Dexta":2n8fklar said:
Have you thought about evening feeding to try to calve more during the day?
Nope, I am not really a believer in the system, and even 1 calf in the middle of the night means someone needs to be checking...
 
regolith":38fal6yv said:
How soon before calving do you cut out your 'heavies'?
I usually aim to get mine into the calving mob two weeks beforehand, and draft from the dries once weekly. But it seems like you'd want to keep as few as possible in the calving group with that system.

We will bring the main herd home from their winter pasture(feeding area) about 10-14 days ahead of calving. Probably will do our first sort either the same day or within a couple days of bringing them home. The first sort will keep around 20 head in. Then, because they have to come right up to the corrals for water (as long as there isn't melt water laying around) we will try to pick any heavies as they come for water. Of course there are always some wily ones, and ones you miss, plus if there is a lot of water laying around they won't come to drink from the waterers. So we will usually run the whole herd through about once a week to pull of any that we have missed. A lot depends on the weather, if it is nice out, we don't worry about the odd calf being missed out in the main bunch, but if it is cold we are a lot more stringent about pulling anything that is showing. In the end, most cows will be in the calving area for about 3-7 days, have had some calve the same day we sorted, and some that will wait FOREVER before they calve...
 
I would rather have them calve during my normal waking hours, In my situation I kinda have to feed twice a day to minimize waste, so I feed early in the morning and late at night, giving them lots of time to get bored and start calving in the evening... Might not be quite as good as daytime, but it works for me. I check them regardless of whether I think they can do it on their own, or if they're looking ready or not.

I also have a few that perpetually are 'ready' 2 weeks before they actually calf.. they frustrate me!!
 
Pretty much what I do Randi, except not as many as you and I do it around a full time plumbing business.
Doesn't matter when you feed them, they still gotta' be checked. I feed early morning, and most of mine are born around 4 AM or so. Works for me, cuz' then I can go to work for awhile, return and check.
Still gotta' check at nite in bad weather, taking care of them isn't my problem, getting up is.
I have increased my fall herd to around 55 this year, sold some spring calvers, and am only gonna' be calving 37 this spring. THey should calve in a 60 day window, but most were preg checked to calve in the first 30. Smallest number to calve in probably 35 years. Glad there is so few, but I enjoy calving, so will probably miss it too. gs
 
I respect how much time and effort you guys/gals put into calving. I don't think I could stand that much effort for more than one season.
Calving here is mostly a non event. I will deal with a problem if I see it but I don't see enough problems to make it worth the time to camp on them like that.
 
CP, we have calf size and weather on our side. I think it's great that y'all look after your cows like you do. If you only save a calf or 2 a year it's well worth the effort.
 
Getting up and checking on them is the easiest (though hard to convince yourself some nights) to do, but does pay dividends... All it takes for you to lose $1500 is the water sac over the nose and the cow not starting to lick from the right end.
 
Randiliana

Do you put the cow in the barn due to the cold weather or is it more to watch for calving problems? We check our cattle morning, noon and late evening during calving, but living in Florida have never brought them up to calve they calve in the pasture but weather is not an issue. Our main farm is also 8 miles from the house so we don't check them during the night.

gizmom
 
Our routine is pretty simple. At irst light make a head count and note anythign that looks like it may be happening soon. Tag and weigh and get pictures for the grankids website any calves born over night. Repeat in the afternoon then again just at dusk.
 
The only time they go in the barn is if the weather is bad or if they are having problems. The last 2 years almost every cow went through the barn because of the weather. But we have had numerous years where we hardly use the barn as well.

One thing we have found is that on cold years we tend to help more cows, I think that is mainly because we are watching them closer so we don't lose a calf to the weather.
 
I believe its better for everyone, if they calve in the pasture. So, the only ones that I might bring in are the first calvers, if the weather starts getting rough. I don't get up and check them unless their size, age or a mystery bull warrants it. Meaning, if I buy some first timers that I don't know exactly what bull their bred to (it's been along time since I've tried this. LOL) then I go on the alert and get up every 3 hours a check them. I try to make sure they suckle then ear tag, band, Calf Guard & Vitamin D if they seem slow. B&G
 
Randi

Thanks, that is what I thought just wanted to be sure I wasn't assuming anything. I can't imagine dealing with the kind of cold some of you folks have to deal with. I am a cold weather wimp for sure. Loved the video.

gizmom
 

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