$%@#^* Calving Season
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vclavin
Well-known member
I think this is why we stopped calving in Jan & Feb. I feel sorry for those of you with this really bad weather we have been having. Hope it gets better for you. I just pray I don't have todeal with the mud like last year!!!
Valerie
PS. The smallest calf ever born here was a 48lb heifer and born on time. No problems with her and named her "Tinker Bell" she is still on the farm and raising nice calves.
Valerie
PS. The smallest calf ever born here was a 48lb heifer and born on time. No problems with her and named her "Tinker Bell" she is still on the farm and raising nice calves.
We have already finished but we had first calf heifers start three weeks early (from AI date) We had such a hot humid summer we felt that was the reason for the early calving. I would imagine the cold your dealing with is no different (Other than cold instead of hot) either one puts additional stress on cattle to carry a calf to term. When they started they just kept going we had 10 or 12 calves before we got to the earliest calving date. And these were the heifers that are kept at the house with no bull anywhere near them so they were just early. We lost two calves both were due to bad presentations one with front legs folded back, we pulled the calf it lived for just a few minutes and of course we were doing calf CPR but just to far gone. The other presented upside down and backward no hope for the calf but the heifer made it. We also had two sets of twins both survived. We don't have as tight a calving season as you folks out west we calved 82 calves in 76 days. Now should I count that 10 or 12 were way early or should I count from the actual first due date? I really don't know which date I should officially use.
I hope all goes well with your calving from here on out, maybe you have all the bad stuff out of the way now. It is heart breaking to lose a claf.
Gizmom
http://www.gizmoangus.com
http://www.gizmoangus.blogspot.com
I hope all goes well with your calving from here on out, maybe you have all the bad stuff out of the way now. It is heart breaking to lose a claf.
Gizmom
http://www.gizmoangus.com
http://www.gizmoangus.blogspot.com
Dylan Biggs
Well-known member
gizmom":1tp3puo1 said:
How many calves did you get in the last 10 days?
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
I refer to the number of days during BREEDING season. You can breed for exactly 60 days (called a 60-day calving season), but have calves spread out to ??80-90 days pretty easily - or more.
Dylan,
8 of the calves came in the last ten days of the breeding season, all but two of these were out of ten year old cows, I think the older cows are beginning to show their age a bit it is taking them longer to breed back.
Jeanne,
When we were out visiting some ranches in Montana a few years back we stopped at Van Dyke Angus, Lee and Keith were showing us around and they told us that they had a 45 day calving season. You know that really got us looking at calving season, and putting pressure on our cows to calve in a shorter period of time. At that point we were calving for 120 days, thinking we just wanted to make sure everything got bred. After that visit we have made a concentrated effort to cut our calving season. I don't honestly think we will get it to 45 days, I don't know if it is possible in this enviornment, that is a whole lot of pressure on the cow herd, but I think 60 is attainable.
Gizmom
8 of the calves came in the last ten days of the breeding season, all but two of these were out of ten year old cows, I think the older cows are beginning to show their age a bit it is taking them longer to breed back.
Jeanne,
When we were out visiting some ranches in Montana a few years back we stopped at Van Dyke Angus, Lee and Keith were showing us around and they told us that they had a 45 day calving season. You know that really got us looking at calving season, and putting pressure on our cows to calve in a shorter period of time. At that point we were calving for 120 days, thinking we just wanted to make sure everything got bred. After that visit we have made a concentrated effort to cut our calving season. I don't honestly think we will get it to 45 days, I don't know if it is possible in this enviornment, that is a whole lot of pressure on the cow herd, but I think 60 is attainable.
Gizmom
Victoria
Well-known member
ET heifer calf born 24 days early - found dead in snow.
First live calf was to a heifer who loved it but didn't love it drinking - thankfully only a day cured that.
Calf born in freezing cold and had breathing problems - 6 days of helping her drink off her mom - good thing the cow is a pet and didn't need a chute I could just stay cuddled up in the barn sitting underneath her.
Set of twins born but that cow has twins 4/5 times and doesn't have problems with them.
One calf got knocked by a cow (not her mother) hard in the eye and ended up on eye meds for a few days.
I was so happy with the 2 that had no problems. More on the way this weekend, not sure what to expect next...
First live calf was to a heifer who loved it but didn't love it drinking - thankfully only a day cured that.
Calf born in freezing cold and had breathing problems - 6 days of helping her drink off her mom - good thing the cow is a pet and didn't need a chute I could just stay cuddled up in the barn sitting underneath her.
Set of twins born but that cow has twins 4/5 times and doesn't have problems with them.
One calf got knocked by a cow (not her mother) hard in the eye and ended up on eye meds for a few days.
I was so happy with the 2 that had no problems. More on the way this weekend, not sure what to expect next...
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Had our first "assist" last night. I have cameras set up in the barn so I lay in bed & check them during the night. I had a 2 yr old 8 days late. Went into labor, broke water sac, showed tip on 1 foot. She was up & down, up & down, didn't really get pushing, so I left her for a while. Finally, woke hubby up, we went out at 3 was back in bed at 3:30. Carried our calving box, bucket of disinfectant, towel to wash her, small bucket of J-Lube with a small pump. Hubby made a comment when we got to the house - that it had been a heck of a long time since we assisted a normal presentation. Easy hand pull (with chains & handles). Didn't even use the J-Lube and pump. She was just a wimp.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
absolutely!dun":2ktso0xs said:
George
Well-known member
This minus 40 weather,sure isn't making calving season any easier.Going to be glad when my camera system comes in tomorrow.Doesn't take them young ones born outside very long to have frozen ears.Always those unexpected one's calve when it is cold outside.
novaman
Well-known member
Are you talking minus 40 in Celsius or Fahrenheit? Ok I'm just kidding because they are equal at that point. Yes it does suck when it's that cold. Ears freeze in what seems like a matter of minutes. Even if you try to get the close up cows in the barn it always seems like somebody surprises you and drops it outside while every cow in the barn does absolutely nothing until you let them back outside again. Then you get questioned as to why you calve when it's cold. Well around here we get cold spells through the spring so it's always a guessing game. Plus I hate dealing with mud and newborns. My calves start off much better if they are born when the ground is frozen.George":22dco4a9 said:
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
I totally agree. I put mine in only at night & out during the day, but I'll walk thru them & decide who goes in & inevidably, one I leave outside that shows no signs, calves & the toastie ones inside do nothing. And, yes, cold is MUCH MUCH better than the mud.novaman":3hapgjy7 said:
randiliana
Well-known member
Well, we aren't started yet, the first cow isn't due til Mar 5, but we just brought one in that is starting to show a lot. I really hope it isn't a preemie or set of preemie twins, I am 99.9% sure that there were no bulls around to get her early.
And, the 4H heifer who is due Feb 20, doesn't look like she will make that date either...... Hope they hold off for the weekend tho, we are heading out to a bull sale tomorrow and won''t be back til late Sunday....
And, the 4H heifer who is due Feb 20, doesn't look like she will make that date either...... Hope they hold off for the weekend tho, we are heading out to a bull sale tomorrow and won''t be back til late Sunday....
novaman
Well-known member
It seems like everybody I talk to says they are having calves about a week before the expected due date. I wonder what would be the cause of that?
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
I was going to comment that mine are running closer to an average of 5 days late - but, pulled my records & tallied up the + and - days = +1 day average over 22 cows. Of course, I have one 7 days late, one 4 days late & one 1 day late right now. :shock: So that would bump it up to 1.5 days late.
I think we tend to focus on the extremes - especially when they cause concern.
I only have 1 heifer left to calve - she was the only one that wasn't due 1st 2 weeks of calving season (out of 8).
I think we tend to focus on the extremes - especially when they cause concern.
I only have 1 heifer left to calve - she was the only one that wasn't due 1st 2 weeks of calving season (out of 8).
regenwether
Well-known member
I've got two on the ground and 8 penned up. This below 0 crap makes me nervous. I think this is the third year in a row it has been below normal. What happen to "Global Warming?"
Nesikep
Well-known member
we've given up on early calving... we like the beginning of march to start calving... we're in the shadow of a big mountain, so at that point the sun clears the peak and we get a lot more sun, and there's nothing better for a calf than to lay around and soak some of it up.. we've had enough frozen ears and tails, though it is true that mud is no good either... right now it's around freezing here, and there's 3" of ice on the ground everywhere, as soon as it melts off the cows will come up into the corrals... I will probably do the vaccinations in the field since I am running out of time to do it
Dylan Biggs
Well-known member
I like the second week in May in our country, then winter is pretty well done and I can enjoy calving, cows and calves seem to like it pretty welll also. :cboy:
