checking cattle

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Like the Canadians - it gets REAL cold here.
I have calving pens in the barn with cameras. Heifers are brought up close about 2 weeks prior to due date (100% AI) and cows about 1 week - kept in about 2 acre lot that I can observe from house. Anyone looking "imminant" gets put in barn during night & out early am. Whenever I wake up during night, I check TV to see if anything going on (from bed!), if not I roll over & go back to sleep. If someone is in labor, I sleep lightly & check often (hubby doesn't have a clue when something is going on).
Cow/calf pairs get to stay in barn about 24 hours - depending on the weather & space needed for next calvers.
It is RARE that we need to assist - mainly abnormal presentations - but it can mean a live calf or a dead one - I much prefer a live one. Costing $450/year (average around here) to keep a cow, that's the only thing she gives me to pay that bill.
Calving starts 1-30 this year.

 

[L Weir]

Everybody is close to the house so I can watch them through out the day. We check in morning and at night. Heifers already calved this year. So far no problems, of course tht can all change.

 

[Angus In Texas]

We check once a day. We all have full time jobs that keep us from being around more. We don't check at night. Never really freezes hard enough to worry about it.

 

[R. John Johnson]

Once every 2 hours once calving starts. If there is a storm on, then maybe every hour. If it is late in the season and the weather is nice I MIGHT extend to 3 hour intervals. I keep the close cows in a pen right beside the barn so anyone can be put in right away with a minimum of fuss. For the really cold weather we have a heated 4' X 8" room for calves. I would really love to have a heated room big enough for a pair and cameras to check the close pen, but the economics of the bussiness right now don't allow for that.

John

 

[rockridgecattle]

once i read all these post, i thought we were over doing it. John, I'm glad I'm not the only one who checks every two hours, and yes when it gets warmer, less night checks.

 

[R. John Johnson]

When you are calving in this cold weather you don't have much choice. I like to have the pair inside the pole barn until they are mothered up. Its a lot easier for her to carry that calf in the barn than me :lol: Inside that barn is always significantly warmer and there is a better chance that a warm calf will nurse unassisted for the first time. Also no worries about frozen ears.

When I'm doing the night shift I use an old truck to check the close pen and the main herd. I sleep on the couch since I find it easier to wake up and go if I'm not crawling out of a warm bed . If nothing is calving I can complete a check in 15 minutes and be back to sleep.

John

 

[Bama]

Ya'll got to have a tough time in the extreme cold. I'm glad we don't have that to wory about.

 

[cypressfarms]

Taken from most recent issue of Hereford World:

Five year consecutive study at K State:

Cows were fed hay daily from 4 to 6 p.m.

The cows gave birth as follows:

6 to 10 a.m. 34.23%
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 21.23%
2 to 6 p.m. 29.83%
6 - 10 p.m. 8.41%
10 p.m. - 2 a.m. 4.40%
2 to 6 a.m. 0.91%


Looks like we should not worry and sleep more!

 

[rockridgecattle]

I told the husband about that a few years ago. Pushed him to try it. Worked and convinced him. He tried it. Fed in the late afternoon,evening time frame. Cows stuffed themselves stupid and all calved at 2-4 am. No sleep that year. Oh were we tired.
Does not always work

 

[msscamp]

once i read all these post, i thought we were over doing it. John, I'm glad I'm not the only one who checks every two hours, and yes when it gets warmer, less night checks.

No, you're not the only one who checks every two hours. Our heifers that were close were brought up to a pen close to the house and checked every 2 hours, pretty much around the clock - the longest they went without checking was 4 hours. The cows were on pasture, and monitored throughout the day, and checked before dark - but they were on their own after nightfall.

 

[TheBullLady]

Burrr... all this talk about calving in the winter for you "northerners" makes me really glad we moved south 15 years ago! I don't miss THAT at all!

Here in Texas we put the heifers that are close in the yard (approx. 15 acres) so I can check them right before bed. You can usually tell if they're getting started by then.. if nothing is going on, I'll check at first light. The cows calve in the pasture, but I check on them 3 - 4 times a day regardless. I'm not worried about calving ease, but as mentioned before, some sort of weird presentation!

 

[novatech]

Burrr... all this talk about calving in the winter for you "northerners" makes me really glad we moved south 15 years ago! I don't miss THAT at all!

Here in Texas we put the heifers that are close in the yard (approx. 15 acres) so I can check them right before bed. You can usually tell if they're getting started by then.. if nothing is going on, I'll check at first light. The cows calve in the pasture, but I check on them 3 - 4 times a day regardless. I'm not worried about calving ease, but as mentioned before, some sort of weird presentation!

After yesterday I believe I'm going to put in one of those 15 acre calving pastures.
I new a cow was fixing to calve so I went and checked on her. Well it took me at least an hour to find her. She was in thick brush next to a gully and the calf was on the way. I left and came back an hour later. The delivery went well but there was a problem. The calf at some point slid down the side of the gully and got trapped under a log. The cow must have realized I was there to help and left me alone. (Brahman cow) I could not move the log by hand so I ended up using a skid steer and grapples. After removing the log I got off the loader and got the calf standing. Mom informed me that I had done my job and it was time for me to go. I spent the next 2 hrs. clearing a path for the calf to be able to get out.
Yep a nice clean 15 acre pasture sure would had made things a lot safer. That is just large enough to not have to destrub them when calving, and still get to them if there is a problem.

 

[dun]

After yesterday I believe I'm going to put in one of those 15 acre calving pastures.
I new a cow was fixing to calve so I went and checked on her. Well it took me at least an hour to find her. She was in thick brush next to a gully and the calf was on the way. I left and came back an hour later. The delivery went well but there was a problem. The calf at some point slid down the side of the gully and got trapped under a log. The cow must have realized I was there to help and left me alone. (Brahman cow) I could not move the log by hand so I ended up using a skid steer and grapples. After removing the log I got off the loader and got the calf standing. Mom informed me that I had done my job and it was time for me to go. I spent the next 2 hrs. clearing a path for the calf to be able to get out.
Yep a nice clean 15 acre pasture sure would had made things a lot safer. That is just large enough to not have to destrub them when calving, and still get to them if there is a problem.

If there is one stick or bump in it you can still spend and hour trying to find them when they want to be hidden.

 

[rockridgecattle]

After yesterday I believe I'm going to put in one of those 15 acre calving pastures.
I new a cow was fixing to calve so I went and checked on her. Well it took me at least an hour to find her. She was in thick brush next to a gully and the calf was on the way. I left and came back an hour later. The delivery went well but there was a problem. The calf at some point slid down the side of the gully and got trapped under a log. The cow must have realized I was there to help and left me alone. (Brahman cow) I could not move the log by hand so I ended up using a skid steer and grapples. After removing the log I got off the loader and got the calf standing. Mom informed me that I had done my job and it was time for me to go. I spent the next 2 hrs. clearing a path for the calf to be able to get out.
Yep a nice clean 15 acre pasture sure would had made things a lot safer. That is just large enough to not have to destrub them when calving, and still get to them if there is a problem.

My father in law spent near 25 years calving on a whole 1/4 section. After many hidden cow/calves hunts, trees that caught the cap or touque, (only to never be found) middle of the night searches he decided to paddock them off while calving. They still calve almost half mile from home (yard on one end of the quarter, the calving area on the other) but this paddock is narrow and is fenced off allowing them to come home daily for water and exercise...which is very good for them and calving. Sometimes they come home 2x a day. We have them calves so far away because there is bush there and it is high ground for when the thaw comes.

 

[Texas Gal]

I put the heifers up in a trap by the barn then check them morning & evening - as I'm going to work and coming from work. The cows are checked in the evening. Both my husband & I work in town full time so we don't have the luxury of checking every 2 hours.

 

[Victoria]

We AI a few and then I write down the ones I see with bulls. This year there was a lot of night breeding so I only know about half the herd. We don't really have set times, it depends on who looks like they are going to do something. We keep a record on each cow and on that record are any calving notes. One says "Takes FOREVER. Started walking at 4:00 AM had at 2:00 PM ..." Another "Surprised me, came to hay doing nothing by time I was done feeding had calf...." We'd check those two differently. General rule though is 2-4 hours 24 hours a day depending on the weather. When we see one calving we stay with it. The heifers are in a smaller area behind the house.