checking times

[nobull82]

Just curious on how often everyone else checks heifers/cows that are getting close. And once they calve and the calf is up walking and sucking how often do you check the pair?

 

[TexasBred]

No real schedule. Just watch, leave them alone and let nature take it's course.

 

[Jessica06]

Heifers, 2-3 times during the day and once at night, if nothing is happening. Calving heifers, we watch like a hawk until they calve. Cows are checked 1-2 times during the day. We have a 90 day season, and ultrasound to get due dates, which helps as far as which cows need to be watched more than others.

 

[TexasBred]

Heifers, 2-3 times during the day and once at night, if nothing is happening. Calving heifers, we watch like a hawk until they calve. Cows are checked 1-2 times during the day. We have a 90 day season, and ultrasound to get due dates, which helps as far as which cows need to be watched more than others.

Do you have that much calving problems are just being very cautious??

 

[nobull82]

No calving problems due to checking just curious, I heard some folks check every 2-4 hours day and night

 

[branguscowgirl]

I have a calving field just beside the house. I can see everything from the windows. At night, I will go out once or twice if I think they are close.
I watch not because I have calving problems, but because I enjoy knowing what's going on.

 

[regolith]

Heifers, 2-3 times during the day and once at night, if nothing is happening. Calving heifers, we watch like a hawk until they calve. Cows are checked 1-2 times during the day. We have a 90 day season, and ultrasound to get due dates, which helps as far as which cows need to be watched more than others.

Do you have that much calving problems are just being very cautious??

I would have thought by checking less frequently you effectively wouldn't be able to do anything about calving problems anyway.
My 'no longer than 6-hr' checks are primarily for milk fever, as I can pretty much guarantee saving a cow that was showing no sign of milk fever six hours previous. But they're also really helpful for knowing how long a cow has been in labour (thus whether to intervene at once or look at her in another hour is an easy decision). And for pulling live calves instead of finding expired ones, where assistance is needed.
Calf identification is easier also, as I tag the calves as soon as possible before the cows start swapping them around or hiding them.

Didn't like having my cows looked after by managers who couldn't identify calves correctly to their mothers... it strongly suggested a lack of enthusiasm, in which case I think they should be in another job. I can't wait to see the new arrivals when calving season starts.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Watching cattle calve is more curiosity than anything else, checking them often is not because they need help so much as that it is so much easier to tag newly dried calves compared to 1 day olds.

 

[kucala5]

Random watching during the day, then 8PM, 12AM and 4AM during the night with heifers that are due or any 2nd calf mama that had an issue last year.

 

[Jessica06]

Heifers, 2-3 times during the day and once at night, if nothing is happening. Calving heifers, we watch like a hawk until they calve. Cows are checked 1-2 times during the day. We have a 90 day season, and ultrasound to get due dates, which helps as far as which cows need to be watched more than others.

Do you have that much calving problems are just being very cautious??

I wouldn't say we have a lot of problems, but seeing as our cattle pay the bills, even 1 lost calf is a lost $1400 paycheck! That, and the buzzards here are terrible. We saved a registered bull calf the other day, who probably would have been dead if we'd waited a few more hours to check them...it happens fast sometimes. 98# out of a heifer, with *almost*-never-miss calving ease on both sides.
He might be special, so I'm glad we check so much!!!

 

[Big Cheese]

We check ours twice a day usually and if one is about to calf we will check more. The only time we check at night is if the cow in question has had trouble calving before or we are just scared there could be problems. The cow could be a smaller cow or a heifer or a cow we have never seen calve before so we would check them later at night. So far we have had good luck with it....all live calves this calving season and only had to help with one (knock on wood) since 2013. We did lose 3 during those 2 weeks of freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Having a good mineral and protein supplement will help the cows with calving as well and also help the calves develop inside the cow. We dont put out salt blocks for our cows we make them get their salt from the mineral....that way they get the mineral in their system as well as getting the salt. This has worked for us...just my 2 cents on the matter.

 

[dun]

Sort of depends on the weather. We checdk at first light to see is something needs tagging and weighing, then if the weather isn;t too bad or the weather is REAL bad we'll check around lunch time, then again just before dark. We have one hefier left to calf but she's a ways off yet but we;ll keep a closer eye on her when she gets close.

 

[Dave]

My daughter and her husband check every two hours but that has more to do with calving out 600 in February in Montana but that has more to do with numbers, location and weather. Since I sold off the majority of the cows and went to raising bred heifers I check once a day at feeding time. But there are only 7 cows to calf and they all get bred to the heifer clean up bull who is well bred for calving ease and they are all fairly big roomy cows.

 

[TexasBred]

Heifers, 2-3 times during the day and once at night, if nothing is happening. Calving heifers, we watch like a hawk until they calve. Cows are checked 1-2 times during the day. We have a 90 day season, and ultrasound to get due dates, which helps as far as which cows need to be watched more than others.

Do you have that much calving problems are just being very cautious??

I wouldn't say we have a lot of problems, but seeing as our cattle pay the bills, even 1 lost calf is a lost $1400 paycheck! That, and the buzzards here are terrible. We saved a registered bull calf the other day, who probably would have been dead if we'd waited a few more hours to check them...it happens fast sometimes. 98# out of a heifer, with *almost*-never-miss calving ease on both sides.
He might be special, so I'm glad we check so much!!!

I fully understand the economics of it but when I raised brangus maybe I was lucky but never pulled a calf, never had a mal-presentation, never needed a vet. I too would check on a cow that I knew was very close to calving but never got close enough to be a bother or disrupt anything. Let her half it, watch her clean it up, watch it nurse and leave them alone. Even when we dairied we only checked the "close up" pen once a night.

 

[dt34715]

I'll check 2 or three times a day, but I do that most of the time whether they are calving or not.
I will check heifers at night if they are getting close.
However, I try to only check and then get out of the way unless I think there is trouble. Sometimes I think if I am watching a cow, it might hold up the birth and even cause problems.
Just an opinion I have.

 

[highgrit]

We saved a registered bull calf the other day, who probably would have been dead if we'd waited a few more hours to check them...it happens fast sometimes. 98# out of a heifer, with *almost*-never-miss calving ease on both sides.
He might be special, so I'm glad we check so much!!![/quote]

Who would want to buy a bull calf that weighted 98 lbs at birth? And out of a heifer to boot, he's something special alright. He's a freak and no telling what size calves he will produce. Seems to me he should of been banned or cut ASAP.

 

[Jessica06]

We saved a registered bull calf the other day, who probably would have been dead if we'd waited a few more hours to check them...it happens fast sometimes. 98# out of a heifer, with *almost*-never-miss calving ease on both sides.
He might be special, so I'm glad we check so much!!!

Who would want to buy a bull calf that weighted 98 lbs at birth? And out of a heifer to boot, he's something special alright. He's a freak and no telling what size calves he will produce. Seems to me he should of been banned or cut ASAP.[/quote]

Tell that to the guys spending $8-10K (or more!) on those bulls. After all, pounds at birth almost always equals pounds at weaning. I'll be the first to admit that a 98#er was highly unexpected, but just use common sense and make sure you use a bull like that on cows. If you follow the 8% rule, a 1300 pound cow should be able to have a 104# calf, easily. :2cents:

Note: I am NOT advocating higher birthweights, but they do happen and it's actually not that terrible! Our ideal birthweight for a cow's calf is about 75-85 pounds.

 

[Brute 23]

No real schedule. Just watch, leave them alone and let nature take it's course.

Yup :nod: If I can... and know they are calving I will try to get by there. If I don't... I don't.