Nobody can get 100% of their calves to weaning due to calving issues, sickness, or other problems. What is your goal as a producer in terms of % loss? Just curious, I have my own number, but curious where I stand w that expectation. Thanks
Expected or acceptable losses
- Thread starter Rniemann
- Start date
Jake
Well-known member
Rniemann":3h9tb3ym said:
Want to be 93% or better at weaning. The bred heifers are always the wild card. We've had years where we weaned 98% and others where it was 85% across the whole herd.
TexasBred
Well-known member
Absolutely you can and that's always the goal.Rniemann":3pftahky said:
Usually our losses are early in the calving season. So far, we've pulled one dead calf, had 2 freeze to death and today had one trampled by fighting heifers. Also had a preemie crushed at the hay when it was icing. We've had over 50 calve so far and have over 150 left. It seems its one thing after another, and all while slopping through the mud and ice. I have one stupid calf who cant figure out her mothers perfect teats, ugh...I had one calf get a hoof torn off. We had 8 calves today, one of which was the trampled one, so 7 live ones. Last one to calve today, a heifer, i watched as i bottle fed stupid calf, spit out a calf that was born sitting up. I couldnt believe my eyes, the calf's head never touched the ground. It was standing in less than 2 minutes. I was glad to see that because we had to pull a heifers calf that weighed over 100 pounds. Not something you want to see when you have 40 more heifers to calve... If you have a few cows, it not impossible to get 100%....the more you have the more sh#t you have happen.
highgrit
Well-known member
Are these LBW Angus bulls you us on heifers registered? And if so what are their registration numbers. I feel a lot people just come up with whatever numbers sell good. A 100lb calf is unacceptable.
You bet it is.......but, we still have some females who have a lot of sim in them. Size of the calf doesnt just come from the bull, the cow has a little to do with it also....The bulls had excellent EPDs for low birthweight we buy for our heifers. Papers are upstairs and filed, you just have to take my word that they are indeed registered, bought from a registered breeder. But if i ever get the urge i'll find the papers, but dont count on it.. Its been my experience with using LBW angus on a large number of heifers, you're going to get a lunker or two in the group...EPDs are not a guarantee. I know someone who used a sim, in the 90s, on a group of heifers, they lost almost every calf and a good number of the heifers.. Putting a LBW angus on those heifers and they would have had a better outcome. We've had around 10 heifers calve so far and the average weight has been around 60 pounds..highgrit":21zn6rmr said:
And i want to add, the new heifer pasture we added is cutting down on our losses. We noticed that heifer with the 100 pounder in trouble, had her in the chute in less than 5 minutes and the calf out a few minutes later. If she had been in their old pasture, it could have been up to 2 hours before we could get her in the chute, specially with it this muddy and all the newborns in the herd now. Just adding this pasture has saved us several calves and a couple heifers....very happy we finally put that fence in.
kjonesel
Well-known member
I have found that there are going to be something to occur that we don't foresee. Calving is a traumatic experience and I if you are asking to help prepare a realistic budget then with a herd that receives a lot of management then 94% should be a realistic number. I would say based on observation of the average beef farmer they should drop down to the 85% level on year in year out expectation. But I will be the first to say my goal is always 100%.
randiliana
Well-known member
For certain the GOAL would be 100%. But realistically, I think around 90-95% is more realistic. We have had years where we came out with more calves than cows, but that would be the exception, not the rule. When you are running more than a few head, you expect some sort of problems, there is so much that can go wrong, a lot can be chalked up to management, but even the best management can't save them all. From calving problems to illnesses to accidents I've seen a lot of things happen. Some just leave you scratching your head.....
The calf who was killed by the fighting heifers left me scratching my head. I saw that the heifer had calved when i went to check another cow in labor..When i got back there was this whole crowd around this cow. Got in there as fast as i could and got offending cow away and back at the hay. By the time i got through the gate and at the house, there they were again. We put offending cow in corral, i went back to check on another cow in another herd. When i got back, the mob was back. This time the calf was dead. I think when we put offending heifer in corral, the calf had already been stepped on but was still able to get up. The heifer who calved must have really pizz someone off to get such a mob around her. I had another heifer in labor so i locked her up in a pen. We do have one open heifer who was in heat, the offending heifer, but that did not stop the mob...I was thinking that if it was her causing the problems with being in heat, the others would follow...but no, it had no effect on them.randiliana":2zg5gl30 said:
randiliana
Well-known member
Probably the weirdest loss we had.... Lost a horse and buried it the previous summer. Badgers spent all fall and winter digging it up. We'd fill the holes in, they would dig them out. Next spring, we kicked a bunch of pairs into that pasture, calves were 1-2 weeks old. Later that day we noticed a cow running around looking for her calf. Figured he would probably just be laying around somewhere, searched for him and finally dawned on us that maybe he'd gotten into that hole. Sure enough, found him there, had been playing in the dirt, got down a hole and then the cows trampled him in...
bigbull338
Well-known member
we try to wean as meny calves as we can every year.whats acceptable losses.the calf loses that you can do nothing about.like today was checking for new calves and found 2 dead calves.1 was born late evening yesterday.was fine at birth.but evidently yotes got it during the nite.calf 2 was a small tiny calf probly weather related.rough loses but what can you do.to date weve calved about 45 cows and heifers.
cowgirl8":1adpe4gp said:
I absolutely agree with this. Some years are better than others... Law of averages. We are calving about 100 this spring..a little over halfway done. 3 dead twins, 2 dead singles out of the cows (one pull, one aborted a month early). One heifer left..haven't lost any of their calves. This year seems a bit rougher than last year...twins are the worst! Can't wait til we're done and can just sit back and watch them grow. Most seasons we lose 1-2, almost always early.
Dubcharo
Well-known member
Last year was a good one we weaned 132 calves from 130 cows. This year so far on 114 calving cows we have 113 calves, lost 4 so we have 3 pairs of twins. On the 3 pairs 2 had a full breach (tail) as first calf. We had another full breach that we lost.
If you have a large enough heard it is tough to halve 100% calf crop before you even start calving you have a few percent open cows that didn't breed and a 1% abort. Also if you have a cow die with a calf in her that knocks you again. So before a calf even hits the ground your starting at 95-96%. Some years are better some are worse.
I have 12 cows and had my first calf last night, locked it up with the cow so it wouldn't get stepped on by the other 11. The calf was walking and sucking after an hour after its birth then went out 2 hours later and it was sucking really good. Checked it this morning and it was dead!
Supa Dexta
Well-known member
Where did you find it? I would have left it penned for a day or 2 if you already had it caught.
