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Breeding / Calving Issues
First calf spring 2011
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<blockquote data-quote="regolith" data-source="post: 850361" data-attributes="member: 9267"><p>So now that they've started, did they all come at once?</p><p></p><p>I found four new calves and one calving in the springers this morning. Two in the late mob decking the effluent paddock (supposedly cows not at risk of milk fever or catching mastitis) - oops. One in the main dry mob - and not the one I expected either. </p><p>Cut 22 cows into a milking mob on Thursday (after kidnapping their calves), leaving nothing calved at all in the springer group because there'd been a couple of days with no calves. Now there's eighteen in there. Since 5 July the average was a fraction over one calf a day.</p><p></p><p>What do you do with paddocks that look like that? The paddock my dry cows grazed through the worst storms I've designated for turnips this summer, but because the pasture needs renewed not because it was badly pugged (just isolated bits, most of the grass has sprung straight back up). The smaller groups - springers/calved cows and the late mob didn't make significant mud.</p><p></p><p>Why don't heifers take them pre-birthing classes? The one that was calving this morning - well, she was disturbed of course, because although I tried to leave her behind with the new-calved cows she must have sneaked out the gate with the group, which meant standing around at the milking shed for the better part of an hour if not longer - then of course, when I get up to the paddock after cleaning up the milking shed there's feet showing and she's running around trying to mother all the new calves and I let the herd through onto fresh grass so now she's concentrating on eating as well as chasing two calves at once.</p><p>Checked in on her in the early afternoon. She was sitting up against the fence, under the trees. I could see most of the calf and thought she at least had head and shoulders out but it might need a pull. Well, she got up as I approached and I straightened the calf out but it was too late, first dead calf since those two premature ones at the start. She'd calved right up against the fence, the calf had folded back over on its head as she pushed it out and that's how I found them, she hadn't got up since birthing it.</p><p>Too many times you see first calvers just lying around after calving - I've seen a few dead calves that could have been saved if the heifer had just stood up, turned round and pulled the membranes off the calf's nose. Or in this case, got up and down a few more times instead of sitting there calving right up against a fence.</p><p></p><p>A couple of 50% Brown Swiss heifers calved today and those are huge calves.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="regolith, post: 850361, member: 9267"] So now that they've started, did they all come at once? I found four new calves and one calving in the springers this morning. Two in the late mob decking the effluent paddock (supposedly cows not at risk of milk fever or catching mastitis) - oops. One in the main dry mob - and not the one I expected either. Cut 22 cows into a milking mob on Thursday (after kidnapping their calves), leaving nothing calved at all in the springer group because there'd been a couple of days with no calves. Now there's eighteen in there. Since 5 July the average was a fraction over one calf a day. What do you do with paddocks that look like that? The paddock my dry cows grazed through the worst storms I've designated for turnips this summer, but because the pasture needs renewed not because it was badly pugged (just isolated bits, most of the grass has sprung straight back up). The smaller groups - springers/calved cows and the late mob didn't make significant mud. Why don't heifers take them pre-birthing classes? The one that was calving this morning - well, she was disturbed of course, because although I tried to leave her behind with the new-calved cows she must have sneaked out the gate with the group, which meant standing around at the milking shed for the better part of an hour if not longer - then of course, when I get up to the paddock after cleaning up the milking shed there's feet showing and she's running around trying to mother all the new calves and I let the herd through onto fresh grass so now she's concentrating on eating as well as chasing two calves at once. Checked in on her in the early afternoon. She was sitting up against the fence, under the trees. I could see most of the calf and thought she at least had head and shoulders out but it might need a pull. Well, she got up as I approached and I straightened the calf out but it was too late, first dead calf since those two premature ones at the start. She'd calved right up against the fence, the calf had folded back over on its head as she pushed it out and that's how I found them, she hadn't got up since birthing it. Too many times you see first calvers just lying around after calving - I've seen a few dead calves that could have been saved if the heifer had just stood up, turned round and pulled the membranes off the calf's nose. Or in this case, got up and down a few more times instead of sitting there calving right up against a fence. A couple of 50% Brown Swiss heifers calved today and those are huge calves. [/QUOTE]
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