As with Kathleen and Dun, malpresentations at birth are one of the reasons I do night checks, but the main reason is that due to our extreme winter temperatures, a calf born outside can die of hypothermia within an hour if not brought into shelter.
I bring any cow I notice calving into the barn, but some of those girls are pretty handy at the fifteen minute delivery trick, and I've noticed quite a few that hardly bagged up at all before giving birth this year. Last night the windchill factor was in the minus 30's due to a wicked northeasterly blast, so it makes it vital to maintain checks.
It has nothing to do with poor quality cattle, as one poster implied, because even a good cow with strong mothering ability has the potential to lose a calf when it's body temperature drops. Also, any calves that do survive getting chilled usually show a marked lack of vigor, which can lead to lower rate of gain and susceptability to viruses. Even something such as frozen ears, tails and feet which might seem unimaginable to some producers in warmer climes, are a reality that will have your calf either cutback by the buyers in the fall, or kept back from being shipped completely. Due to the fact that my income is soley from raising calves, sleeping the nights away during Feb, March, Apr is a luxury I can ill afford.
Lost an old cow today that had chilled down from last night's weather, poor old gal drew her last breath this afternoon,so today's project has been trying to get a cow that aborted her calf last week to mother the dead cow's calf. So far so good! Gotta love it when things go well.
Knew I should have shipped her last fall, but with cull cow value I might have got fifty bucks, so at least this way I've got a calf. What can you do?
Have a great calving season all, and it's been nice to see the posts of my fellow night owls as well. (Also found out that it's a good idea to sign in before you post...oh, by the way, loved the Saskatchewan joke, Dun.)