MichaelB
Well-known member
I had bought a Tarentaise heifer last year that is of smaller frame. She has very good breeding, and comes from a long line of cows with no calving issues. She was bred to a Tarentaise bull that was a rather large and very well muscled.
She calved in February (at least 22 months old), and for the first time in my experience as a cowman I had to pull the calf. It was presented correctly, with front hooves down and nostrils up. She had been in labor for about 2-3 hours and while she was straining, the calf wasn't going any further. The first pull with a cotton rope around the front legs got him about half way out, then we rested and I grabbed the calf around the barrel and pulled him the rest of the way. I weighed the calf on a bathroom scale and he was 76 lb., which was larger than many calves I have had. Despite the first night of worrying if the calf would freeze and wondering if my cow had gone into shock, they bonded by morning and now Blizzard is a fine, growing steer with a dedicated mother (she calved outside just before a major blizzard in the mid-Atlantic).
My question is, how critical should I be in assessing her for future breeding? She was a small heifer, and he was a large calf. She presented the calf correctly, but couldn't push him through on her own. Would this be a sign that she will need to be assisted with future births?
I plan to use a black angus bull (Long Distance from Genex) with a very high CED score when I have her bred in June, and after that she will generally be used to produce crossbred Black Angus calves, although a Tarentaise/Hereford cross is also a very efficient choice.
http://genex.crinet.com/beef/index.php?action=DETAIL&code=1AN01202&lang=EN
Other than this assisted birth, she is of a much better quality than the cows I had previously and I don't want to replace her unless necessary. Any experience with how assisted first time heifers will handle future pregnancy and birthing?
Thanks,
MichaelB
She calved in February (at least 22 months old), and for the first time in my experience as a cowman I had to pull the calf. It was presented correctly, with front hooves down and nostrils up. She had been in labor for about 2-3 hours and while she was straining, the calf wasn't going any further. The first pull with a cotton rope around the front legs got him about half way out, then we rested and I grabbed the calf around the barrel and pulled him the rest of the way. I weighed the calf on a bathroom scale and he was 76 lb., which was larger than many calves I have had. Despite the first night of worrying if the calf would freeze and wondering if my cow had gone into shock, they bonded by morning and now Blizzard is a fine, growing steer with a dedicated mother (she calved outside just before a major blizzard in the mid-Atlantic).
My question is, how critical should I be in assessing her for future breeding? She was a small heifer, and he was a large calf. She presented the calf correctly, but couldn't push him through on her own. Would this be a sign that she will need to be assisted with future births?
I plan to use a black angus bull (Long Distance from Genex) with a very high CED score when I have her bred in June, and after that she will generally be used to produce crossbred Black Angus calves, although a Tarentaise/Hereford cross is also a very efficient choice.
http://genex.crinet.com/beef/index.php?action=DETAIL&code=1AN01202&lang=EN
Other than this assisted birth, she is of a much better quality than the cows I had previously and I don't want to replace her unless necessary. Any experience with how assisted first time heifers will handle future pregnancy and birthing?
Thanks,
MichaelB