Heifer bred too young

[djinwa]

British White heifer almost 13 months old, that I bought in November. Getting rounder and developing udder, so suspected pregnant and tonight definitely felt a calf on the right side moving and kicking. I imagine she'd calve within a month or two?

Is it a no-brainer to abort with Lutalyse?

 

[dun]

If you mean to do it now I think it would be a no-brainer to do it. Besides, this far along lute wouldn;t necesarrily abort Dex would though. And what happens if she's actaully closer then you think and you end up with a almost viable calf?

 

[Caustic Burno]

If you mean to do it now I think it would be a no-brainer to do it. Besides, this far along lute wouldn;t necesarrily abort Dex would though. And what happens if she's actaully closer then you think and you end up with a almost viable calf?

Well as the deed has already been done, dang Brit's hit puberty young.
Calf her out like Dun said. You are not the first on this ride at the county fair and won't be the last.

 

[hillbillycwo]

What is she bred to? Isn't that breed(the heifer's) a larger breed of cows? LBW Angus bull and depending on her size it could be all right. Have your vet check her, measure her pelvic and give you his opinion based on his expertise and visual appraisal of the animal. Then make your decision. Costs alot to raise heifers now.

 

[E in PA]

british white is a moderate sized breed

 

[bigbull338]

she is to far bred calve her out.ive calved some heifers at 19 months.an maybe 2 or 3 younger than that.

 

[djinwa]

I talked to the breeder a couple days ago about my suspicion and he said it would have had to have been a bull calf bred her, so who knows how big, but the herd averages around 70 pound calves.

I measured her at the top of the hip bone at 45 inches, which I see means frame 4 at her age, with 50 inches at maturity. I guess another month or two to grow, but the pelvis would probably be the issue. Though she obviously is early maturing.

Yes, Dun I was wondering about Lute as I read to use it up to 100 days. Called the vet yesterday and got a message through the receptionist that I could come get a shot and it would work okay at later gestation. Just not sure how much experience he has.

Just wondering the risks either way. Obviously possible calving difficulty, but hear some have no problem. Would have to supplement her, but wouldn't be a problem. I do have some calf pulling experience, though I intended to never need it again.

If she calves at say, 15 months, she would have been bred at 6 months. Seems like early puberty should almost be selected against, but big scrotals are a good thing?

The other heifer's at a year and no heat yet – different type, I guess.

 

[snickers]

we got a hereford heifer at a sale barn and she weighed 475 lbs 8 months later she had a little hereford heifer that was so tiny the mother didnt have a bit of problem having her. the calf didnt gain much wt she sold at 4 months and her wt was 210 lbs. we kept the cow and she is four yrs old now had a second bull calf normal size. the cow is a smaller frame so I expect she was stunted alittle.

 

[Lon]

i agree calve her out. if your lucky her pelvic will be big enough and calf will be smaller. i have seen them calve at 18 months a few times. most of them had them alright.

 

[jcarkie]

i would have a vet check her to find out how far along she is and then decide to lute or deliver. i have one that is 7 months at 15 months old. she will be about 18 months when she calves, the last one i had(7 years ago) was 16 months when she calved at the vets that was fun. "not" .my teen mother (born 12/10/09) has a full sister that calved in january at 24 months(born 1/2/09) she will calve in june i am guessing at 18 months. the bad thing is we usually don't realize until they start showing an udder that is what gave mine away, by then it is pretty close to the last trimester.

 

[piedmontese]

i know a guy that claims he had a saler heifer that calved at 15 months.she had it unassisted but was unable to take care of it.calf didnt make it and he took the heifer to the sale.

 

[djinwa]

Thanks for the replies. I would hope the calf would be smaller than normal.

Got ahold of a couple vets today who I think have more cattle experience. Consensus is to let her have the calf. Lute wouldn't work well now, so would have to use Dexamethasone, which has bad side effects and is unreliable. Immunosuppression so could get infection, and swelling.

Anyway, we'll watch her close and help pull if needed, and if that isn't working, haul her in for a c-section. One vet said c-section methods are improving, so better chance of future reproduction, though it's bad economics.

Should be interesting.

 

[djinwa]

To complete the story, heifer had calf today right at 15 months old. Calf was bigger than I hoped, so took her to the vet for possible c-section, but he pulled it. A 73 pound bull calf. Heifer is wobbly in the rear end, but improving.

Wondering about the calf. Hauled him home in the pickup cab, and assumed he'd get his legs, but not yet. Have bottle fed colostrum, but he seems lethargic. Vet said it was a hard pull - does that set a calf back a while and he should get strength back?

 

[dun]

Vet said it was a hard pull - does that set a calf back a while and he should get strength back?

Frequently! You got the colosturm in him and that's a positive. He may spend a lot of time for the next few days to a week or so laying around. Just make sure he nurses and let nature handle it.

 

[djinwa]

Good to know. I did give him a selenium shot as have had problems with that in calves, but sounds like it's mostly the pull. He was up on his hind legs last night - I assume the fronts are pretty sore from the chains.

 

[djinwa]

I guess I'm not done with the story. It's interesting to see the calf and heifer recover. He was pulled out on Sunday. On Monday there were times when he was layed out not moving and breathing in a jerky way, and I was thinking he might just die on me. Then an hour later the wife says he was standing on all fours. I must have seen him right after such an effort and he was tuckered out.

Then Tuesday he could stand for awhile and nurse on his own.

Then today he was getting around pretty well, even bucking a bit. I guess the brain is recovering after oxygen deprivation while stuck in the birth canal. Heifer almost has all control of rear legs.

Anyway, here's pics.

Monday

Wednesday

 

[djinwa]

I'm thinking the other problem is it must have been pretty cramped in the little heifer, as his legs are a bit crooked which made it harder to stand. Seem to be straightening out.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Glad you had a viable baby! I have BWP also. In Fall 2009, we bought a bred cow and a 6-7 mo. heifer. About 4 mos. later, I found an aborted calf, with the small heifer near it. At the time(am new to this), I just assumed the cow had aborted, and she is stand-off-ish, snotty. Took a week or so to figure out it But it was actually that young heifer that had aborted. Seller I purchased from was running his bull with young heifers! In the end, I thanked God she had aborted. That girl is now due for a PLANNED fall calf.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Is Dex really an inducer, or just to help with side affects for induced or early calves? I know Lutalyce will definetly get the program going. ??

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

By the way . . . . pretty baby!!