...just getting a little antsy...

[WalnutCrest]

A fullblood 2nd calf cow I bought two months ago is due on the 5th ... the guy I bought the cow from told me the calf is supposed to be a heifer sired by a bull I'm real excited to see a calf out from. In fact, this heifer calf that's coming is easily half the reason I bought the cow in the first place. The weatherman says we have ...

4-8" of snow coming (with windchill at -17) on the 4th
8 degree high temp (-7 for a low and a -16 windchill) on the 5th
12 degree high temp (0 for a low ... not sure of the windchill) on the 6th
with a good chance of more snow on the 7th and 8th

We just moved and she's going to have to make due with whatever shelter is in our front yard (which isn't much more than a brush pile and a dozen or so trees).

I hope our new little heifer comes tomorrow ... supposed to be 31 and sunny.

 

[piedmontese]

Where are u at n Kansas? I'm from Andover.

 

[WalnutCrest]

A little south of Wellsville and a little east of Ottawa.

 

[snake67]

A fullblood 2nd calf cow I bought two months ago is due on the 5th ... the guy I bought the cow from told me the calf is supposed to be a heifer sired by a bull I'm real excited to see a calf out from. In fact, this heifer calf that's coming is easily half the reason I bought the cow in the first place. The weatherman says we have ...

4-8" of snow coming (with windchill at -17) on the 4th
8 degree high temp (-7 for a low and a -16 windchill) on the 5th
12 degree high temp (0 for a low ... not sure of the windchill) on the 6th
with a good chance of more snow on the 7th and 8th

We just moved and she's going to have to make due with whatever shelter is in our front yard (which isn't much more than a brush pile and a dozen or so trees).

I hope our new little heifer comes tomorrow ... supposed to be 31 and sunny.

Temporary shelter - tarp for three walls and tarp for roof.

Lots of straw and you will be fine

I kept a bunch of real new calve like this for a whole winter in some serious snow and wet

Bez

 

[WalnutCrest]

Revised forecast ...

6-10 inches, with up to 12 possible with wind gusts up to 35mph on the 4th

 

[double v]

Think we will get less being south of 70 looking for 3-6. Snow is a whole lot better than the ice. Just keep checking her

 

[cowgirl_jenna]

Some big square or round bales can make descent shelters to block the wind if you have any around and bed good inside them. Good luck, maybe the weatherman will be wrong and it wont be too bad.

Jenna

 

[3waycross]

What time of day do you feed? If you feed late in the day it helps keep them from calving at night.

 

[WalnutCrest]

What time of day do you feed? If you feed late in the day it helps keep them from calving at night.

We don't feed. We're a grass 24x7 operation.

I think my wife and I have a plan ... if it works, we'll let everyone know. If it doesn't work, I'm going to hide my ignorance and shame from the rest of you.

 

[3waycross]

What time of day do you feed? If you feed late in the day it helps keep them from calving at night.

We don't feed. We're a grass 24x7 operation.

I think my wife and I have a plan ... if it works, we'll let everyone know. If it doesn't work, I'm going to hide my ignorance and shame from the rest of you.

You don't feed hay? How much grass do they eat when there is a foot of snow on the ground?

 

[Jake]

What time of day do you feed? If you feed late in the day it helps keep them from calving at night.

We don't feed. We're a grass 24x7 operation.

I think my wife and I have a plan ... if it works, we'll let everyone know. If it doesn't work, I'm going to hide my ignorance and shame from the rest of you.

You don't feed hay? How much grass do they eat when there is a foot of snow on the ground?

Not real often there is much snow on the ground for very long down by Ottawa.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Plan A is still for the calf to arrive before mid-morning tomorrow and for mama to get her cleaned up before the heaviest snows are supposed to hit.

Plan B was for her to calve over by a rickety shed with sketchy perimeter fencing. After spending about six hours getting the alleyways set up and the perimeter fence buttressed and a nice round bale moved, the mama had no interest in going anywhere. We even showed her a sketch of the plan, tried mime and pig-latin. She was going nowhere.

Plan C is to hope she and the calf hide behind the three big round bales we moved out to the bottom of a little draw by the mineral and the hole we're cutting in the pond. They're far enough away and the hole is small enough that I don't think drowning is a high probability.

We're still hoping for Plan A.

 

[double v]

Saw Emporia was on the bullseye line of this storm good luck hopefully she finds a good spot. I have seen that around feeding hay or grain they like to calf. So if you set hay morning time they calved early in the day and if you evening feed they calved later in the day just what I see here.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Well, Plan A has come and gone and Plan B ceased being an option. The snow is coming down at a 30 degree angle to the ground.

I guess now I'm hoping she holds on until Friday. I don't think that's likely, though. We'll see.

My 10 year old son says they look like abominable snowmen. I love listening to how he describes things.

 

[WalnutCrest]

As of now, the calf is in the best possible spot ... inside her mama. Here's to hoping she stays there until at least late tomorrow afternoon when the wind is supposed to die down.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Found her in the snow early this morning. When I came up on her, mama was still cleaning her but she was super cold (wind chill of -20 ish this morning). We carried her in, dried her off, warmed her up, got a pint of colostrum in her. Going to take her back out to mama after she finished her nap.

Pictures later.

She's a cutie. Daughter has named her Begonia.

 

[WalnutCrest]

As posted on another thread ---

Today:

Convinced myself that my cow surely wouldn't calve on what was the coldest night of the winter. I was wrong. Calf in the snow at 8-ish AM and was REALLY cold. Hauled her 1/4 mile (alternatively by carrying and by dragging on an old decrepit sled) through 18" drifts to the house. Mama did a great job cleaning her up ... but she just couldn't get dry. Negative 20-30 windchills and gobs of snow will do that to a newborn. We got her warmed by the fire (hairdryers on low, wool blankets, etc). Once warm, she gulped down a 24oz of colostrum. She got a nap or three. After one of them, I decided it was time she stand. She held her posture while I threw out my back. Lovely. Once she finally dropped down to her knees (after a good 30 seconds or so), we carried her down the front stairs to a big blue tarp -- we made her into a taco of sorts and hauled her back out to mama to see if she'd perk up and get going. Mama took her right back -- sniffing, licking, talking to her. Well, she didn't nurse right away -- still too warn out from the crazy cold I think -- so, we left her out there to see what she could do with mom (and to give my back a rest) in hopes that she'd start to nurse. It got dark and we ate dinner. At about 9pm, we went out to check on baby and mama. Well, mama and two other cows were doing a good job of shielding and protecting her from the elements, but she was still cold (apparently, -20 to -30 windchills aren't any fun for newborn calves on their first day on the planet). So, we brought her back in (dragging her for the third time today 1/4 mile by hand through these huge drifts), warmed her up by the fire ... and this time she stood to drink almost two liters of colostrum. She's resting comfortably on some straw in our garage that we got all the way up to the balmy-like temperature of 40 degrees.

We're going to bed. We're planning to give her another round of colostrum early, then haul her back to mama when the temperature starts to turn mid-morning and hope that she nurses. Mama still wants her and doesn't want us taking her little girl (but, in the end, she lets us do what's needed) ... she needs to drain her, though. Here's hoping it happens right when we take her out tomorrow AM.

She's precious. My back is killing me. Pictures later. I'm exhausted.

 

[snake67]

As posted on another thread ---

Today:

Convinced myself that my cow surely wouldn't calve on what was the coldest night of the winter. I was wrong. Calf in the snow at 8-ish AM and was REALLY cold. Hauled her 1/4 mile (alternatively by carrying and by dragging on an old decrepit sled) through 18" drifts to the house. Mama did a great job cleaning her up ... but she just couldn't get dry. Negative 20-30 windchills and gobs of snow will do that to a newborn. We got her warmed by the fire (hairdryers on low, wool blankets, etc). Once warm, she gulped down a 24oz of colostrum. She got a nap or three. After one of them, I decided it was time she stand. She held her posture while I threw out my back. Lovely. Once she finally dropped down to her knees (after a good 30 seconds or so), we carried her down the front stairs to a big blue tarp -- we made her into a taco of sorts and hauled her back out to mama to see if she'd perk up and get going. Mama took her right back -- sniffing, licking, talking to her. Well, she didn't nurse right away -- still too warn out from the crazy cold I think -- so, we left her out there to see what she could do with mom (and to give my back a rest) in hopes that she'd start to nurse. It got dark and we ate dinner. At about 9pm, we went out to check on baby and mama. Well, mama and two other cows were doing a good job of shielding and protecting her from the elements, but she was still cold (apparently, -20 to -30 windchills aren't any fun for newborn calves on their first day on the planet). So, we brought her back in (dragging her for the third time today 1/4 mile by hand through these huge drifts), warmed her up by the fire ... and this time she stood to drink almost two liters of colostrum. She's resting comfortably on some straw in our garage that we got all the way up to the balmy-like temperature of 40 degrees.

We're going to bed. We're planning to give her another round of colostrum early, then haul her back to mama when the temperature starts to turn mid-morning and hope that she nurses. Mama still wants her and doesn't want us taking her little girl (but, in the end, she lets us do what's needed) ... she needs to drain her, though. Here's hoping it happens right when we take her out tomorrow AM.

She's precious. My back is killing me. Pictures later. I'm exhausted.

Be glad you are not doing 400 of them

Bez

 

[WalnutCrest]

I am seriously considering a move to fall calving.

I'm not sure I'll ever buy a bred cow who is due to calve before the first of March again.

I think I'll be funding a family vacation for my chiropractor.

 

[WalnutCrest]

At birth, early on Wednesday morning ... a little heifer my daughter has started calling Begonia.

Windchill of -30 at about 8:30am in all that snow is a hard way to get started... Her mama (Xenia) had her well licked off, but not dried off before ice started to form on her ears, tail and rear hooves.

About three hours later, after thawing out by the fire and getting a little colostrum in her belly. She was able to stand on her own by about 1pm, but her rear legs were still in shock from the cold earlier, and as a result, she could support her own weight, but couldn't really get up on her own -- not sure she really had any feeling back there.

We brought her back in and bedded her in the garage that first night ... then out with her mama yesterday afternoon for a few hours to try to get her to learn what those teats are all about. Brought her back into the garage for last night (actual temps of -10 or so, with windchills of -15 to -20) and then took her back out this morning. She really didn't start hopping up on her own until yesterday afternoon. I think she's figured out what her rear legs are all about and if she figures out that mama is packing her lunch, we're home free (I think).

This picture was from this morning, out with her very attentive mama (if you squint, you can see her, as they both blend in with the hay pretty good).