now at 50%

[littletom]

Had one calve week before last ok. Last week pulled dead calf out of snow and a second calf heifer died. Tonight another second calf heifer went with everything ok. The mud we now have here is awful. Can't drive anywhere with out making ruts and a mess.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Sorry to hear of your losses.

 

[tom4018]

We have lost 2 , sure makes it tough with a small herd. Sometimes I wonder why I do this.

 

[FlyingLSimmentals]

Sorry for you all's losses. Thankfully here we haven't lost any let this year. I've been worried about it a bit for over a month now. It's been extreme colds, lots of snow, and plenty of rain for a month. I've begin to wonder if we'll ever see the sunlight again. I'm about plain sick of anything wet. I've had some calves I wanted to sell about a month now, the snow clobbered us right before sale day and the weather just keeps giving us more snow or rainfall since. I'm just gonna have to buckle down and get it done in the rain and slop some way or the other. Our hay is beginning to run short therefore I'm hoping it'll pretty up some or at least quit raining a bit. Figure we'll have to purchase a bit so dry weather could really help with that. I'll usually attend a lot of the Simmental sales this time of the year but this weather has just been keeping us too busy to make it to them. Did make it to Sunset View for their bull sale but missed the KY Beef Expo. Really wanted to make it up there this year but the weather made other plans for me. Wishing us all nicer weather, God Bless.

 

[Nesikep]

We haven't had any precipitation in nearly 2 months, and add that it's been WAY warmer than usual we're fixin' for a VERY dry year,.. no much snowpack in the mountains, already at this time of year it looks like snowline is somewhere around 6000 ft.. I'm really happy its nice weather for calving, but it could come and bite my in the arse later.

Sorry to hear about your losses... hope it's 100% from here on in for you!

 

[Supa Dexta]

I grew up with mud just being the norm, a yearly battle for sure. Its now 430 am here and wide awake, just got in from getting a newborn to suck, big ol cow - 116lb calf but born unassisted. So my night went ok. I do it because I enjoy it, some days more than others. But a calf that big, that comes on its own and gets up and starts sucking sure helps me out.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Had one calve week before last ok. Last week pulled dead calf out of snow and a second calf heifer died. Tonight another second calf heifer went with everything ok. The mud we now have here is awful. Can't drive anywhere with out making ruts and a mess.

Had our vet out Monday to work a group for us and he said he's pulled more calves recently than he can ever remember.

Our place is in northern KY littletom.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Seems to be a lot of bigger calves and twins being mentioned around the different boards this season.

 

[Nesikep]

No twins here yet.. don't really want any, but if it's on a capable cow I'd settle for them I guess.

 

[littletom]

I think just bad luck last year did not lose any, I also manage my dads cows he had twins and other bad luck. And, lost several but this year none of his have had problems. My wife is the vet and that helps a ton. It is just starting and looking forward to calving ending. Today it looked a lot like spring, can't wait to get started with crop farming.

 

[nobull82]

I've been told the colder the winter the bigger the calf is gonna be, rather that's true or not but I've pulled 2 so far

 

[dirtfarmer1000]

Don't mean to sound like an ass, but you make me feel better, none of my neighbors will admit they loose calves and I have no problem telling them I am happy if I can keep my death loss under 5%, this year I have had 2 calves get stepped on in the barn and 2 calves got layed on in an open field as well a one born stupid (or lack of oxygen in the first few minutes). With a few sets of twins here and there, I am ecstatic if I can keep a calf on all my cows that have calved at the end of calving season.

 

[dirtfarmer1000]

No twins here yet.. don't really want any, but if it's on a capable cow I'd settle for them I guess.

Happy to get all the twins I can get, right now we at sitting at 14 sets on 130 calvings. 13 sets of those were both born alive. with a few extra groceries, and a bit of coddling, more dollars are to be made out of a set of twins than will ever be made from a single calf. I keep all my female twins from f/f sets in the hope that it is genetic, and sometimes it is as I have had quite a few cows and cow families over the year consistently give twins. Not to mention the fact that you always have a calf to put on a cow that looses a calf. I refuse to bring animals in my herd during calving season, so if I do not have a calf to rob and put on a cow who has lost a calf, she goes dry and gets put in the sell pen, no matter how good she is.