Odds with calving 1,050# Heifers

[Stocker Steve]

I picked up two yearlings cheap from a guy who was selling all his stockers. They came off short pasture, are a leggy Charlois cross (white with a gray nose), and the hussies were preg tested as 7 months bred. They weighed 915# when I bought them and they are now gaining well in my dry lot. I am having second thoughts on turning them into ground meat in a couple weeks...

What are my odds of successfully calving them out? I have a calf puller left over from the dairying days but I don't like to use it.

 

[dun]

Probably depends a lot on the bull they were bred to. If you're really high on these 2 giels, give it a shot. I wouldn;t, but I'm getting too old for a crapshoot

dun

 

[KenB]

I picked up two yearlings cheap from a guy who was selling all his stockers. They came off short pasture, are a leggy Charlois cross (white with a gray nose), and the hussies were preg tested as 7 months bred. They weighed 915# when I bought them and they are now gaining well in my dry lot. I am having second thoughts on turning them into ground meat in a couple weeks...

What are my odds of successfully calving them out? I have a calf puller left over from the dairying days but I don't like to use it.

If the option is taking a chance of them having trouble calving, or making hamburger out of them.
Wouldn't it make sense to let them calf even if the calf didn't survive the cow could still be butchered?

:roll: I am stating this as a question rather than a fact.

 

[sidney411]

IMO, 1000 lb heifer should be able to calve alright, depending on the bull, but 1000 for a char is light isn't it? I'm not sure, never had any char heifers. I would go ahead and let them calve, just be ready to help if you feel like you can. At 7 mts bred the vet should have been able to give you some idea on the size of the calf in relative to the size of the heifers birth canal and given you a fair assessment of their ability to calve barring no presentation problems. Did he give you any insight?

 

[ALACOWMAN]

id let em calve out. but dont let them get over conditioned

 

[MikeC]

In all my days of calving Chars and Char crosses, I've only seen one Caesarean. The calf was sired by a Brangus bull.

I'd take my chances but watch them close.

 

[alabama]

I would say that the odds are with you having a calf. Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf. Once they calve you can feed them a little so you can breed them back. Keep a close eye on them and you will be fine.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I would say that the odds are with you having a calf.

• Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf

. Once they calve you can feed them a little so you can breed them back. Keep a close eye on them and you will be fine.

while that should be the case it aint always so. a calf will starve a cow to death during that last trimester and still be to large for normal delivery. but the heifer being over conditioned dont help.

 

[Stocker Steve]

They were preg checked at the sales barn so I have no idea on the size of anything. I bought them thinking I could always butcher them for that price. It sounds like the downside in calving them out would be the cost of a C section and any related problems.

Any recommended springer treatment other than a scours vacination if I do keep them?

 

[msscamp]

I would say that the odds are with you having a calf. Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf.

If that were true, there would be no calving problems ever! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[KenB]

I would say that the odds are with you having a calf. Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf.

If that were true, there would be no calving problems ever! :lol: :lol: :lol:

:roll: ;-) :roll:

 

[aplusmnt]

Personally I would calve them out, but I am a gambler at heart. Playing the odds that Heifer will not die, or be Paralyzed as to taint the meat.

How much time you have to watch the heifers would probably be the deciding factor.

 

[msscamp]

Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf.

If that were true, there would be no calving problems ever! :lol: :lol: :lol:

:roll: ;-) :roll:

Apparently you didn't bother to read the rest of it. There is a whole lot more to determining a calfs size than it's mother BCS score - particularly with yearling heifers bred to an unknown bull. Yes, the size of these heifers hedges the original posters bet a little - but it is not foulproof. So, please go roll your eyes at someone else, I've been a part of this business too long to buy crap like Alabama stated.

 

[KenB]

Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf.

If that were true, there would be no calving problems ever! :lol: :lol: :lol:

:roll: ;-) :roll:

Apparently you didn't bother to read the rest of it. There is a whole lot more to determining a calfs size than it's mother BCS score - particularly with yearling heifers bred to an unknown bull. Yes, the size of these heifers hedges the original posters bet a little - but it is not foulproof. So, please go roll your eyes at someone else, I've been a part of this business too long to buy crap like Alabama stated.

I would say that the odds are with you having a calf. Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf.

If that were true, there would be no calving problems ever! :lol: :lol: :lol:

:roll: ;-) :roll:

:shock: Apparently you didn't bother to read the part of the quote that I underlined and made bold. I wasn't refering to the CB score at all, just the ODDS of having a live calf.

I think that a smiley face of rolling eyes was justified to your reply. Even if you have alot more posts than me.

 

[msscamp]

Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf.

If that were true, there would be no calving problems ever! :lol: :lol: :lol:

:roll: ;-) :roll:

Apparently you didn't bother to read the rest of it. There is a whole lot more to determining a calfs size than it's mother BCS score - particularly with yearling heifers bred to an unknown bull. Yes, the size of these heifers hedges the original posters bet a little - but it is not foulproof. So, please go roll your eyes at someone else, I've been a part of this business too long to buy crap like Alabama stated.

I would say that the odds are with you having a calf. Keep them in a CB score of 5 to 6 and no more and you will get a small calf.

If that were true, there would be no calving problems ever! :lol: :lol: :lol:

:roll: ;-) :roll:

:shock: Apparently you didn't bother to read the part of the quote that I underlined and made bold. I wasn't refering to the CB score at all, just the ODDS of having a live calf.

I think that a smiley face of rolling eyes was justified to your reply. Even if you have alot more posts than me.

I read your entire post, and whatever you think! :roll:

 

[Herefordcross]

I would lighten the feed Now! and take my chances.

 

[Roadapple]

I would calve them out. Even if you knew they were bred to a low birth wt. bull, it's not a given you'll get trouble free births. If you were just going to make hamb. out of them, you could do that anyway. Calve them out, make hamb. out of them and I'll come get the calves. Price of calves I'd take my chances.

 

[redfornow]

Go for it.

Odds are at that weight the worse you will get is a hard pull.
Watch them close. You could have a section but really odds are at that weight they can get em out.
Good luck what ever you do.

MD

ps as a side note if you dont have the time, both day and night go with plan A
cause if you are not watching you could lose it all.
So be watching...

 

[Fred]

I would say it depends on whether you are prepared to pull the calves if the time comes and they need to be pulled.If you absolutely don't want to pull a calf then butcher them. You could take a chance and have no trouble with them calving.

 

[Wewild]

What are my odds of successfully calving them out? I have a calf puller left over from the dairying days but I don't like to use it.

We don't play the odds. I go with heifers out of proven mothers.