One way or another

[Dave]

So on one side of the field where the cows are is the river. It isn't much of a river when compared to what I am use to over on the coast. About 30 feet wide and shallow enough that I have driven a quad across it a number of times. It is running a little higher now as some spring run off has started. But it does have fairly fast currant.
On the other side of the field is the irrigation ditch. It is not running water this time of the year but there is a couple inches of standing water in it. The field side slope up to the ditch is mild in places and fairly steep in others. The top of the dike is maybe 4 or 5 feet wide. The ditch is about 5 feet deep and pretty steep going down into the ditch.
I always worry that a cow will calf right beside the river. If a new calf were to stumble into the river it would be a goner. So a week or so a cow calved on top of the ditch bank. I went and drug that calf down off the dike into the field. During this last week I had a cow acting strange. The idea that she lost a calf crossed my mind but this is a flat wide open hayfield and I sure didn't see a sick or dead calf. Then yesterday B was coming up the road. It is right above the ditch. A Magpie flew up out of the ditch. He glanced down and saw something. He wasn't sure what. We went and explored. It was a dead calf. She went a calved at a point where the dike top is about 4 feet wide. The calf slid into the ditch and drowned in 2 inches of water. A person would have had to been right there to save it.
I worry about the river and lose one in 2 inches of water in the ditch. There has been 300 +/- calves born in that field in the last 4 years. The only 2 born up on the ditch bank happened in the same week. And I have never lost one to the river.

 

[MurraysMutts]

That's always the way it works. I worry about the creek at my lease pasture. Been lucky so far

 

[uplandnut]

Sorry to hear that.

 

[GoWyo]

I have a creek through our meadow. In 2016 I didn't have the meadow fenced off yet. Lost a day old calf in the creek - I suspect the cow crossed the bridge and the calf didn't so she bellered at it and it walked into the creek. The bank top is 4' from the bottom of the creek and water about 2-3' deep. It is a death trap for calves. That same year the creek was flooding about a month later and that same cow's yearling bull drowned in the creek. I think he was scared to cross the bridge, tried to cross above the bridge and got washed under the bridge and drowned. We got the meadow fenced that year and calve up on the slope. Then this last December one of my replacement heifers broke through the ice on the creek during the cold snap and she didn't make it out before I found her dead in it. Always something.

 

[gcreekrch]

We run a hot wire away from the creek during calving. Took about four that drowned before we spent what half a calf was worth to fence it off.

We get to soon old and too late smart.

 

[MurraysMutts]

No way to fence mine off unfortunately. It's pretty shallow. Most is only about a foot or so deep. The 4 ft drop-off in some spots bother me a lot!

I was over there last year walking around checking calves and witnessed one mama purposely put herself between the calf and the creek and drop-off. Most are pretty smart.

There's always that one idiot tho...

 

[Travlr]

On my place in SD I had a creek that crossed one corner of my acreage. Steep ten feet on both sides into the shallow, deep mud creek. Very dangerous, even for adults. There were about ten acres on the corner of the property that were isolated. It was a high priority so I fenced it off before I turned any cattle into that pasture.

I didn't like losing the ten acres, and since there was a no way to effectively bridge the watercourse it remained unused. Over time it became pretty overgrown and lush, and a lot of wildlife found a reason to visit. One of the best happy accidents I had was fencing that ten acres off and being unable to find a way to use it.

 

[Dave]

We run a hot wire away from the creek during calving. Took about four that drowned before we spent what half a calf was worth to fence it off.

We get to soon old and too late smart.

Virtually everyone in this valley has the same issues with the river and this ditch or another ditch.
And no one has either the river or ditches fenced. For me it would total nearly a mile of fence. Two separate fences with no power so they would require two solar fence chargers. Logistics with ditch maintenance. The bank along the river is nothing but bowling ball size rocks making driving posts a night mare. And the cows get their water from the river. I hated to lose the calf but the cure is worse than the loss in this case. For now I will continue to haze any new pairs out away from the river. And keep an eye out for cows wanting to calf up on the ditch dike. It is only the new born calves that are a concern.

 

[Travlr]

Virtually everyone in this valley has the same issues with the river and this ditch or another ditch.
And no one has either the river or ditches fenced. For me it would total nearly a mile of fence. Two separate fences with no power so they would require two solar fence chargers. Logistics with ditch maintenance. The bank along the river is nothing but bowling ball size rocks making driving posts a night mare. And the cows get their water from the river. I hated to lose the calf but the cure is worse than the loss in this case. For now I will continue to haze any new pairs out away from the river. And keep an eye out for cows wanting to calf up on the ditch dike. It is only the new born calves that are a concern.

Is there a way to reduce the slope of the dike? A little dirt work?

 

[wbvs58]

Sorry to hear that Dave. It hasn't been a good calving for you so far, I hope things improve.

Ken

 

[Dave]

Is there a way to reduce the slope of the dike? A little dirt work?

No. And good Lord if I started messing with that ditch I might get shot. Literally.

On the upstream end of the field there is no dike. It is just level with the field. As you go down the field drops off faster than the ditch. At the down stream fence it is about 30 feet up from the field to the ditch. The only concern is a cow calving up on the dike. Once a calf is a day or two old they would have no problem walking in the ditch to a place where they can get out easily.

 

[Travlr]

No. And good Lord if I started messing with that ditch I might get shot. Literally.

On the upstream end of the field there is no dike. It is just level with the field. As you go down the field drops off faster than the ditch. At the down stream fence it is about 30 feet up from the field to the ditch. The only concern is a cow calving up on the dike. Once a calf is a day or two old they would have no problem walking in the ditch to a place where they can get out easily.

I used to be a ditch rider for the irrigation district where I had my ranch in SD. You might want to go into the office and tell them about your ongoing problem and see if they have any ideas.

And another thought... If you have divided pastures so you can rotate, can you keep your imminent parturition cows somewhere else?

I know you must have thought of that... but I had to say it.

 

[Dave]

No ditch rider or company. That ditch is just 4 of us on it. Water is dirt cheap ($7 an acre). We are the envy of the other areas around here where they pay $65 an acre for water. We just get along and do any and all maintenance our self. The head gate is on my property.
The other ditch on the other side of the valley also has the head gate on my property. That one serves 8 landowner and about 600 acres. Again we all just work together and get along (cough, cough).

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

I used to be a ditch rider for the irrigation district where I had my ranch in SD. You might want to go into the office and tell them about your ongoing problem and see if they have any ideas.

And another thought... If you have divided pastures so you can rotate, can you keep your imminent parturition cows somewhere else?

I know you must have thought of that... but I had to say it.

Last thing I'd do talk to them about any type of solution .

 

[Dave]

Sorry to hear that Dave. It hasn't been a good calving for you so far, I hope things improve.

Ken

I haven't mentioned the 42 other calves running around in that field. Things haven't been that bad for a bunch of purchased old broken mouth cows. I figure that with these old cows a person will have a 5% death loss. We are no where near that. I learned a long time ago that for my own mental health not to get worked up about losing a cow or a calf. I do the best that I can and don't worry about the out come.

 

[Travlr]

Last thing I'd do talk to them about any type of solution .

Why?

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

Getting government involved rarely helps and could open a can of worms.

 

[Travlr]

Getting government involved rarely helps and could open a can of worms.

Not my experience if you don't go in angry and insult them right off the bat.

 

[Dave]

Absolutely no government agency involved here. This ditch serves me, neighbors L, J, and B. It belongs to the 4 of us. Any maintenance that needs to happen we get together and do it. The head gate is on my property. Someone needs more water I turn it up. There is too much water, I turn it down. The lower end is too flat. Moss grows in the ditch slowing the water every year. So we slow the water down and add chemical to kill the moss. No one uses water for 3 or 4 days until it all flushes through the system. It is a pretty simple system. Just neighbors getting along.

 

[sunnyblueskies]

Interesting to read all your comments. We have a 'river' along some of our pasture. River...hahahaha.... if the summer is dry enough you can walk across one certain spot without getting your feet wet, but if there is a lot of run off in spring it floods the whole valley and you can take a boat where you would usually drive a vehicle. Anyway.
Lost a few cows in the mud throughout the years, but I never thought about loosing calves. Haven't as far as I'm aware of.
Fencing the river banks out has crossed our minds a few times, but as you said, the cows use it for water and it's a long distance. Over a mile and it's not a straight line, would also loose the banks grass for pasture. Travlr's comment about the best 'happy' accident gives food for thought, fencing out the riverbank, let vegetation and brush grow is beneficial too, because it keeps the banks from eroding and all that.
Like I've said, interesting to read all your guys comments because it gives food for thought on ones own similar problems. What to do, what to do......