callmefence
Keyboard cowboy
Jeanne - Simme Valley said:Don't understand that statement. Obviously, we never know if ANYTHING (people, cows, pigs, etc) will produce a live calf, but I sure do EXPECT to get a live calf out of all my heifers and cows.hurleyjd said:Yep you never know if a heifer will produce you a live calf or not, that is the nature of the game. Hope you have no troubles with the calving.
I don't have any more problems with heifers than I do with cows. 99% of assisted calvings (for me) are due to mal-presentations. If, in this day of information, you are having dystocia due to large calves regularly, I would switch out your program for something else.
I don't have any blue ribbons, or any papered cattle. But I've been around cattle that where expected to take care of themselves my entire life. I've pulled a lot of calves. And I will say without a doubt inexperience can play into calving problems every bit as much as size. If you've never seen a older cow lay down, twist around, get up and repeat calm and cool as she positions the calf herself. Vs a heifer that lays down and pushes till exhaustion, or panics and does no telling what. ..you haven't been paying attention...
A mature cow is both bigger and more experienced. And very much more capable of dealing with a malposition d calf than a heifer.