Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Health & Nutrition
Problem pregnancy ??
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Anonymous" data-source="post: 10715"><p>For the most part I agree with Linda's comments. I have lost a few over the years in circumstances like what you described (cow turns up missing, etc.) and know that it can be most disheartening. Sometimes you can do something about it and sometimes not.</p><p></p><p>IF you live on your ranch or farm and don't have another job then you can probably do as Linda suggests. And if so, consider a birthing pasture of several acres in size so you can monitor several times a day the cows that you think are about ready to dominoe, without having to wander all over creation. Otherwise there's sometimes precious little you can do to prevent a cow with a delivery problem from wandering off and maybe dying in agony unless you just happen to be there at the right time -- it's just a part of nature's plan in my view.</p><p></p><p>I've been raising cattle for a fair number of years and have learned a little along the way, but have a long way to go yet. I live a fair distance from my cows and depending on Houston traffic I'm at least one full hour away, sometimes two hours! I sure as hell can't leave my "regular" job and make that trip more than about twice a week to feed, inspect the cows, monitor pregnancies, etc. In winter I go to my place to feed round bales on Wed. & Sat. Once I had one turn up missing on a Wed. evening and I looked for her until dark and then headed for home. It takes a LONG time to thoroughly search several hundred acres of land with some pasture, woods, brush, etc.! Well, upon my return on Saturday I continued my search and found her dead. But under the circumstances I did about all I could reasonably do. I don't have a caretaker living on the place, either.</p><p></p><p>But there are a few other practical suggestions (at least in my view) that I may offer to you, especially if you are a relative newcomer, or perhaps a "weekender" such as myself. Resist the temptation to hold back nice looking heifers for herd expansion. Many times they get bred too soon and are not physically developed enough to reliably be free of birthing problems. Many people feel it's cheaper to buy replacements. And don't buy "first calf heifers" either. Whether you raise or buy them getting past that first calving is the biggest hurdle. So I'd buy second or third calf cows, or maybe some "three in ones" And give a lot of thought and/or research into your bull selection. Don't try to "push the envelope" for calf size by using high birthweight bulls regardless of the breed you choose. It is a helluva lot better to have calves that are born small & alive than big dead ones! Others may disagree with me on this, but I think for a beginner or weekender you should stay away from Charolais bulls altogether, and I've also seen a good number of Simmental bulls (and their progeny) that I'd be concerned about having in with my cows. If you have big, older cows or maybe even have had a vet out to do some pelvic measurements maybe the bull selection is not as big of an issue as I make it out to be.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Anonymous, post: 10715"] For the most part I agree with Linda's comments. I have lost a few over the years in circumstances like what you described (cow turns up missing, etc.) and know that it can be most disheartening. Sometimes you can do something about it and sometimes not. IF you live on your ranch or farm and don't have another job then you can probably do as Linda suggests. And if so, consider a birthing pasture of several acres in size so you can monitor several times a day the cows that you think are about ready to dominoe, without having to wander all over creation. Otherwise there's sometimes precious little you can do to prevent a cow with a delivery problem from wandering off and maybe dying in agony unless you just happen to be there at the right time -- it's just a part of nature's plan in my view. I've been raising cattle for a fair number of years and have learned a little along the way, but have a long way to go yet. I live a fair distance from my cows and depending on Houston traffic I'm at least one full hour away, sometimes two hours! I sure as hell can't leave my "regular" job and make that trip more than about twice a week to feed, inspect the cows, monitor pregnancies, etc. In winter I go to my place to feed round bales on Wed. & Sat. Once I had one turn up missing on a Wed. evening and I looked for her until dark and then headed for home. It takes a LONG time to thoroughly search several hundred acres of land with some pasture, woods, brush, etc.! Well, upon my return on Saturday I continued my search and found her dead. But under the circumstances I did about all I could reasonably do. I don't have a caretaker living on the place, either. But there are a few other practical suggestions (at least in my view) that I may offer to you, especially if you are a relative newcomer, or perhaps a "weekender" such as myself. Resist the temptation to hold back nice looking heifers for herd expansion. Many times they get bred too soon and are not physically developed enough to reliably be free of birthing problems. Many people feel it's cheaper to buy replacements. And don't buy "first calf heifers" either. Whether you raise or buy them getting past that first calving is the biggest hurdle. So I'd buy second or third calf cows, or maybe some "three in ones" And give a lot of thought and/or research into your bull selection. Don't try to "push the envelope" for calf size by using high birthweight bulls regardless of the breed you choose. It is a helluva lot better to have calves that are born small & alive than big dead ones! Others may disagree with me on this, but I think for a beginner or weekender you should stay away from Charolais bulls altogether, and I've also seen a good number of Simmental bulls (and their progeny) that I'd be concerned about having in with my cows. If you have big, older cows or maybe even have had a vet out to do some pelvic measurements maybe the bull selection is not as big of an issue as I make it out to be. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Health & Nutrition
Problem pregnancy ??
Top