The Last Trimester with Pics and advice

[Anonymous]

the herford/gert cross that I bought bred 2 months ago lost her plug today, and bagged up enough for me to see a difference in her udder, but not strutting or full yet. Being that this is my first calving, Im pretty excited. Now, I just get to sit back and wait.
Any sage advice besides keeping the vets cell on speed dial ;-)

 

[snickers]

the hardest part is waiting and then when it is time it's nerve racking for me until I get a healthy calf on the ground. I only have 9 cow's and 3 heifers maybe that's why I get worried because if it's gonna happen it will happen to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Not really nerve wracking for me...yet.Ive got so much other stuff going on that I dont have too much time to worry

 

[jerry27150]

here/gert should have no problems

 

[SRBeef]

My advice as a fellow beginner is to try to let nature take its course. Don't feel you have to necessarily intervene.

Cattle have been calving on their own for many centuries. Its hard to fight the urge to do something the first time. If there REALLY seems to be a problem call the vet. But for the most part just leave her alone and enjoy the miracle of new life.

Best of luck.

Jim

 

[Dixieangus]

so did she calve

 

[Anonymous]

not yet...no further change in the udder. The mucous I saw wasnt much, so Im thinking it was just a little piece of the plug. It dried up on her vulva and looked like a big dried up booger. We are watching her for more signs...maybe this bad weather in Fl will kick her and the sheep into dropping their babies..who knows. Her udder looks like a third of a soccer ball, but no strutting. Im going to go have a look at her in a minute here now that the rain has let up a little.

 

[Anonymous]

yep, both my kids were born smack in the middle of tropical storms...one a month early.

 

[Anonymous]

More udder this evening than there was this morning....No other changes

 

[Anonymous]

probably. I thought she was thinking about it today. I went to check her, and she didnt get up, just layed there looking at me. Usually, she jumps right up when I walk to her. As she was laying down, she kept stretching her neck out and laying her chin on the ground. Her back end( vulva and rectum area) looked elongated while laying down, almost to a cone shape. Then she decided to get up.
Her tail has sunk in quite bit in the last week, her right side in front of her hip has flattened out a bit, but the lump looks like it has just moved further forward. Other than that, just another day on the farm. :cowboy:

 

[Anonymous]

this girl is getting more and more cranky as she gets closer. From 5 feet away, she false charged me. When she got close, I bopped her on the top of the head, and she calmed right down. I know pregnant women get cranky, I assume heavy pregnant cows do also.

 

[Susie David]

Alot has been posted on calving with some real good references a fella would be ahead of the process if read up and knows what to expect from the cow. Sounds like she is right on schedule with her clalving just sit back and watch. By now you probably have a calf on the teat.
Good luck to you...just remember that even with a puppy gentle cow the mother instinct will make her real protective of that calf, don't get anxious to jump in and handle the little one...mama has one instinct and that is to protect the calf.
Good luck....Dave Mc

 

[Anonymous]

Dave, I appreciate what you are saying. And I appreciate all the insight from all the members here. No calf yet. Also, I think I have read almost all the information available on the internet in regards to cows, calving, what to look for..etc. At least it feels like it. But we all know there is nothing like seeing it for real in person, and using that experience from there on out. :tiphat:

 

[Anonymous]

will do

 

[Dixieangus]

update please

 

[Anonymous]

no further changes....every once in a while I see what appears to be dried goop on the vulva..but nothing further.More weather coming in tonight so who knows.

 

[Susie David]

Alot of us are anxious to hear how things are developing....posting pics will get alot of responses and even a guessing pool on when she will calve. Has the udder sprung? How about the temp of the cow?
Any bad odors?
Good luck.
Dave Mc

 

[Anonymous]

Ill get some pics up by this weekend. Udder at a standstill and not full, no odors, and no way will she let me get close enough to temp her and I dotn have a squeeze

 

[novatech]

Ill get some pics up by this weekend. Udder at a standstill and not full, no odors, and no way will she let me get close enough to temp her and I dotn have a squeeze

You don't need a squeeze. If you have a regular chute just stick a pipe behind her.
I just read the rest of the threads. Leave her A-S alone. If you have to watch use binoculars. "Curiosity can kill the cat" and calves too.
If her udder has deflated then she may have already had the calf. If she has she will bring it out when she is good and ready.
If you want to find it then take a dog with you. If you hunt for it in a truck don't run it over.

 

[Anonymous]

her udder hasnt deflated, just hasnt filled. Here are a couple of pictures from 4 days ago or so:

No real good pictures of her udder, but you can see her teats a little, and a good shot of her vulva. No real good shots of the calf side of her belly.
Nova, very good points, but we are only on 5 acres, it would be hard for her to hide a calf from us on this little piece of land.