The Last Trimester with Pics and advice

[Dixieangus]

what was her due date or aproximatly, and can you or someone make the pics larger

 

[Anonymous]

dont know her due date. Bought her bred from the vet, who armed her. He said anywhere from 6-7 months bred, that was 2 months ago. Dont know how to make the pics larger...Sorry

 

[chippie]

Doesn't look like it will be anytime soon. Cows can lose their mucus plug 4 to 6 weeks before calving.
Her udder should fill and the teats strut out when she is close.

 

[Anonymous]

Hopefully these are larger

 

[Dixieangus]

so you experienced calving folks i will have my first cow calving in a few days hopefully...is that the usual size the vulva will get close to the time the calf will be born.....i raise stockers so want an calf to run around

 

[Katpau]

How they look varies a lot by breed and individual animal. I have had cows with a little Brahma who look like this most of the time, and are downright gross the last few weeks before calving. So swollen you could almost drive a truck in. Others you can barely see a difference right up until they calve.

 

[dun]

She doesn;t look all that close to me. Seh;s sunk some at the tail head but that may be the way she's built. She may sloppy up a lot more or none at all. Depends on the cow. I've got one now that was due the third and she's a lot sloppier then that but still round as a blimp and o udder building going on. 9 year old cow so she probably knows what she's doing

 

[Anonymous]

I gave up trying to figure out when she will calve about a month ago. Then a little of the goop came out. The pictures are the next day after that. Her tail head is sinking, that is a recent development. She has been sloppy since I got her, but the additional ring of sloppiness around the outside is a new development. So.....I sit here and dont worry about it too much. It will happen when it needs to. With my luck, it will be while Im out of town helping the MIL move. :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Just a quick update, now that CT is back up....
Monday she had a 14 inch string of mucous hanging out with a clump about the size of a golfball on the end if it.
Her pelvis is much more squared up looking, but no further udder development. A little sloppier in the Vuvla :tiphat:

 

[Susie David]

I'd guess that by now you would be seeing a pair of hoves with a nose between them when you go out to check the cow. Sounds like you are on your way to a calving...she'll get restless, the tail out and probably she'll do a little backward walk, break water and get the show on the road.
Just let her alone and do what nature intended, if no progress for a half hour or so I give them a hand, most claves just need to be held between contractions and the cow will squeese them out just fine.
Straight back until the shoulders clear then down...just a reminder.
Good luck, Dave Mc

 

[gizmom]

Just please be careful, even the most docile of animals can be aggressive right before and after they calve. Five years ago I was severely injured while checking calves. I volunteered to go and check cattle one Sunday after church, my son was working on his house and needed my husband to help him so I took farm duty. This was in February five months after hurricane Ivan had hit our area. After the storm we had pushed up downed trees and many of the piles had trees and fencing a new calf had become entangled in some of the fence wire in one of the piles. I looked around saw the cows down by the pond and assumed (yep break it down) that the calf's mamma was with the rest of them. So I decided to take the opportunity to get the little guy out of his predicament about the time I got my hands on him I heard a horrible sound of MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO but with an AOOOOOOOOOOO the rest was a train wreck. Mamma came over the debris pile caught me in the face( two black eyes,) I never really believed when people told me they had been hit so hard they saw stars until then. That knocked me down where mamma did a tap dance on my back breaking two ribs I tried to get up she hit me again breaking my shoulder I landed on my back she stepped on my chest and broke two more ribs on the front side. About this time I really felt I was going to die I started crawling (I couldn't get up) and drug myself under the debris pile the only thing hanging out of the pile was my feet. I then found my Nextel phone in my jacket pocket (how I didn't lose it I will never know I just think it was a God thing) and I tried to call my husband for help. I think the dang cow heard the beep beep of the Nextel because she made one more pass at me pushing my foot into the ground with her head (broken foot) this was not a cow that had ever given us a problem I have no idea what set her off. I don't know if I would have actually made it except that during all of the commotion the calf finally panicked and pulled himself out of the wire once free he and momma just trotted off. I survived but still have scars and a healthy fear and respect of new mommas. I should add that at this time we had been in the cattle business 15 years I knew better than to mess with the calf with mamma there and me by myself I just didn't see mamma, a perfect example of letting my guard down and the cost was high.



Gizmom
http://www.gizmoangus.com

 

[Anonymous]

ouch, glad you are ok after all that. I learned long ago animals are not to be messed with when angry. But then again, I still like to go stalk wild pigs!

 

[MO_cows]

Gizmom, sounds like you are lucky to be alive. If you wouldn't have had the presence of mind to crawl under the pile it might have been much worse. Thanks for posting that, it's so easy to take the cows for granted when they can be so docile the rest of the year, everyone needs a reminder now and then.

 

[snickers]

hooknline what's the status? we are anxiously waiting on the little booger to get here and we want pics too!

 

[Anonymous]

:mrgreen:
She's just getting bigger and fatter every day. Im not paying a whole lot of attention, just looking for that udder to bag out. Other than that, its like that snickers commercial from aways back...not going anywhere for a while???"

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

gizmom - 5 years - and I bet your heart goes up in your throat everytime you are in a field with a cow that turns to look at you! What an experience! Glad you survived & can share that REMINDER for all of us!

 

[gizmom]

Jeanne,

Luckily, the cow that got me #48 not my lucky number, was really late calving that year and was already on the cull list, in fact hers was the last calf born that year. So I had from February to the next October to heal and to get my courage back. So I had a few months to get my nerve back, but the first time out I was shaking so hard I couldn't get the tag on the tagger! It's better now but even after five years I still do get spooked at times. The worst part was my son was scheduled to get married in May I was injured the 21st of February so I had to attend wedding showers in a cast....that was a bummer not to mention I slept in a recliner for about a month.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Jeanne,

Luckily, the cow that got me #48 not my lucky number, was really late calving that year and was already on the cull list, in fact hers was the last calf born that year. So I had from February to the next October to heal and to get my courage back. So I had a few months to get my nerve back, but the first time out I was shaking so hard I couldn't get the tag on the tagger! It's better now but even after five years I still do get spooked at times. The worst part was my son was scheduled to get married in May I was injured the 21st of February so I had to attend wedding showers in a cast....that was a bummer not to mention I slept in a recliner for about a month.

Another prime example as to why you should wait until weaning to tag the calves. Even though my calves are all black I can tell which one goes with which moma tag or not.

But, we aren't all as perfect as you must be - after all you can keep tract of -- hmmm how many? Give me a break!
Purebred seedstock breeders get BW's and most give necessary shots for their area, along with iodine naval.

 

[novatech]

Purebred seedstock breeders get BW's and most give necessary shots for their area, along with iodine naval.

I will have to disagree with you in part, at least in my breed. I know of 2 very large breeders that do not have a set of scales anywhere around at calving time. If they where to actually try and get the weights they would be used as target practice by over protective moms. What they do is check the weights later and deduct lbs. per day or just estimate visually. This makes me wonder how accurate the birth weights are for other breeds. Maybe not so much because of the danger involved but could be just plumb lazy.
I really think that the small breeders may do a better job. I don't know, just an openion.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I truly think Simmental breeders do an excellent job of getting BW's. Maybe I'm naive?? (sp?) It goes with the integrity of the breeder. We weigh, tag, doctor each calf after it's sucked & dried off (or mostly!) We have some dams that won't let you mess with their calf - but we have facilities to deal with them.