This Calving Season Just Plain Sux....

[robertwhite]

"Vent Mode On"

Very small herd, started calving on 2/7 (1-11/2 weeks early). 1st calf (boy) was probably 75lbs and real leggy, then came a normal weight, but real leggy girl. She came out of a heifer and because of the long legs, the heifer prolapsed. She probably prolapsed 50-60% and we were able to get it back in and over the pelvis (still is in place today). After bottle feeding the calf overnight, momma calmed down and took to the calf and has been nursing.

Next day, a normal size boy, but again, real leggy. Same day a 70-75lb girl and of course, leggy.

Then yesterday morning a normal weight, normal legs boy and last night, a 7 yr old cow is having trouble calving. Let her try for quite a while and finally got her in the chute when it was obvious there was a problem. Reach in and get 2 hooves and head, all in proper position. Then have to ties ropes and use come-a-long as we can't pull it.

By this time I figure calf would be dead, but have to save momma. Calf starts to come out and as he is coming out, I see him move. Crap! Now I have to get this calf out right away and as he is coming out, I can see his back half start to twist around. So front half was normal, back half was twisted. Momma fully prolapses.

Take calf (who spit out probably a quart of fluid) and try to save him. Bull calf is huge (80-85lbs) and yup, really leggy. Calf started breathing on its own, cleaned it, milked the mother and fed him about a pint+ (of course, I had failed to get a new bag of colostrum to replace the one I had used the other day) Buddy spent about 3 hrs trying to get prolapse back in and could not get it over the pelvis (it was just plain blocked, don't know why.) Plan on taking cow to sale barn to at least get a couple bucks, but cow was already dead. Have to get neighbor with backhoe to bury her.

Got bag of colostrum this morning and calf has been bottle feeding (in pen with other prolapsed cow and calf) and seems like he will make it. Now obviously, there is something in this new bulls (2yr old) history that is real tall as he is short and squat. Don't know what I will do with him at this point, since trying to find a bull for the spring (June) is not likely. My last heifer (due in 2 mths) I will induce labor 2-3 weeks early and hope for the best. Craziest thing is that first calf has grown into those legs in just 1 1/2 weeks and is a monster. Hopefully, the others will do the same.

So now I'm down 2 cows (will let the 1st one nurse her calf separated from the herd/bull, then sell her as burger), have a bull I don't know what to do with, have to take a chance with my heifer that's due and I'm ready to pull what's left of my hair out. :bang:

Can I catch a break sometime?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Why are you down two cows?? Seen them prolapse before and never have another problem. Long legs did not cause the prolapse. Any cow that can't have a 85 lb calf needs to got to the sale barn.

 

[Anonymous]

Long legs at birth aren't a bad thing. Sucks about the dead cow, but prolapses happen and have nothing to do with the bull that bred the cow.

 

[shadyhollownj]

If you got pics that would be great. I am missing the huge 80-85 lb calves and leggy comment. Maybe it has to do with some management problem out of your control or the sire of the cows your calving out not necessarily the sire of the calves. I never read anything about inducing three weeks early but doesnt sound good to me. Sorry to hear about your headaches I have some of my own.

 

[Chris H]

How's this for sucky? Grandson's 4 year old cow developed hydrops about 2 weeks before she was due to calve. We lost her, and her twin bull calves. Not only that, her 2 year old daughter was a month away from calving and acting 'off'. Since the vet was out for the hydrops we brought in the 2 year old(actually 22 months). No temp, nothing to indicate what was wrong, did have foul breath. The next day she started breathing loudly, the noise coming from the throat area, not congested lung sounds. Started her on pen-G, then sulfa, lost her a week later. We suspect diphtheria on her, no one else is sick and she had been vaccinated for about everything else. We've got two healthy calves, and the rest will start calving in about a week.

 

[Cattleman200]

I may have missed it but what breed are the cows and the bull they were bred to?



Circle H Ranch

 

[robertwhite]

Why are you down two cows?? Seen them prolapse before and never have another problem. Long legs did not cause the prolapse. Any cow that can't have a 85 lb calf needs to got to the sale barn.

I'm down 2 cows as 1 died and there is no way I am breeding back a cow that has prolapsed, even if we did get it back in. Are you saying you breed back cows that have prolapsed? Also, are you saying you have no problem breeding for an 85lb calf? That's just ridiculous, who wants a big BW calf? Sorry, but I totally disagree.

 

[Anonymous]

85 lb calf is not what most would call a large bw calf.

 

[robertwhite]

If you got pics that would be great. I am missing the huge 80-85 lb calves and leggy comment. Maybe it has to do with some management problem out of your control or the sire of the cows your calving out not necessarily the sire of the calves. I never read anything about inducing three weeks early but doesnt sound good to me. Sorry to hear about your headaches I have some of my own.

I only have a few pics that would show anything, and I don't know how to post them here. But basically, after seeing in past years what my cows have thrown, I would have to blame it on the bulls genes. My friend who has been around cows forever even commented that they looked like giraffes. The calf that is now about 1 1/2 weeks old is an easy 125lbs right now and the calf that was born last night looks like a week old calf.

As for the inducing, this was told by a man that runs 500 momma cows. Basically, he said that if they realize they got a bull throwing traits like that, they will induce 2-3 weeks early so that they are assured of at least a somewhat smaller calf at birth. I can only go by what I was told and also had never heard such a thing before.

 

[herefordlover]

We have heifers calve 85 lb calves every year. Have rebreed prolapses with no problems. Both our bill have over 85 lb birth weightsmand use them on heifers just cant have little pelvises on them

 

[robertwhite]

I may have missed it but what breed are the cows and the bull they were bred to?
Circle H Ranch

Sorry, should have said before. Some cows are Angus, others are Hereford cross and 1 Simmental/Beefmaster cross. The bull is Angus/Beefmaster. Pretty much just commercial cows.

 

[robertwhite]

We have heifers calve 85 lb calves every year. Have rebreed prolapses with no problems. Both our bill have over 85 lb birth weightsmand use them on heifers just cant have little pelvises on them

I'm actually thinking that is the root cause of the 2 prolapsed cows. This was a 7 yr old Angus who was on the small size, and her daughter, who was also the same size (say 1000lbs or so). They both do/did have smaller hips than most, but obviously, the 7yr old has had plenty of others without issue. And there is no way I am breeding back this heifer (would be 2nd calf) who partially prolapsed, knowing that the bull has traits she can't handle. She will nurse her calf and be sold.


And BTW- Why don't we have multi-quote? :???:

 

[herefordlover]

Dont know where u are but y cant u find a new bull befor breeding season

 

[shadyhollownj]

I always thought prolapses were getting shipped no matter what? Arent you just asking for trouble with the next calf? I'm just asking cause I never dealt with it. I gotta say though most mommas have 78-85 lb calves no trouble and I have mostly small framed cows 1100-1200lbs. Heifers I like at 65-75 lb. There has to a consignment sale that you could get a bull from for this breeding season at a decent price.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Gee, that is normal to small birth weights for us. Just had a 23 month old heifer calve Saturday, calf weighs 88 pounds. Here is a pic of her just hours after birth. She did it all on her own, we went out and found the calf and heifer. The heifer might weigh 1050 pounds, she is not big by any means. I bet it is not the bull, but pics of the babies would be nice to see. This heifer calf could not walk under her dam, but does not seem leggy. Just big boned!

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Yes i am saying that i have bred back cows that have prolapsed and never had problem with it. Most of the time prolapse is caused by a long hard delivery. If a heifer of mine won't have a 85 lb calf she won't stay here.

 

[dun]

Conventional wisdom is that if they prolapse before calving they'll do it again. If they prolapse after they calve they won't. I've only had one cow through the years that prolapsed after calving and she didn;t do it again. That was because she tore things up so bad from the prolapse that she bled to death.

 

[randiliana]

We've never had a big problem with prolapses, the couple we've dealt with have never been bred back, but they had more issues than just prolapses.

As far as 85 lbs being big, that is a below average calf for cows around here and probably pretty close to average for our heifers. I do know that if a cow can't have an 85 lb calf on her own, she wouldn't be around here for long. We've assisted some heifers with 85 lb calves, I don't get too concerned about that.

 

[colleen]

We have lost one calf out of 5 for February. It's never easy. Especially not for Mom! Maybe the rest of the season will be better for you. Isn't it risky to put a cow in a chute to pull a calf? You should tie them using a halter, never a rope around the neck. And I've always heard never put into a chute, in case they lay or fall down. Isn't that right?
Colleen

 

[dun]

We have lost one calf out of 5 for February. It's never easy. Especially not for Mom! Maybe the rest of the season will be better for you. Isn't it risky to put a cow in a chute to pull a calf? You should tie them using a halter, never a rope around the neck. And I've always heard never put into a chute, in case they lay or fall down. Isn't that right?
Colleen

We will put them in the chute to get a halter on her, then tie it to the ouside of the chute and have her walk out. Then we start the pulling or wahtever is needed.