What would you do? Need opinions...

[mitch2]

I have 4 heifers yet to calve. Of the 5 heifers that already calved, I lost one calf to malpresentation possibly due to very long length (and weight 100+) and pulled one calf that lived.

I have all calving cows/heifers in what we call the "winter pasture", this pasture is next to buildings and water, and can be seen almost 100% without much effort. Grazing is non-existent at this point, and we are feeding hay, no problem as we have way more than we would need.

I like this option as granny, who checks at least twice a day, is able to keep an eye on these girls without having to go into pasture or walking long distance.

The pastures that they will be turned out in as soon as all have calved is approx 3ft high.

This is where the question comes in... would you turn these girls out or keep waiting til all have calved?

I have no other option to separate these 4 due to water constraints. The bull is in one paddock, the feeders are in another pasture, and then these girls are in their current position.

I want to wait, hubby looks at the pasture and is giving me the evil eye...

Thanks for opinions!

Michele

 

[Rustler9]

I would definitely keep them where they can be checked if you are having problems with them calving. It's bad enough to have to try to pull a calf but if they are where you can't see them often or if you have to try to run them down when you see a problem. I would consider an easier calving bull in the future too to minimize such problems.

 

[Beefy]

depending on how close they are to calving--
could you swap them out with the bull so the pasture can recover ? are they all about the same as far as you can tell or are some closer than others? how far off are they?

 

[flaboy?]

Rustler nailed it. Look for a lower birth weight bull.

 

[mitchwi]

Ok, I'd say 2 are going to calve within a week. 1 within 2 weeks (?), and the last one is a crap shoot.

All calves born to date have been 65 to 75#'s, no problems for heifers.... the one that was 100+ I believe it was heifer genetics that caused it, as she is extremely long. The one I had to pull was not dialating enough....easy pull. Both I chalk up to "heifer" problems.

Michele

 

[Nowland Farms]

DO NOT let the Hefiers out in the 3 foot tall grass until they calve.

Here's my reason - Years ago, when I 1st got into cows, I bought 4 bred cows at the salebarn and put them in a pasture which was covered with about 10 acres of broomsage 3 feet high. Checked the cows one eveing before dark and one was just beginning to show sign of calving. I went to the house for about 30 minutes to eat supper and give the cow some time. When I retured the cow had gotten in the broomsage and layed down. Daylight was fading and I did not find the cow before it got dark. I rode the 4wheeler in broomsage for almost 3 hours before I found the cow. The calf was halfway out and dead. I pulled the calf but the cow could not get up. I worked with her for the next 24-36 hours lifting her. She had no control over her rear legs. I ended up putting the cow down.

 

[Phil in Tupelo]

Keep them in the observation pen with hay. One problem caught early will more than pay for the 2 or 3 bales of hay they may eat in the next two or three weeks. IMO.

Phil

 

[Sir Loin]

First time heifers should always be kept where they can be watched so assistance can be rendered quickly if needed.
Re:

The pastures that they will be turned out in as soon as all have calved is approx 3ft high.

Why is your pasture 3 ft high?
It should have been fed, baled or mowed long ago.
Even if calving goes well and you put them out there you won’t be able to find them to check on them.
Then there is the pink eye issue with grass that high you may have to deal with.

Keep them in the observation pen with hay and make hay out of your over grown pasture. ;-)
SL

 

[mitch2]

Thanks everyone - you all voiced the same worries I have, and they will stay where they are till calving is done. The 2 that are close I'd say will be here before the weekend is done. If they other 2 aren't coming along soon, I will move them to a corral, since it would only be the 2 of them and wouldn't be too crowded.

First time heifers should always be kept where they can be watched so assistance can be rendered quickly if needed.
Re:

The pastures that they will be turned out in as soon as all have calved is approx 3ft high.

Why is your pasture 3 ft high?
It should have been fed, baled or mowed long ago.
Even if calving goes well and you put them out there you won’t be able to find them to check on them.
Then there is the pink eye issue with grass that high you may have to deal with.

Keep them in the observation pen with hay and make hay out of your over grown pasture. ;-)
SL

I have more hay ground than pasture ground at the moment. 1st crop gave us enough hay (unbelieveable crop :shock: ) to last thru the winter and we still have 2 to 3 crops left to go.
I will brush hog after they have been in it for awhile if need be.
As far as long/grass and pink eye, this field is mostly clover/alfalfa, not sure if this makes a difference.
As far as being able to find them in this pasture, it is not huge approx 16 acres and if I stand on the top ridge I can see almost the whole pasture as it is like a bowl shaped valley.

Thanks again everyone!

Michele

 

[Bez>]

Well, I have a bunch of heifers out on grass right now - they are due to calve in a week to three weeks,

I check them twice a day. As long as I can count them all, I do not bother them.

If you breed right they generally do not have a problem. The fact remains cows been having calves for thousands of years.

Any cow can have the same probs as a heifer - we send the cows out and we send the heifers out. Been a lot of years since we lost one.

I know it could happen tomorrow, but to date we been doing OK. Far as I am concerned - if you grew them right and you bred them right and they come from good stock - you turn them out.

Bez>

 

[mitch2]

Well, I have a bunch of heifers out on grass right now - they are due to calve in a week to three weeks,

I check them twice a day. As long as I can count them all, I do not bother them.

If you breed right they generally do not have a problem. The fact remains cows been having calves for thousands of years.

Any cow can have the same probs as a heifer - we send the cows out and we send the heifers out. Been a lot of years since we lost one.

I know it could happen tomorrow, but to date we been doing OK. Far as I am concerned - if you grew them right and you bred them right and they come from good stock - you turn them out.

Bez>

Bez - you have valid points....but...

I live approx 67 miles from the farm, and I work an additional 37 miles from home (opposite direction from farm). It takes me at least 2 hours to get there if there is a problem. I know, I know, bad situation. On the bright side, hubby got new job and we will be living only 12 miles from the farm (yeah).

Granny, who checks cattle twice a day is 83 years old. Don't get me wrong, she is in no way a "feeble lady"...but, she is given strict orders to not go in the pasture, and if left in pasture they are in, she is able to see all of it without going in.

I'm confident we grew these heifers out nice, and I believe the bull has low enough bw that heifers "should not" have a problem. On the genetic side of the heifers, I am clueless as they were bought at the sale barn, of which I received health information, but no genetic information.

So, I guess I trying to lean on the old standby

"better safe than sorry" or maybe it's this one...



"better lucky than good"... not sure which applies best? ;-)

Michele

 

[alabama]

Turn out the ones that have already calved with calf. and keep the other ones up.

 

[mitch2]

Turn out the ones that have already calved with calf. and keep the other ones up.

Wish I could but I can't...

unless.... do cattle actually really need all that water? ;-)

Michele

 

[mitch2]

2 more healthy calves, no assistance needed, 2 more to go!

Michele

 

[mitch2]

If the bull has a low enough birthweight that you dont think heifers will have problem then why are you having 100 to 100+ pound calves? Unless you are feeding them in the last months of their gestation there should be no reason their birthweights are this high unless both the cow's and the bull's birthweight are high.

1 was 100+, the rest have been under 80#...bull's bw was 74#... please explain why both parents have to have high bw to get a high bw calve? Sorry, but I am still new at this....

Michele

 

[dun]

If the bull has a low enough birthweight that you dont think heifers will have problem then why are you having 100 to 100+ pound calves? Unless you are feeding them in the last months of their gestation there should be no reason their birthweights are this high unless both the cow's and the bull's birthweight are high.

1 was 100+, the rest have been under 80#...bull's bw was 74#... please explain why both parents have to have high bw to get a high bw calve? Sorry, but I am still new at this....

Michele

In theory both contribute, but in fact, sometimes you get the throw back or exception. I know folks are tired of this story, but a cow bred to a Lincoln Red Had a 100 plus pound calf when every other cow bred to him had little bitty calves. The next year we bred them all to a Gert bull and every calf was within maybe ten pounds, even the cow with the monster calf had a small calf that fit in with the others. The owner decided it was fluke so we bred them all to the Lincoln Red bull again. All the calves were tiny, except that one cows calf, another monster. No matter how well we think we understand this stuff (the we being scientests, etc.) Ol Ma Nature will toss a curve hust to keep everyone on their toes.

 

[MikeC]

If the bull has a low enough birthweight that you dont think heifers will have problem then why are you having 100 to 100+ pound calves? Unless you are feeding them in the last months of their gestation there should be no reason their birthweights are this high unless both the cow's and the bull's birthweight are high.

1 was 100+, the rest have been under 80#...bull's bw was 74#... please explain why both parents have to have high bw to get a high bw calve? Sorry, but I am still new at this....

Michele

IMHO, a Bull's "Actual" birthweight has very little to do with the birthweight of his progeny.

There are too many management considerations involved with the dam of that bull during her pregnancy.

I never use a bull's actual BW in considering a bull unless he is WAY too far out of the BW Ratio curve in his contemporary group.

 

[john250]

Ol Ma Nature will toss a curve hust to keep everyone on their toes.

Around here, Ma Nature favors the "split finger fastball'.

 

[forageconverter]

IMHO, a Bull's "Actual" birthweight has very little to do with the birthweight of his progeny.

There are too many management considerations involved with the dam of that bull during her pregnancy.

I agree 100%.

One should use a ‘birth weight EPD’, or better yet, a ‘calving ease EPD’, to select a calving ease bull.

 

[dun]

Ol Ma Nature will toss a curve hust to keep everyone on their toes.

Around here, Ma Nature favors the "split finger fastball'.

Sometimes I think it's more of a spitter