What's in your Calving Kit???

[Little Cow]

I'm putting together some supplies and meds for calving season, (it'll be in April for me). I'll be asking my vet the same question, but wanted to get your guys' input as well.

I used to work for a few ranches years ago and helped with calving, but I can't remember all that the stuff they had. Also, I'm sure things such as antibiotics and colostrum substitutes are better now than 10 years ago. I am comfortable doing a lot myself, but will consult the vet or call him out if I get in too deep. Hoping to keep costs down by having things on hand that the vet can tell me how to administer, (antibiotics, anti-inflammatory). We plan on bringing the cows into a fresh pen 30 days prior to first due date and watching them closely. We'll have halters on the cows and an AI chute if we need to help them out.

Here's what I have, or plan to get:

-Iodine
-OB gloves
-OB lube
-antibiotics for cows, (which is best?)
-antibiotics for calf scours, (which is best?)
-colostrum substitute, (which brand?)
-OB chains
-tags/tagger
-scale, (we have a fish scale and sling that will work because our calves are little Dexters).
-anti-inflammatory
-thermometer
-small bottle of oxygen and tubing, (for calves, if bad off)
-good portable lights
-enema for backed up calves
-???

I do not have the skill necessary for emergency C-section or cutting out a dead calf, so I don't need those tools as I will be calling the vet if we find ourselves in that position. I can reposition calves pretty well and recognize a overly tired or down cow. Also good with distressed calves. It'll be great if I don't need any of this stuff except tags, iodine and the scale, but we'll see.

 

[novatech]

Leave them cows alone. They don,t need a maturnity ward. Just check them daily out in the pasture. If there is a problem then worry about it. I have taken cows all the way to the pen with the calf already comming out. If she is on the ground you can take of her there. You will do more harm than good messing with them. Cattle want to go off by themselves to calve they don,t want you watching, makes them nervous.

 

[Cowdirt]

Leave them cows alone. They don,t need a maturnity ward. Just check them daily out in the pasture. If there is a problem then worry about it. I have taken cows all the way to the pen with the calf already comming out. If she is on the ground you can take of her there. You will do more harm than good messing with them. Cattle want to go off by themselves to calve they don,t want you watching, makes them nervous.

Right on, Novatech. Man I don't micro manage my cows that way. You can spend all your profit, if there is any, trying to be prepared for everything.

 

[Victoria]

Honestly, I am not sure what brand of colostrum we have on hand, just grab what the feed store has, they only get in one kind so that is what we get. We don't keep antibiotics on hand. Our vet is only a 20 minute drive away so we get that kind of stuff as needed. It's expensive to buy a bottle and have it expire before it is ever used. Also there are a lot of times that if we need it for a calf if we go pick it up from him then the syringes are made up and we don't have to pay for a whole bottle - cost is more per dose but less than buying an whole bottle and we don't use antibiotics much.

So what we do have on hand is tagger, tags, scale (same as yours), Vitamins A&D, Selenium&D, syringes, needles, iodine (we have used it once in five years, but depending on where you are calving you may need to), scour tablets, drencher and chains. We always wear a watch or keep an eye in the truck, don't forget to time the cow in case there is a problem nice to know approximately how long she has been going at it.

We don't leave anything around here with a halter on, just in case they get caught up. You sound like you spend a lot of time with your cows and they may even like having your company during calving. The majority of times cows can do it alone and don't need your help. Our good years I use only the tags and scale. I do like to be there for the birth though. When the head is out I check to see if the sac broke, if not I take it off the nose and clean out the mouth, they can drown from the fluid. After that I back off and let the cow do it herself. Our cows don't come in however, they are in the field. I still like to stay around, keeps predators away. I figure it is the cows job to have a healthy calf but it's my job to keep them both safe.

Hope you have a great calving season, sure you'll do just fine.

 

[Rustler9]

We don't have calving kits-of course we don't need one as we don't have any problems with calving. Our calves are born small and are rarely sick so all we do is go out, look at them and write down the birth date and sex of the calf.

 

[Little Cow]

Guess you guys can probably tell that I'm excited.

The cows are used to us and halters, but I suppose they could get them caught on something, (I was debating about doing that). They have spent plenty of time penned up before and they follow us around when we are in their pasture. We have a fresh field for them once their calves are born, however, since they seem just as happy in their pen, didn't think they'd mind. The pen would be much easier for us because we can see them from the house without going outside, (mostly).

Victoria, I understand about expired antibiotics. Tough situation for us, though, because the nearest cow vet is still quite a distance. We'll see what he recommends.

 

[Susie David]

You have alot more stuff in your kit than we keep in ours.
The key to calving is to know when NOT to interfere...just because the calf isn't on the ground five minutes after the mucus plug is discharged doesn't mean that a fella needs to stick his hand in the cow mess around with the natural process.
The only injections that we give is Se, A & E 30 days prior to calving and the calf gets a shot.
Just my two bits worth.
DMc

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Leave them cows alone. They don,t need a maturnity ward. Just check them daily out in the pasture. If there is a problem then worry about it. I have taken cows all the way to the pen with the calf already comming out. If she is on the ground you can take of her there. You will do more harm than good messing with them. Cattle want to go off by themselves to calve they don,t want you watching, makes them nervous.

depends on your cattle. if you have brahman its easier to say that. and heifers need too be closer too the working pen when calving. my calving kit includes homemade ob chains and a comealong. i do keep a bag of colostrum just in case leave them along at a distance but dont ever second guess em

 

[randiliana]

Like said before don't overmanage things. I wouldn't bother bringing them in until about 10 days before they are due. Excercise is important. Odds are you won't need most of the stuff you have on hand, but better safe than sorry. We have on hand, but keep in mind, we have 150 head calving in 6 weeks.

Calving chains and handles
Calf puller
Snare, which we rarely have used, best to get the cow to the vet if you think you need it.
Colostrum, stored from last year and milked fresh once we get a chance. A good brand if you can get it is Head Start
Electrolytes
Broad spectrum antibiotic (LA200 and long acting penicillin)
Scour Pills (Sustain II boluses)
Betadine, for disinfecting calving stuff
OB Gloves
Tags/Tagger
Anti Inflamatory (dexamethasone)
De Horn paste
scale, ours is a small beam scale
tattooer and ink, for permanant ID in our heifer calves
Milk replacer, only because we have some left over from last year. I wouldn't go out and get it unless I needed it.

Our barn has a homemade maternity pen with a self catch headgate. We usually leave them in the headgate if we have to assist, but we do have rope halters if needed. The only time we leave a halter on a cow is if we have to milk her or we are adopting a calf onto her. Then they are supervised 3-4 times a day and night when we are checking. We calve in March/April and it can be pretty cold here, so we have a 5 stall barn and are considering a propane heater for it. We always have one stretch were it is cold and it seems half the herd has decided to calve that couple days ;-)

 

[Ryder]

Leave them cows alone. They don,t need a maturnity ward. Just check them daily out in the pasture. If there is a problem then worry about it. I have taken cows all the way to the pen with the calf already comming out. If she is on the ground you can take of her there. You will do more harm than good messing with them. Cattle want to go off by themselves to calve they don,t want you watching, makes them nervous.

I tend to agree. I have used hay string for puling if nothing else at hand. Have used a regular flashlight for light if the batteries weren't dead.,etc.
I have never heard of an oxygen bottle and tube for calves. Am I that far behind the times???

If you are in Florida, they are not likely to freeze after birth, so I don't think you need to be as concerned about calving as some of the folks up in the north country. Just keep the allgators run back.

 

[IL Rancher]

Little Cows... 99% chance you won't need any of those as long as you are dealing with mature Dexters. I have never even heard of a mature one having a calving problem (heifers, different story)... The average Dexter that was born here was born in the time it took you to go back inside and say old flossie is in labor... Most have zero problems calving unless you have a presentation problem. the only one ever pulled here was a true breach out of a 22 month old Heifer.. She still almost passed the sucker, lol... I think we calved 20 of them out last spring with out a problem...and probably have calved over 50 with no issues... of course, that could change this year but I doubt it. OUr main problem is that we get to many steers, lol.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We don't have calving kits-of course we don't need one as we don't have any problems with calving. Our calves are born small and are rarely sick so all we do is go out, look at them and write down the birth date and sex of the calf.

Same here with our Longhorns too.

When calving getting close we move mama to our "Maternity Pen" (50 x 75' pipe fenced pen with shed and water tank) and let her do her thing. She knows what to do. IF weather is nasty (cold, wet, near freezing) we are prepared to bring calf indoors to warm it up...only had to do this 2X in five years.

Longhorns are naturally disease, illness resistant and do very well on their own. Haven't had a single one get sick!

We also weigh calf (holding calf while standing on a bathroom scale) within 72 hours if at all possible...let mama have the first 24 hours or so to bond and get calf started on his/her own.

 

[randiliana]

It looks like alot of people have a scale. One person mentioned a bathroom scale. Does anyone use anything different?

We have a small beam scale. Weighs up to 200 lbs. I have also used a bathroom scale, but that was usually a 2 person effort. 1 to hold the calf and another to read the scale. I have also used the weight tape that you put around the hoof, and I find it pretty inaccurate. If you have 75-95 lb calves it seems to be OK, but it can be 20 lbs off on heavier or lighter calves.

 

[Oldtimer]

I do have a little measurement tape that you slide around the calves hoof and take their hoof measurement and it tells how much they weigh which is accurate to + or - 7 pounds. I do have a tagger. I carry it on the 4 wheeler and the weigh tape in my pocket .

Little cow (seems bad calling a woman a cow :shock: :lol I have to agree with the hoof tape...I've found they are fairly accurate and they sure are handy if you have a heifer having problems with only the feet showing and want to get a fairly accurate idea of the size and weight....I have 3 or 4- one for every coat pocket...

Definitely a lot easier than slinging and hoisting calves if your just trying to get a general idea of where your weights are running... We cross matched them to the scale for awhile- and they were close enough for general work...

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
Different options for different breeders. My herd is all registered black angus. So a few things are almost mandatory.
Calving kit
Tagger, tags, tag pen, notebook, iodine for dip, Bo-Se, 400lb freight scale. Tatoo at weaning. Pistol on hip, for keeping the turkey buzzards away.

When the first calf comes, the herd in then moved into a fresh field. All natural birthing here 99% of the time. Watch heifers closer than cows. Cows just have them, done.

:roll: Cabinet of course has other items such as LA-200, pen g, boluses, tube feeder, bottles, nipples, milk replacer, scour electrolites, colostrium mix, syringes, needles, OB gloves, OB lube, OB chains, scissors, knife, scapel, tatoo equipment, rope halter, ropes, nitril gloves, hand towels.

 

[randiliana]

How do you move the weights on the beam while holding a restless calf? Or am I thinking of the wrong kind of beam scale?

It has a box built on it with a door you can close. Usually they will just lay there.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

after a breech or malpresentation or two. youll learn to stay on your toes. nothing worse than turning around and pulling a breech after they have been pushing awhile in the cold march rain in the mud dont take for granted any of em. im not fond of burying a profit. yep i leave them alone till they dont produce a calf fast enough to suit me then i move in.

 

[Victoria]

Guess you guys can probably tell that I'm excited.

The cows are used to us and halters, but I suppose they could get them caught on something, (I was debating about doing that). They have spent plenty of time penned up before and they follow us around when we are in their pasture. We have a fresh field for them once their calves are born, however, since they seem just as happy in their pen, didn't think they'd mind. The pen would be much easier for us because we can see them from the house without going outside, (mostly).

Victoria, I understand about expired antibiotics. Tough situation for us, though, because the nearest cow vet is still quite a distance. We'll see what he recommends.

That's good that you are excited, it is a far easier job if you love it than if you don't! Funny, I just finished saying that we leave ours out and then went to work today and find it my mother has the same idea as you. We're bringing a bunch in to the run behind the house so she can find them easier at night, and may not have to got outside. :lol:

 

[Little Cow]

Hey, thanks for all the inputs, guys!

I guess I can leave them out until about 10-15 days prior to due date, (they are heifers), if I can stand it. Just don't want them dropping a calf in the field they are in now. My husband likes it when I bring the cows in because I collect the manure daily for him to compost for the garden. The fresh field has an extra low strand of barbed wire to keep the little calves in so it should be great once they arrive.

The ranches I worked at were affiliated with Colorado State U, so they had the fancy stuff, like blow by oxygen for weak calves. Their cattle were pretty fat, too, (averaged about eight), so dystocia was about 10%. It was also quite cold there. I am more concerned about fly control than cold temps down here in Florida!

Thanks for some brand names. I'll check with the vet before buying any meds.

 

[Little Cow]

IL Rancher- Mine are all heifers and new to me, so I'm not sure what to expect. Good to hear they don't tend to have issues!