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How vigorous are the rest of your calves at birth?
Was this a bigger than normal calf? She may have had a longer time calving it and therefore it is just slow.
Hopefully it will come around, given some time and some colostrum or even milk. We used to use canned milk,
although I KNOW that colostrum is what the calf needs. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Good luck!
 
Calves all getting up good
average calf
put calf in a otter sled
went most of 3/4 mile
cow was hooked right on talkin
the whole way
that cold rain is a bad thing
with a young cow
 
the cow delivered a LIVE calf...the rest is up to you,ie enough shelter,hot box if cold and wet out,making sure calf gets colostrum,etc
 
One way or another if she's not gonna wean you a calf she better be gone or she would be here anyway.
 
Cold rain can chill a calf faster than you may realize. The smaller the calf the faster they become hypothermic. Likely no fault of the cow or calf or the feeding program.
 
WB said:
Cold rain can chill a calf faster than you may realize. The smaller the calf the faster they become hypothermic. Likely no fault of the cow or calf or the feeding program.
Click to expand...
I'd rather it snow
then to have a cold rain
took her to the barn
then every thing got better
I think and old cow could have
got it done tho
hate going to the barn
gotta do what you gotta do
 
Faster horses said:
How vigorous are the rest of your calves at birth?
Was this a bigger than normal calf? She may have had a longer time calving it and therefore it is just slow.
Hopefully it will come around, given some time and some colostrum or even milk. We used to use canned milk,
although I KNOW that colostrum is what the calf needs. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Neat to have a couple thermos's of hot water and some canned cow along.

Feed the little dude, put him under the heater for a while.

Neighbors used to get a kick outa my wife using a Cadillac to check cows.
She didn't back down atall.
"Field is smooth, easier for me to drag a calf in, leather wipes off easy, worth way less than good pickup, good gas mileage, nice tunes, great heater, lotsa room...."
 
littlejoe said:
Faster horses said:
How vigorous are the rest of your calves at birth?
Was this a bigger than normal calf? She may have had a longer time calving it and therefore it is just slow.
Hopefully it will come around, given some time and some colostrum or even milk. We used to use canned milk,
although I KNOW that colostrum is what the calf needs. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Neat to have a couple thermos's of hot water and some canned cow along.

Feed the little dude, put him under the heater for a while.

Neighbors used to get a kick outa my wife using a Cadillac to check cows.
She didn't back down atall.
"Field is smooth, easier for me to drag a calf in, leather wipes off easy, worth way less than good pickup, good gas mileage, nice tunes, great heater, lotsa room...."
Click to expand...


now there's an idear...we had a hay customer that would push a round bale around his horse pasture with his Cadillac every morning on his way to work
 
Moisture most any way it comes is welcome in my part of "The Great American Desert", yet if the snow is too dry and it is too cold for little calves, its worth is debatable. Same for what otherwise would be a great rain if it were just a few degrees warmer while we are calving. Wish it were practical here to calve later, but the grass goes to heck in a hurry if it is too hot and dry in spring and early summer. So sort of damned if it does and darned if it doesn't!

So far, it is looking pretty good. Grass has grown quite a lot for so early and cool as nights have been. Moisture is decent, with .96 by 8:AM this morning, and setting in with a good strong mist now. Was about 48% earlier, and dropped down a couple degrees lately. Miserable for those riding to check on new-borns! We calve in pastures, so given our largely gumbo soils, horses or ATV is the 'ride' for this day. The 'elder' cowboy here isn't minding bookwork as much as on a pretty day! Everyone else on the place gets pretty upset if he rides when conditions are favorable for accidents! And he isn't fighting them so much on it since he broke a bunch of ribs on a dry, PRETTY day last fall. Can't believe how fast he healed up from that one, and thankful for it, so he is behaving better since then. I think this rain has put us close to 3" for the year to date. Not sure what was in our 6"-8" snow a while back and haven't heard if anyone measured rain content.

mrj
 
WB said:
Cold rain can chill a calf faster than you may realize. The smaller the calf the faster they become hypothermic. Likely no fault of the cow or calf or the feeding program.
Click to expand...

BINGO! Keep a rectal thermometer in the truck. When a calf's body temp gets below 90-95 degrees, something must be done quick.
(I put them on the floorboard of the truck with the heater on high...................)

A cold, windy rain is much worse than a dry 10-15 degree night, even with snow on the ground.
 
4Diamond said:
One way or another if she's not gonna wean you a calf she better be gone or she would be here anyway.
Click to expand...

Me to.

We've done several things because I do travel and can't be there. We choose pretty good weather to calve in. We use great minerals and feed. During report exam on heifers, vet tells us of any tight Pelvic openings. And, we cull everything that is any kind of issue.

For the most part, the issues have all gone away. i sometimes see one of our heifers calve and am in absolute awe of how attentive they are in cleaning the calf and getting them going. We even have a pretty good amount of twins and haven't had to pen the cow up in a number of years. We show up and they have both nursing.

Sidenote, twins work for us. We have really good pastures and feed available. And our direct marketing program allows us to really utilize a moderate carcass.

So, yeah, I have likely culled some that would have given us more calves. But it is a good tradeoff IMO.
 

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