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wdcook

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Shelly's problems aroused my curiousity as to how much time ranchers with large cowherds spend on problems such as hers, (stupid calf won't suck) a cow or heifer not allowing a calf to suck, working with twins, or getting a cow that has lost her calf to accept another one. Does it make a difference as to whether it is at the beginning or end of the season verses in the middle when calves are coming fast and furious?
 
Calves that won't suck on their own are donated to the 'Empty Coyote Belly Charity'-if they are handy to a pasture with a corral we might try and stick a twin on a cow without a calf but not very often. once our cows hit our bush pastures they pretty much calve unobserved-it's impossible to catch one to help it even if you could find her-if you are confinement calving and out there anyways I suppose it might work but i've been there done that and won't 'EVER' go there and do that again. To each their own that's just how we run our cows-calving is supposed to be fun not the Bataan Death March.
 
We calved 600 cows in big pastures, sections really, and it is amazing how little trouble cows have calving on their own, given that they aren't bred to some big BW bull.

Seems like the more intensively you care for them, the more problems there are. Calving too many cows too close together is a real bummer. Lots of problems created doing that, it seems.
 
Do you mean as the crow flies, or by the highway?

By the highway, it is 73 from here to Miles City and then 90 miles south
to Broadus. Or you can take a cutacross road from south of Ekalaka. Been that way, but it is dirt road part of the way so seems longer.

mtrancher is closer to Broadus that we are, I am sure. :wink:
 
We don't have a large herd but I got started in "my own" cattle in the early 1960s by bottle feeding calves for a large dairy - - - for every hiefer I returned at 300# I was given a bull - - - excess bulls were sold to me at a reasonable price.

This gave me experience in keeping them alive. Now I will purchase orphaned calves or abandoned calves from neighbors ( some are given to me) and have great success with them. My wife does not appriciate my method of warming up very cold calves - - - - Into the shower in the basement and then in the bathroom at about 85 degrees untill they are warm and taking nurishment. I have to clean the shower myself.

After the calf is doing well I will rub Vics Vapo rub on it and on the nose of a good cow with calf and on her calf and pen the three of them together for a day or so and normally they will bond.

I could not afford the time if I was running an operation the size of many of the ones posted here but I do it more as a stress reliever or hobby and enjoy it most of the time.
 
If a calf doesn't suck, we drench them using an esophagal feeder and powdered colostrum. Usually that gets their appetite whetted and they suck their momma the next time. Any cow or calf that lacks desire and initiative to be "team players" gets a free ride to town. :wink:

We do keep some broken mouthed cows around to rob calves from, if a young desirable cow loses a calf. It is not hard to make a graft deal work. The best method is to skin out the dead calf and put the hide on the adoptee. A couple days of bonding in a box stall makes it a done deal.

Basically, we don't spend much time on nitwits, but as in all things we try to use moderation and common sense.
 
I agree with you guys. Will try to help out if the cow or hfr is close to barn but most of our cows calve out and we don't see anything but a cow and calf go over the hill. Most of our cows don't want you messing with their calves anyways.
 
George, I once put newborn pigs on a cookie sheet in the oven. They were as good as dead. I kinda forgot about them and when I remembered, they were toasty warm and they all survived.
 
Faster horses said:
We calved 600 cows in big pastures, sections really, and it is amazing how little trouble cows have calving on their own, given that they aren't bred to some big BW bull.

Seems like the more intensively you care for them, the more problems there are. Calving too many cows too close together is a real bummer. Lots of problems created doing that, it seems.
Click to expand...


:clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod:
 
BMR, I don't know about "tasty" but it gave me a funny feeling when I heard noices coming from my oven!!!
 
Turkey Track Bar said:
Faster horses said:
We calved 600 cows in big pastures, sections really, and it is amazing how little trouble cows have calving on their own, given that they aren't bred to some big BW bull.

Seems like the more intensively you care for them, the more problems there are. Calving too many cows too close together is a real bummer. Lots of problems created doing that, it seems.
Click to expand...


:clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod: :clap: :nod:
Click to expand...

I have to agree with FH, TTB, one of our neighbors ran every stinkin' cow through the barn to calve, sorted "heavies" from "lights", put them in this pen and that pen, sorting again and again: talk about scours problems and major barn chores, etc. They always made "calving" a "major deal" in their outfit. We calve our cows out on range, the less stress you put on them the better off you are. The only problems we have with calving are abnormal presentations. Period :!: We are close enough to the barn we can run a cow in if she is having trouble. Those times are rare.
 
I will help an animal if I see it needs help, but if it does, they are sold as maybe are some relatives...If you tolerate trouble it stays around.....


I have my calving cows checked once a day hiefers twice a day, I buy Sim-Angus Bulls from a guy that laid off his night calvin crew, they weren't doin anything other than burning fuel,

PPRM
 
Agree with running them out except for heifers are closer. Seems like they will calf on their own most of the time. We figure you would lose way more in confinment due to scours, crowdness,ect. I will try to graft a calf if the cow if young and have and extra. Like Soapweed stated- common sense! I (not my husband) will work some with a calf that won't suck right away-sometime success and other times not. :)
 
I keep a 16 acre pasture stockpilled from about the first of Sept on. I will not spread manure there after Jan. I can see it ( on a hillside) from the deck off the sun room with binoculars and move the cows there the last week of March. Calves are due the first of April.

I walk thru them twice a day and check them thruout. Each cow and calf are moved ( calf tagged) as soon as they arrive. Thus any calf in the field is new. With the cow and calf going to clean grass I have never had a scours outbreak and with no cows in the second field that don't have calves they seem to mother up much better. Before I started this I had a few cows that were a little way off with calving trying to steal calves and young cows abandoning their calf. This probably would not be a problem in larger herds.

The most calves I have ever had in one day was 16 and at the time I only had 45 cows - - - Any cow that does not calve by mid May gets a ride - - - I would love to only have a 30 day calving period but I can't seem to get there.

Unless I had a major concern I never check at night. Rarely do my cows seem to calve at night.
 

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