how to know when a cow is close to caving ?
- Thread starter Circle M
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Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Usually it's the one you don't put in the barn that calves. 
sic 'em reds
Well-known member
We're just about done calving our heifers, 3 left, and I would say Big Muddy and Kola gave the best advice. Everytime you think you put the right one in the pen, or try to go anywhere for a few hours, when you get back to check them........you were wrong.
I always watch the vulva and watch to see which ones are kind of hanging out on their own. Also the bag is good but not real accurate in my mind depending on the size of bag they have.
Soapweeds advice was real good to. Be careful how you put the chains on, it can really hinder them from getting up real good to get on with life.
We've done alright this year. 25 heifers and only a few mishaps, lost two calves from ????, dead when I got there. Pulled three, but those were mainly on heifers that went over an hour after the water broke, just to get the calf on the ground, and only two have been on the big side, but not bad. Started calving cows a week ago, and we're about 1/4 done on them.
I always watch the vulva and watch to see which ones are kind of hanging out on their own. Also the bag is good but not real accurate in my mind depending on the size of bag they have.
Soapweeds advice was real good to. Be careful how you put the chains on, it can really hinder them from getting up real good to get on with life.
We've done alright this year. 25 heifers and only a few mishaps, lost two calves from ????, dead when I got there. Pulled three, but those were mainly on heifers that went over an hour after the water broke, just to get the calf on the ground, and only two have been on the big side, but not bad. Started calving cows a week ago, and we're about 1/4 done on them.
If you don't use a barn to calve in and she's calving out in the pasture, leave her alone and give her time to do it without you.
I had a new guy call me a few years ago that thought he needed me to come help him. I asked him what the problem was. He said he'd had a heifer trying to calve for a couple of hours and something must be wrong because she kept laying down and getting up, laying down and getting up.
Turns out he and his wife were "checking on her" every five or ten minutes and she kept getting up and moving. Once he told me that, I told him to leave her alone for an hour and then he could go back down there and find her licking a calf. Duh. :???:
I had a new guy call me a few years ago that thought he needed me to come help him. I asked him what the problem was. He said he'd had a heifer trying to calve for a couple of hours and something must be wrong because she kept laying down and getting up, laying down and getting up.
Turns out he and his wife were "checking on her" every five or ten minutes and she kept getting up and moving. Once he told me that, I told him to leave her alone for an hour and then he could go back down there and find her licking a calf. Duh. :???:
CattleArmy
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All of us hope for alive calves and strive to attain that 100% live birth. However events sometimes out of one's control just happen. I don't think living with the cows is the answer for the reason Texan stated you disturb them and slow down the whole process. You watch for springing, full bags, and if you miss all that a water bag hanging out means it's in progress. With any luck you miss it all and go out and there is a live calf on the ground struggling to get up or is up trying to figure out which end to suck.
Keep in mind this first calving year: If you didn't have your cows you couldn't lose a calf and if you can't afford to lose a calf you shouldn't have your cows. I've been told that for the 14 years I've been an owner and really there is some truth to it. So don't get discouraged if you don't save them all. Good luck!
*** I'll be waiting to read the stories about how all the top hands never lose one and I'm a loser for admitting not every one survives. :wink:
Keep in mind this first calving year: If you didn't have your cows you couldn't lose a calf and if you can't afford to lose a calf you shouldn't have your cows. I've been told that for the 14 years I've been an owner and really there is some truth to it. So don't get discouraged if you don't save them all. Good luck!
*** I'll be waiting to read the stories about how all the top hands never lose one and I'm a loser for admitting not every one survives. :wink:
A
Anonymous
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CattleArmy said:
Arizona cowmangler ain't been around lately :wink: :lol: :lol:
But your right- you can do everything by the book- and some are still going to die......Just part of the game...
Circle M
Well-known member
I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to help me out it means alot to me and it blows me away of all the support and i have learned so much and feel more confident , but like you say there is just one thing to do now (other than learning as much as i can retain) is to roll up my sleeves and get first hand experience and do what it takes to make sure i am prepared to do what is neccasary eh 
Another question is how old can a cow have calfs ? i am pretty sure that it depends on alot of diffrent factors.....
Another question is how old can a cow have calfs ? i am pretty sure that it depends on alot of diffrent factors.....rancherfred
Well-known member
Do you mean physiologically or do you mean real profitable production? I am sure that cows are physically able to have calves for several more years beyond when most of us get rid of them. Besides coming up open the second reason for culling on our ranch is poor production. Cows will eventually lose the milk factory and that doesn't necessarily mean that the ovaries have quit working.
Soapweed
Well-known member
Texan said:
It is kind of the same syndrome as "a watched pot won't boil." :wink: If they think you are watching them, they are nervous and it greatly slows down the whole process.
If you happen to be sitting in a pickup out in the pasture watching a cow, it is best to turn the pickup sideways to the calving cow. If you face the pickup to her, it seems that she thinks the headlights are "eyes" that are watching her and she becomes more nervous. :shock: :roll:
John SD
Well-known member
Yep, what rancherfred said! :wink:
I've seen cows that CAN produce a calf well into their teens, but can they do a good job raising the calf?
An older cow should be culled if she comes up open, or gets a bad bag, bad feet, bad eyes, bad teeth, etc. She just won't be able to compete with the younger cows anymore.
Sometimes guys keep the ol' gals around and get the last calf out of her just to graft on to a younger cow that lost hers, then send the old cow to the sale barn.
If you do graft calves on to cows that have lost their own, it's better to use calves from your own herd or private treaty from a neighbor with good herd health whom you trust.
IMO, buying a calf out of a sale barn to put on a cow is sometimes asking for trouble. You risk bringing scours or some other disease into your herd.
I've seen cows that CAN produce a calf well into their teens, but can they do a good job raising the calf?
An older cow should be culled if she comes up open, or gets a bad bag, bad feet, bad eyes, bad teeth, etc. She just won't be able to compete with the younger cows anymore.
Sometimes guys keep the ol' gals around and get the last calf out of her just to graft on to a younger cow that lost hers, then send the old cow to the sale barn.
If you do graft calves on to cows that have lost their own, it's better to use calves from your own herd or private treaty from a neighbor with good herd health whom you trust.
IMO, buying a calf out of a sale barn to put on a cow is sometimes asking for trouble. You risk bringing scours or some other disease into your herd.
John SD
Well-known member
Soap, I sometimes practice the "drive by calving" approach. If I can get close enough to the cow without bothering her too much to see the feet and nose in proper position I'll just keep right on goin'!
If the birth seems imminent I will stick around to see that the calf doesn't land with his head turned underneath him or have the bag over its nose.
Most calves that I lose I think that is a big factor that the cow doesn't get up and get that membrane off the calf's nose, or she starts licking on the calf's hind end first.
Some of those membranes are awful tough. If I can't poke it with my finger I get out my jackknife and poke it. If I can walk up to a cow while she is calving I will poke a hole in it if I get a chance. Then if she notices the fluid drained out on the ground most likely the cow will stick around that spot to calve.
If the birth seems imminent I will stick around to see that the calf doesn't land with his head turned underneath him or have the bag over its nose.
Most calves that I lose I think that is a big factor that the cow doesn't get up and get that membrane off the calf's nose, or she starts licking on the calf's hind end first.
Some of those membranes are awful tough. If I can't poke it with my finger I get out my jackknife and poke it. If I can walk up to a cow while she is calving I will poke a hole in it if I get a chance. Then if she notices the fluid drained out on the ground most likely the cow will stick around that spot to calve.
Kato
Well-known member
8) Just remembered something else.
There is a plug of mucous that seals the cervix closed. It is a clear thick jelly like substance, and does not look like the water membranes the calf is in. If you are really observant and spot it when she passes it, you know the cow will calf within a day as a rule. Sometimes longer, but not much. When we're deciding who's next to go to the calving shed, this is a deciding factor.
It's the very very first physical sign of labour.
There is a plug of mucous that seals the cervix closed. It is a clear thick jelly like substance, and does not look like the water membranes the calf is in. If you are really observant and spot it when she passes it, you know the cow will calf within a day as a rule. Sometimes longer, but not much. When we're deciding who's next to go to the calving shed, this is a deciding factor.
It's the very very first physical sign of labour.
Circle M
Well-known member
thanks Kato , i will be looking for the mucas do you put all your cows in your calving shed ? or just when it is cold ?
parsonfamilyfarm
New member
I HAVE A HEIFER THAT IS SUPPOSED TO CALF SOON. SHE HAS A STRING OF SOMETHING HANGING OUT OF HER BACKEND. IT IS BLACK IN COLOR AND DRY LOOKING. I CANT GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH IT THOUGH. SHE HAS A MILK BAG AND ONE TEET LOOKS FULLER THAN THE OTHERS. SHE IS ALSO LOOKING BONIER IN THE HIPS THAN USUAL. SHE DOESNT ACT STRANGE. I THOUGHT SHE WOULD HAVE CALVED BY NOW. DOES IT SOUND LIKE SOMETHING IS WRONG?
Welcome to Ranchers. What you describe sounds to me like a cow that could have already calved. If she calves in the pasture, it's not unusual for a cow to hide a calf out for a few days so that you might not see it. But without actually seeing a calf, the only way for you to know for sure is to glove up and check it out.parsonfamilyfarm said:
Since it's been over 24 hours since you posted your question, has anything changed since then?
