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How'd calving go?

H

Haytrucker

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Feb 11, 2005
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I know every year is different for nearly every outfit. We got by real easy this year except for crooked front legs in one bunch and malpresentations. Calf losses were minimal until half done and that coincided with our twins. Backwards zapped us. A couple things I haven't seen before. Knock wood, only lost one aged calf, and doctored maybe 6.
 
I should mention that two of my pet 5 yr olds will be leaving. The one calved at an awkward time and got it killed this year. First time she hasn't been thru the barn... The other must have got mastitis chasing the decoy 4-wheeler when we tagged her calf. We were busy enough we about starved a draft calf... My bad.
 
This has been a pretty good calving year. We branded again yesterday, and are mostly done with what are born. We still have
some calves out of real old cows and "selling cows" that are in another bunch, plus about 25 cows that are yet to calve. We leave the bulls out for 90 days, figuring a late calf is better than "no calf." We did have one yearling heifer that got bred while still sucking her mother, but she had a nice calf and seems to be able to raise it.
 
Struggle here. Started in a snow storm, had another storm about a week later (after 2 nice days). Lost quite a few calves. It was wet and cold and frustrating. I spent a week covered in mud and burned more fuel checking cows over Easter than I used all winter feeding 500 head. a calf had less than 20 minutes to be up and going or it was dead. When the weather smartened up calving has been a 5 minute a day job. We will move things back next year, but bred early last year in order to make it to my brothers wedding.
We did get a bottle calf out of the deal that we saved, but have no idea who the mom is after it spent a day+ in the house. I agree with Soap in a different context. A late calf is better than no calf, and a heck of a lot better than a dead calf.
 
We have heard some neighbors have had sick calves, and still do. Our weather left us alone, except for wind. Didn't bother. RSL, I have fought that battle, and I feel for you. It's a lot easier to barn and splint a calf, than not have enough barn, or labor. We'll get bit hard some year, calving March 1st in corn stalks. Going to pasture now and it rained tonight. My best wishes to every one.
 
Knocking on wood. Things are going really well. I think one of the best things we did starting about 8 years ago was having the vet check pelvic opening on Heifers. We check cows once a day anymore. I swear sometimes green grass adds a special calving lubricant.

With my life, it kind of has to be that way.
 
This place is just now starting to calve. I always thought I wanted to calve May and June, but these Herefords are fight Mastitis so bad from over milk production, I am not so sure now.
 
LazyWP said:
This place is just now starting to calve. I always thought I wanted to calve May and June, but these Herefords are fight Mastitis so bad from over milk production, I am not so sure now.
Click to expand...

Never heard of a Hereford with to much milk that's a new one for me ha ha. Just kidding we went to later calveing and that's the one thing it does sorts the poor udders.
 
LazyWP said:
This place is just now starting to calve. I always thought I wanted to calve May and June, but these Herefords are fight Mastitis so bad from over milk production, I am not so sure now.
Click to expand...

Having been raised on a dairy, I have never heard that Mastitis can be caused by excess milk production. We had several cows that produced over 100 lbs. of milk per day and they were the ones least likely to come down with it.

As far as I know, Mastitis can only be caused by the introduction of a pathogen on the teats...............

http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/T0218E/T0218E04.htm
 
Denny said:
LazyWP said:
This place is just now starting to calve. I always thought I wanted to calve May and June, but these Herefords are fight Mastitis so bad from over milk production, I am not so sure now.
Click to expand...

Never heard of a Hereford with to much milk that's a new one for me ha ha. Just kidding we went to later calveing and that's the one thing it does sorts the poor udders.
Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing. :D
What are they eating to give so much milk? If they are turned out on pasture, not a lot you can do. If you are feeding alfalfa hay,
I'd stop doing that in a heartbeat. Baby calves don't need much milk. Sometimes we kill with kindness.

If a cow does get mastitis, usually the calf can take care of it.
 
They are on irritated Brome and Triticale. Way over fed for calving, in my opinion. Be a great way to get them to cycle though. They don't feed salt or mineral, and we lost 3 really NICE heifers the second day on the Triticale. Never been around a place with so much potential wasted!
 
That has to be frustrating to say the least.
What do they have against salt and mineral? Have they been ranching long?
Those dead heifers would have paid for a lot of mineral, which you know.

And consuming too much protein can go against high breeding percentages. I have an article written by Dr. Price from BEEF Magazine, from a long time ago. He talks about some cows in Australia not getting bred. He went down there and they were on high-protein cereal pastures (over 20% protein). It changed the PH in the uterus and the egg could not attach. The cows would come in heat, but they wouldn't settle. They changed pastures for the next year and the problem was solved.
Because of that, I cringe when I see ranchers put out molasses tubs this time of year...adding protein....costly and usually not needed.
 
This is the third generation of ranchers. Run over 1000 head of Hereford momma cows. Feed everything out. Don't get the cull cows shipped until they are so fat they can't get up the loading chute. Quite the place for sure!
 

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