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Lot Calving

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Richard Doolittle

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Joined
Mar 9, 2007
Messages
1,366
Location
Western SD
Given my circumstances, I'm forced into the lot calving scenario. I don't generally have much problem, but I'm wondering if there are any creative ideas out there for dealing with the muddy slop. Yesterday, I scraped an area clean and rolled out some straw so the calves could find a semi dry place to lay, but within 24 hours its all pretty well slopped up again. I'll do it again, but I don't have an unlimited supply of straw. My lot does have a little bit of a south facing slope so it will drain and dry, but I'm thinking we're going to have a terribly wet spring :!: How's that for optimism??
 
You'd probably be better just setting round bales on end and letting the calves bed around them. You'll end up with some little dry islands out of the mud. They can get on the downwind side of them too if the wind gets nasty.
 
Andy said:
The straw will last alot longer if you can keep the cows off of it. Set up a little place for only the calves.
Click to expand...

I agree- used to be when I got desperate for a calf shelter I'd just go to the corners of the lot and throw in a couple posts- and hang pole rails across between them high enough the calves could get under- but the mommas couldn't...Guy can put them so they're easy take down to set a bale or loose straw in there....

I saw where one fella took some light metal panels and hung off posts in corners- again high enough the calf could get under......

Since I've built a couple calf sheds I don't worry about that as much- and so far this calving season we have been dry since we pretty well missed most the moisture of this last storm...
 
Mud, now living in Manitoba thats a topic I know something about. Here we have two seasons, mud and winter. I prefer winter myself, never had a calf drown in the snow. In my big pens I never clean out the center so over the years you get a nice hard mound. Cattle have a place to get out of the slop. Even out in the bush fields where most of the pairs are now I make mounds facing south. They dry off fast when the sun comes out. Not many hills here on the lake shore so a guy has to make his own. We have lots of portable calf shelters so the calves can get out of the rain or wet snow.
 
Richard Doolittle, we too are lot calving some old cows this spring. What fun when it is wet. I told the hubby I thought the rain was done for the day so we bedded again. Sky was looking somewhat threatening when we started but what the heck we proceeded anyway. Treated a few calves and brought them in the shed hoping to entice the cows in. Well, the skies opened up and needless to say I am not the fastest payloader driver. The husband was in the bucket and by the time I got back to the shed, he looked like a drowned rat. He kept motioning me to go faster but I did what I could. I wonder if he'll have me drive the payloader again!!! Hope not.
 
Calving in march in 3 to 5 feet of snow, I have a feed ground in a pasture below my corrals and a big open shed down the west side. When I start getting calves I feed in the lot and let the cows trail in a little before dark. Any cows that hang back get herded into a small corral that all the rest had justwent thru. But I but them into a old barn and kick alittle feed down. Only missed 3 cows this winter that calved at night that were not allready in the barn. Next morning cows go back to a light feed back in the pasture.The calves get moved to a old feed ground below in the hay meadows whith floorless dragable shed that get moved and strawed every day or 2. Haven't had scours since calving on packed snow and ice. but get a few puple gutted , entotoxcimea calves soon as the snow melts, So we try and brand and revaccinate as soon as we get green up on bare ground.
 
what do u guy recommend for couple day old calves that are having tuff time with this cold wet weather? of course get them dry but are there any medications you can give to give them a boost?
 
Thanks for the ideas in CSM (creative slop management :)) people. Like I said, I'm sure not complaining about the moisture.

tlakota--Were these calves chilled down when they were born and just having a hard time getting going? I found one born in a mud hole yesterday morning at daylight. When they're born in that muck, they can't stand up right away and consequently never get dry and start chilling pretty fast. I got him in the shed and bedded and covered him with straw to get him warm and dry. I had to tube feed him a couple times yesterday to get him some strength back, but finally last night I got him to stand up.
 
Give me cold any day over mud. :shock: :shock: :shock:

We have sheds in our pens, but as soon as there are enough calves born that the sheds get crowded, the cows get the boot. They can handle it quite well without a roof.

We put an electric fence wire across the front of the shed high enough for the calves to get under, and then bed the shed really well. The calves figure this game out really fast, and if you go out at night, the shed is just full of them. We also put a round hay bale in there just for them. One bale will last for weeks, but the calves do so much better when they're not picking up the scraps the cows leave around their feeders.

We've had a lot of rain and wet snow over the past couple of weeks, and without the shed I don't even want to know what those calves would look like! We put out a bale of straw in front of the shed for the cows, and within a couple of hours you'd never know it. The pile is good enough that it's not muddy, but it just won't stay dry.

We have a neighbour who doesn't have sheds, but puts round bales around the edges of his pens, with an electric fence wire on the inside, a few feet from the bales. His calves sneak under there and cozy up to the bales. They look pretty happy in there, and the cows are happy too, because they can see the calves.

Gotta go.... got a call from the tractor. Time for chores.
 
There are as many different methods of managing calving in inclement weather as there are people who have cow herds. The operative word here in this situation is - - DRY - DRY - DRY! A cow/calf pair can withstand almost any kind of weather if they are OUT of the wind, and can manage to stay DRY! It is more than worth the time and effort and money to prepare a covered, shed(s) out of the wind, during the non-calving season, and have sufficient bedding to have DRY areas for your calves. Try to have your feeding areas and watering facilities far enough away from the bedding areas to prevent Mud, Manure, and drinking water from contaminating their cozy beds. It will pay at weaning time! It may take a little thought and ingenuity to achieve the ideal results, but it CAN be done on YOUR place!

There is a lot of information on the various web sites regarding this problem. SEARCH for it.

DOC HARRIS
 
During this last bad weather we had a bale just set by itself in our muddy twin lot, where there was only about 6 cows and double the calves. Naturally one got stepped on and died.

I suggest after things dry up to work on making mounds, or more of a good sized dirt windrow works pretty good. If you've got access to gravel, topping them with that is also useful.
 
Thanks again all. The little fellas are managing quite well and seem to be staying healthy. I did take some panels and made a small "calf only" pen and bedded it good with straw. I had all the stuff to do it and couldn't believe I didn't think of doing it before.

I just bought this ground last summer and am building a place from scratch so I'm limited by budget as to how many improvements I can do. With this wet ground, it is a positive thing that it's virgin ground without any existing germs to get sickness going.

As time goes along, I do plan to make mounds in the lot after I move the pairs to grass and clean the lot each year because I know that helps to make places that are high and dry. Luckily, I do have enough south-facing slope that things firm up quite rapidly with a little sun and wind.
 

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