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Sorry for a question on the 1st post

T

Triple_S

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Joined
Feb 13, 2010
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46
Location
NC
I've read this board for a couple years now but never posted. Didn't want my first post to be an ignorant question, but here goes.

First heifer of the season started calving today. Showed all signs of being in labor. Walking with her tail stuck out, away from the herd, getting up and down. A boy that works with me said he thought she had already broken her water about an hour earlier, so we brought her up to check her out. Reached in (cervix wasn't dialated much at all) and it felt like she still had her water bag. (Side note- I've never gone in one that still had her bag so it was just an educated guess when i couldn't feel any part of a calf because this balloon thing was in my way) Left her in the barn because i knew we wouldn't be able to catch her again. Checked her 1 1/2 hours later and she shows absolutely no sign of calving. Looks like it's just another day for her. I know she was starting to calve earlier. Never seen one just stop like that. I reckon if she still has her water just let her be but I'll be up all night on this one.

I've never checked one that we didn't just go ahead and pull to be safe, and maybe I'm wrong on this one. Have you ever had one just sull up and hold the calf for a while after checking?

After I get this over with I'll do a real introduction with some pictures of ranching in NC. (not exactly like the Sandhills)
 
Could be false labour too. We had one once, we even ended up hauling her to the vet, only to be told that she wasn't calving. She calved a few days later.

Could also be that she is one of the few that don't dialate. I've never run into this, but DH did once upon a time.
 
Just got back to the house. Saw that her water had broken so checked her out again. Calf was all twisted up and the one foot i could get a hold of felt pretty big so went ahead and called the vet. He's not far away. Got the calf straight but it was the hardest pull I've ever had. Freak of a big calf.(epd's aren't everything) Calf died a couple minutes after being born and the heifer bled a good bit. Put a iv in her but couldn't get her up. Doesn't look good for her. We'll lift her in the morning if she makes it. You win some and lose some, but you learn from all of them.

Thanks
 
I'd be interested to know the sire of this calf and his epd's that you mentioned. There are lots of proven calving ease sires out there to use on heifers. It's always a bummer when the wrong bulls are used and the problems that come with it.
 
Big Swede,
The more I think about this, the more I put the blame on myself. I ran out of bull during breeding season. (injured bull) I took 10 heifers and put them with group of cows running with a TC Total 410 Bull. I knew then that that wasn't a great line for calving ease, but the way the bull was bred brought him to a CED of 6 and a BW of 1.7. Did some searching on the internet and even TC Total 410 calves are averaging about 81 for some ranches. This calf was probally over 100lbs. The heifers are 1050-1100lbs so if I can get some 80 pounders I should be fine. Hindsight is 20-20. Won't be the 1st or last time I made a bad decision. Good news is I only bred 10 of the heifers to him. Only 9 to go.

Thanks
 
Sounds like you gambled and lost.................reminds me of a neighbor I got,hard headed ole skunk,caint tell him nuthin,been at it all his life,past president of the Texas cattle feeders assc. blah blah etc..........anyway he put some really nice 900/1000 pound black baldy heifers in a pasture south of me with a charolais bull of unknown epd's,anyone with cow sense would be careful using charolais bulls on cows,much less heifers ..........nuff said.
good luck
 
there's alwyas the " fluke' calf that arrives. I'd not set too much 'store' by ths first calf

Just because bulls #'s say on thing...doesnt mean that ALL calves will hit that BW number.


If she's fine, comes back into heat and you decide to keep her ( I would) next time chances are you'll NOT have a problem with her again.
 
jingo2 said:
there's alwyas the " fluke' calf that arrives. I'd not set too much 'store' by ths first calf

Just because bulls #'s say on thing...doesnt mean that ALL calves will hit that BW number.


If she's fine, comes back into heat and you decide to keep her ( I would) next time chances are you'll NOT have a problem with her again.
Click to expand...

You must be Pure bred breeder as a cow that doesn't have a calf goes down the road for a commercial outfit. :?
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
jingo2 said:
there's alwyas the " fluke' calf that arrives. I'd not set too much 'store' by ths first calf

Just because bulls #'s say on thing...doesnt mean that ALL calves will hit that BW number.


If she's fine, comes back into heat and you decide to keep her ( I would) next time chances are you'll NOT have a problem with her again.
Click to expand...

You must be Pure bred breeder as a cow that doesn't have a calf goes down the road for a commercial outfit. :?
Click to expand...


No I don't even own a cow anymore and YOU COULD NOT give me one now........but I just stated what I'd do.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
jingo2 said:
there's alwyas the " fluke' calf that arrives. I'd not set too much 'store' by ths first calf

Just because bulls #'s say on thing...doesnt mean that ALL calves will hit that BW number.


If she's fine, comes back into heat and you decide to keep her ( I would) next time chances are you'll NOT have a problem with her again.
Click to expand...

You must be Pure bred breeder as a cow that doesn't have a calf goes down the road for a commercial outfit. :?
Click to expand...


she would go to town on this purebred outfit BMR...
 
Yanuck said:
Big Muddy rancher said:
jingo2 said:
there's alwyas the " fluke' calf that arrives. I'd not set too much 'store' by ths first calf

Just because bulls #'s say on thing...doesnt mean that ALL calves will hit that BW number.


If she's fine, comes back into heat and you decide to keep her ( I would) next time chances are you'll NOT have a problem with her again.
Click to expand...

You must be Pure bred breeder as a cow that doesn't have a calf goes down the road for a commercial outfit. :?
Click to expand...


she would go to town on this purebred outfit BMR...
Click to expand...
She would be on standby for the town truck just by entering the chute in the first place. I would never buy a bull from a seedstock operation that kept a hf in this circumstance. Of course to know that a relationship with the seedstock operator must be built.
 
She'll go to the sale in a few weeks, as soon as she fills back out and looks nice. Might be more my fault than hers, but she can't send me. Probally make a great cow but there's too many that don't even hiccup to keep a dry cow. I'm not saying I've never done it, but in my experience if you keep one you thought about selling, she'll be the next one to have problems again.
 
Big Muddy rancher said:
jingo2 said:
there's alwyas the " fluke' calf that arrives. I'd not set too much 'store' by ths first calf

Just because bulls #'s say on thing...doesnt mean that ALL calves will hit that BW number.


If she's fine, comes back into heat and you decide to keep her ( I would) next time chances are you'll NOT have a problem with her again.
Click to expand...

You must be Pure bred breeder as a cow that doesn't have a calf goes down the road for a commercial outfit. :?
Click to expand...
Amen a cow brings in 500 dollars around here either in calf or with her own hide
 

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