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to pull or not to pull....

With the bulls we have been using if I see a heifer calving she usually needs assisstance. We have been in the high 90's percentage range on all our herd for years.
You did the right thing Jigs, just should have been sooner. By your description of how the calf acted I would have swung him around by his hind legs a few revolutions and cleaned his lungs out. Maybe even some mouth to mouth "prostitution" :D may have helped.
We all make mistakes, if we learn from them is the important thing. :wink:

BTW, what the heck are you calving at this time of year for?????? :P
 
I did do mouth to mouth !!

I am calving now because I had a brain fart. bought the heifers and thought, " I can't spend $30,000 on heifers and not get a bull after them right away" well dumb me, now I am gonna look into april / may calving or something set up on grass.... no more of this winter stuff !!
 
jigs said:
I did do mouth to mouth !!

I am calving now because I had a brain fart. bought the heifers and thought, " I can't spend $30,000 on heifers and not get a bull after them right away" well dumb me, now I am gonna look into april / may calving or something set up on grass.... no more of this winter stuff !!
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Did you drag it's butt out of the amniotic puddle or did you suck up the whole thing? :P :lol:
 
jigs said:
well it blew my mind when he said 50%..thought I must have too high of expectations !! what kind of guy is happy with half a crop??

no calf jack for me, I had my chains in the other truck, so I used twine and pulled by hand... I always get nervous with a calf jack....by hand you can feel the tension a bit better...or at least I feel like I am easier on the cow that way...
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Get yourself a decent puller.
 
hillsdown said:
jigs said:
well it blew my mind when he said 50%..thought I must have too high of expectations !! what kind of guy is happy with half a crop??

no calf jack for me, I had my chains in the other truck, so I used twine and pulled by hand... I always get nervous with a calf jack....by hand you can feel the tension a bit better...or at least I feel like I am easier on the cow that way...
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Get yourself a decent puller.
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I would strongly agree. It might be "easier on the cow" only up to a certain point. There comes a time when you need to get the calf out to have more opportunity of saving the calf's life as well as giving the cow a better chance. The longer the calf is "stuck" the greater chance that the cow will have difficulty getting up. Sometimes it ends up being a case of hauling feed and water to the cow for days. Moderation in all things--pull steady with the rhythm of the cow's contractions, not too hard but don't be a wimp about it either. A mechanical puller in compassionate hands is a wonderful tool.
 
Anytime I hear horror stories about calving heifers it makes me shake my head. There are sires out there that will throw small calves that will grow, the heifer will rebreed earlier the next year, there is very little extra labor, they can be left alone to bond, the calf won't be stressed so he will suck right away, etc. So many good things can happen as long as you use the right bull on heifers and so many bad things can happen if you don't. I'm not saying every one will be problem free but if 95+% are you are way ahead of the game. Good luck with the rest Jigs, hope the storm isn't too tough on you.
 
Big Swede said:
Anytime I hear horror stories about calving heifers it makes me shake my head. There are sires out there that will throw small calves that will grow, the heifer will rebreed earlier the next year, there is very little extra labor, they can be left alone to bond, the calf won't be stressed so he will suck right away, etc. So many good things can happen as long as you use the right bull on heifers and so many bad things can happen if you don't. I'm not saying every one will be problem free but if 95+% are you are way ahead of the game. Good luck with the rest Jigs, hope the storm isn't too tough on you.
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Some heifers are not developed no matter the weight or the age, a bull is only half the equation. BUT this is another topic all together.
 
I agree Hillsdown. Guess I just figured most people know how to develop a heifer to have her prepared to give birth but there are some exceptions I suppose. Even so there are bulls out there that can throw small enough calves for even an 800 pound heifer to have on their own. May not be that big come fall but at least they are alive.
 
I agree there are so many bulls out their that so easy calving pulling calves should not be issue any more.
Actually some people are addressing a issue of too small of calves out of these super easy calvers. 40 pounders. Some of the bulls that are billed as easy and growth calves are just stick cattle sometimes tough to find buyers for. There is a middle of the road to shoot for.

I am not a calving expert but I have had great luck in letting nature take its course. Letting heifers calve with cows has helped the the heifers get the idea better when other calves and cows are around. NO Dogs. Just make sure one has a backup plan. I have much better luck letting them calve in the pasture. However we do not have the deep snow or wind here at calving like others have to deal with. We have plenty of trees and hill and hallows for cover.
 
Jigs,

If you own em..... You're gonna loose em.......
I've had the same thing happen to me.... That there deal is a heart-breaker....

If I was you I'd breed those herefords to a well proven angus bull... I wish you were closer.. I have some trailblazer semen that would make you and your wife smile.... Anyways find a high accuracy bull.. The only reason I say angus is the dollar factor down the road F1s and in my humble opionion they are the true test epds....

Now back to calving.... I have my dads calf pullers and it is a homemade job with a wheel and cogs at the end.... I wish I had a penny for every calf it's seen.. Anyways if you think a cow is having some trouble just check her... Once you have she will calf so damn sure she IS calving... You should feel the head and feet through the sack... Some people break the sack I don't.........
If you do have to pull the calf make sure the cow is dialated or give her some time to dialate with slow gentle pressure.... Double wrapp your chains on both feet and gently with the help of the cow pull the calf with some downward pressure of the pullers.. Once the head and the shoulders are out I give the calf a sideturn and that seems to help the hips slide out much easier... Ive seem my dad once he has the head and shoulders out to undo the pullers and let the calf hang with gravity and and turning the hips sideways they slide right out.....
Now I've just opened myself to a ton of criticizem, but oh well.... :roll:

Good Luck with calving and I would be very imbarrassed to have a 50% calving rate....
 
Prolonged calving can make for a live calf, but it won't be nearly as bright. Heifers, especially, can take a long time. They just don't know what they're doing, and often don't get down to it and push the way an experienced cow will.

If they're taking too long, we'll go in and check. We'll make sure everything is lined up right. If you can't easily fit your hand over the top of the calf's head when it's head and front legs are in the pelvis, think twice about pulling. You probably don't have room.
 

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