Calving Pin

Shauny2010

I`m going putting in a calving pin in an old shed. At the moment theres only a dirt floor in the shed. I`m thinking of leaving the floor this was as it might be better for the cows but maybe it might be better to put in a concrete floor and some mats?
It has no crush or gates inside so I'm going to put them in.
There`s special gates that can be bought which allow for cesareans but does anyone have any experience with them or are they just a waste? Also what side of the cow should the gate be ?

leg wax

Shauny2010 wrote: »

I`m going putting in a calving pin in an old shed. At the moment theres only a dirt floor in the shed. I`m thinking of leaving the floor this was as it might be better for the cows but maybe it might be better to put in a concrete floor and some mats?
It has no crush or gates inside so I'm going to put them in.
There`s special gates that can be bought which allow for cesareans but does anyone have any experience with them or are they just a waste? Also what side of the cow should the gate be ?

i would not be without one of these gates, for your own safety and comfort in handling a cow or a heifer, the section side is on the left as you stand behind her.

5live

I would go for concrete on the floor as when you go about cleaning it out you will start lowering the floor by taking out earth with the dung. If you are worried about cows slipping you can groove the floor after

theroad

I put in a calving gate two years ago and I wonder now how we survived without it - literally, for safety's sake. It's hung in such a way that the vet can get at either side of the cow if needs be - caesarian on the left, LDA on the right! Hopefully he'll never need to again :rolleyes:

Bizzum

I would strongly agree with the above posts:
The calving gate, well hung, is one of the best investments on the farm. Let alone from calving cows, we also polly calves, dose calves, inseminate cows and test the bull or a very heavily incalf cow that wont go down the crush easily, and probably a few more jobs that I cant remember!
Like above, ours is hung that you can access it left or right.
The one we have we got from Performance steel in oldcastle, Meath.

morning delight

Bizzum wrote: »

I would strongly agree with the above posts:
The calving gate, well hung, is one of the best investments on the farm. Let alone from calving cows, we also polly calves, dose calves, inseminate cows and test the bull or a very heavily incalf cow that wont go down the crush easily, and probably a few more jobs that I cant remember!
Like above, ours is hung that you can access it left or right.
The one we have we got from Performance steel in oldcastle, Meath.

+1.
Got mine from Performance steel as well. Haven't used it for a section yet, but should be the job. If nothing else, it's handy for hoping between pens.
Put the gate between 2 pens and then you've the one gate for 2 calving pens.
My only grip is it can be a bit short when swinging it around and getting the cow's head out. I bring in a 12" gate to help getting her head out.
Another use, I milked a litre of beastings off a lively heifer last week. Easy to tighten her up and you're safe.

Bizzum

Ha,
I milked a litre of beastings only an hour ago.....and still forgot it.
Eaten bread is soon forgotten!

pajero12

theroad wrote: »

I put in a calving gate two years ago and I wonder now how we survived without it - literally, for safety's sake. It's hung in such a way that the vet can get at either side of the cow if needs be - caesarian on the left, LDA on the right! Hopefully he'll never need to again :rolleyes:

LDA?

theroad

left displaced abomasum. Which is to say, twisted stomach. Not nice, stressful on all concerned, and expensive. It happens after she calves and her stomach drops into the empty space and then twists up onto the wrong side. First sign is she stops eating and her milk yield drops dramatically. I've seen it fixed by putting the cow on her back and rolling her from side to side but if that doesn't work then the vet cuts her open and pulls the stomach back to the correct side. It's a holstein thing, british fresians never have it, and it is best fixed by managing their diet so they don't ever get it, if you know what I mean.

raindodger

What kind of money for the gate

LostCovey

theroad wrote: »

It's a holstein thing, british fresians never have it,

Very good explanation by theroad.

I don't think one small part bit is true, see snippet above. Every breed gets it, but it is a lot commoner in Holsteins because of the way they are kept & fed. I think you would get it any batch of cows of any breed if you abruptly switched them abruptly to huge amounts of highly digestible carbohydrates immediately after calving.

LostCovey

theroad

raindodger wrote: »

What kind of money for the gate

€500 in Oct 2007 for 10' calving gate from O'Donovan Engineering in Cork.

Shauny2010

Thks for the replies,
I notice that both the Performance and O'Donovan Gates are pretty similar, does anyone think that the inner gates are too small to hold the cow ?

aidanki

5live wrote: »

I would go for concrete on the floor as when you go about cleaning it out you will start lowering the floor by taking out earth with the dung. If you are worried about cows slipping you can groove the floor after

i strongly disagree here, keep the mud floor 100times easier for a cow to get up from rather than concrete.

concrete is WORST thing you could do

cow in 2hrs before calving and out as soon as job is done, unless cow is unable to get up. minimises trampling of passage



don't spare the straw and you will be fine.

snowman707

aidanki wrote: »

i strongly disagree here, keep the mud floor 100times easier for a cow to get up from rather than concrete.

concrete is WORST thing you could do

cow in 2hrs before calving and out as soon as job is done, unless cow is unable to get up. minimises trampling of passage



don't spare the straw and you will be fine.

Mud floors not allowed in reps

LostCovey

snowman707 wrote: »

Mud floors not allowed in reps

..and they are impossible to clean or disinfect. Well grooved concrete is the business.

LC

Ms. Chanandler Bong

Shauny2010 wrote: »

I`m going putting in a calving pin in an old shed. At the moment theres only a dirt floor in the shed. I`m thinking of leaving the floor this was as it might be better for the cows but maybe it might be better to put in a concrete floor and some mats?
It has no crush or gates inside so I'm going to put them in.
There`s special gates that can be bought which allow for cesareans but does anyone have any experience with them or are they just a waste? Also what side of the cow should the gate be ?

Boyf put in one last year, had to listen to loads from his dad about how it was a waste of time, sure isn't there a crush there already, what's wrong with that one?:rolleyes:
12 months on, it's been worth it's weight in gold. His is in a shed that's been divided in 2. Crush in the middle of one section, with gates that swing between the 2 sections that mean the only way the cow can go if she's having trouble is into the crush. Half gate on top left hand side for c-sections, half gate on bottom right hand side in case she doesn't take to the calf so that the calf (or whoever!) can still milk her without being assaulted!
He got a local guy to make it for him to his specifications, can find out how much if you want?

On a side note, this has to be the most random board I've posted on!

Feargal as Luimneach

A good calving pen should have a head gate and two removable gates on both sides of the cow. Removable gates in case the beast goes down from heavy jacking.

The centre bars on the LHS gate should be removable for a c-section. The lower bar will help protect the vet/farmer from kicks. The top bar will prevent her moving during section.
The floor should be concrete (washable) not mud. A lot of the contamination during a section comes from the atmosphere. If you're doing a section over a mud floor you will have an aerosol of sh**e which is not good for surgery. You will get much better results in a clean pen than a dirty pen.

Bizzum

The better designed calving gates allow the cow to drop right down to the ground as opposed to the traditional skulling gate that would hang a cow if she was dropping.
Our own one allows the animals head right down to the floor, even so if a cow drops with jacking we release her out of the head gate, and can swing the side gate outta the way.
Another use I see the calving gate being used for is I see the calves use it to hop between pens as the mood takes them!

morning delight

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

A good calving pen should have a head gate and two removable gates on both sides of the cow. Removable gates in case the beast goes down from heavy jacking.

The centre bars on the LHS gate should be removable for a c-section. The lower bar will help protect the vet/farmer from kicks. The top bar will prevent her moving during section.
The floor should be concrete (washable) not mud. A lot of the contamination during a section comes from the atmosphere. If you're doing a section over a mud floor you will have an aerosol of sh**e which is not good for surgery. You will get much better results in a clean pen than a dirty pen.

Agree with everything here.
I like the gate above as the head gate will be seperate and the gate pictured can be made as long as you like. If you've a local fella good at metal work he'll throw the above together for you, and make it to suit the pen you're thinking of.