When Calving Starting

tanko · 31-12-2015 9:03pm

RD10 wrote: »

God i'd never have guessed ur lady was carrying twins! Just goes to show u cant really tell just by looking.

True, she's always outwintered and only goes into the shed for calving so that keeps her fit I suppose. She wouldn't manage on slats anyway and had 8 calves by the time she was five. The scanner says it's only one calf next year but I'm not sure about that. This is the after pic.

farawaygrass · 31-12-2015 9:14pm

Kovu wrote: »

Pinch her skin just behind the top of the front leg, the tautness there should be a good judge. Plus if her hair is very dry along the back.
That's the gauge I use for twins anyway, along with calf moving on the wrong side.

So if you can't fold the skin you thick it could be a sign of twins?

Kovu · 31-12-2015 9:25pm

farawaygrass wrote: »

So if you can't fold the skin you thick it could be a sign of twins?

Something like that, it should be loose enough to get a couple of inches between finger and thumb. If it's quite tight and you find it hard to get an 'inch to pinch' so to speak, it could be twins. Couple that with losing condition on the back and dry hair and it'd be nearly a cert for a double.

Nobody else ever heard of this? No...?

Miname · 31-12-2015 9:41pm

Kovu wrote: »

Something like that, it should be loose enough to get a couple of inches between finger and thumb. If it's quite tight and you find it hard to get an 'inch to pinch' so to speak, it could be twins. Couple that with losing condition on the back and dry hair and it'd be nearly a cert for a double.

Nobody else ever heard of this? No...?

Never heard of the pinch but did about the back. I'd always be watching them for a loss of condition in general and it hasn't been too far wrong so far.

RD10 · 01-01-2016 9:52pm

tanko wrote: »

True, she's always outwintered and only goes into the shed for calving so that keeps her fit I suppose. She wouldn't manage on slats anyway and had 8 calves by the time she was five. The scanner says it's only one calf next year but I'm not sure about that. This is the after pic.

Jes there nice sized calves too. Hard to believe the two of them came from in there!

RD10 · 02-01-2016 9:45pm

Just as i taught. Twins this evening! Calved herself. All well thank god.

jaymla627 · 05-01-2016 10:17am

Lovely start to calving here, lovely twin blue calves stone dead this morning, cow 4 weeks early and was scanned with a single calf, she calved early last year with twins too...
Thought she was a bit off last night so put her in calving pen last night at 12 out this morning at 6 with one calf calved dead, went milking and when i went to put her into parlour two more feet where out got him out dead aswell.....

stanflt · 05-01-2016 10:31am

Two more heifers last night an lwr and a gzy- that's 10 calves in last 3 days

First calves still not due till 15jan

5 heifers 5 bulls so far

mahoney_j · 05-01-2016 10:34am

stanflt wrote: »

Two more heifers last night an lwr and a gzy- that's 10 calves in last 3 days

First calves still not due till 15jan

5 heifers 5 bulls so far

Is gzy bringing fairly big calves Stan??,have 4/5 calves coming by him and hearing there on the big side

stanflt · 05-01-2016 10:36am

mahoney_j wrote: »

Is gzy bringing fairly big calves Stan??,have 4/5 calves coming by him and hearing there on the big side

Nah nothing out of the ordinary- all calves unassisted
Had 30born last year mostly off heifers and no problems

freedominacup · 05-01-2016 11:08am

Heifer jumping the fun by a couple of weeks here this morning. Can't make up my mind whether it's an immaculate conception or just early. Only service date she has is 14/04.

whelan2 · 14-01-2016 7:28pm

1st calf today fr heifer out of an ABO heifer

Timmaay · 14-01-2016 7:42pm

No sign of much here yet, earliest icbf expected date is Feb 1st, won't be much before that. Does anyone know if the icbf predicted dates take into consideration the bull gestation length?

degetme · 14-01-2016 7:53pm

whelan2 wrote: »

1st calf today fr heifer out of an ABO heifer

When did you start ai? Started 16th of april every year past few years and calving 16th 17th Jan.

djmc · 14-01-2016 7:59pm

Today as well holiday over for another 10 months.

whelan2 · 14-01-2016 8:00pm

degetme wrote: »

When did you start ai? Started 16th of april every year past few years and calving 16th 17th Jan.

fr bull went into heifers on 10th april , didnt start ai on cows until around 20th, few cows springing up

whelan2 · 14-01-2016 8:01pm

djmc wrote: »

Today as well holiday over for another 10 months.

Still have to powerwash rest of calving pens , hope to finish them tomorrow

stretch film · 14-01-2016 9:30pm

1st here today , 1st calver served 21/4 had a heifer calf by s1311 .
Heifer obliged me with enough beistings which the calf duly polished off. Handy..

Heifer is by PCG campaigner (lic) , anyone milking any?.

Milked out · 16-01-2016 9:58am

4 heifers calved last few days. Not a great start, one with paralysis, and one just had a dead set of twins both came backwards first calf with legs down. Had to get vet out to give epidural as with pushing couldn't get legs out. Have the other 3 calves under the one with paralysis she is getting up with shackles but I will let her out to a field if it ever dries up and leave her soak up.

howdee · 16-01-2016 10:10am

Have one heifer calved here 2 weeks early, had a leg down but got him out ok. Should have nothin for a week now.

whelan2 · 16-01-2016 10:34am

Milked out wrote: »

4 heifers calved last few days. Not a great start, one with paralysis, and one just had a dead set of twins both came backwards first calf with legs down. Had to get vet out to give epidural as with pushing couldn't get legs out. Have the other 3 calves under the one with paralysis she is getting up with shackles but I will let her out to a field if it ever dries up and leave her soak up.

You're right into the thick of it so. Took out another 4 Springer's there now. Let heifers through parlour this morning to get them used to it only 1 point blank refusal

Timmaay · 16-01-2016 11:04am

whelan2 wrote: »

You're right into the thick of it so. Took out another 4 Springer's there now. Let heifers through parlour this morning to get them used to it only 1 point blank refusal

Having had my heifers through the parlour 4times since bring them back to the home block in Nov, use the parlour and main crush to separate and dose all animals now. That 250m of lane way linking both yards and all lane ways is well and truly paying back for itself.

jaymla627 · 16-01-2016 11:24am

First Belgian blue calf landed just their now, first time I've been happy to have a bull in three years has been all dairy Ai the past 3 seasons, will be a nice little boast to cash flow with the year that's in it

Dawggone · 16-01-2016 12:13pm

Have a few cows in a loose pen for calving. Went out this morning thinking that 5 or 6 of them would be calved. Nothing. Went around kicking straw looking for calves...nothing.

There will be 7 of them calved by lunch time...

Kovu · 16-01-2016 12:17pm

Dawggone wrote: »

Have a few cows in a loose pen for calving. Went out this morning thinking that 5 or 6 of them would be calved. Nothing. Went around kicking straw looking for calves...nothing.

There will be 7 of them calved by lunch time...

When one makes up her mind it'll kick the rest into gear! There'll be feet hanging out everywhere

Dawggone · 16-01-2016 12:18pm

Kovu wrote: »

When one makes up her mind it'll kick the rest into gear! There'll be feet hanging out everywhere

True.
Calving shed never stops here...

Milked out · 16-01-2016 12:20pm

Kovu wrote: »

When one makes up her mind it'll kick the rest into gear! There'll be feet hanging out everywhere

Neighbour had 11 cows calved one morning in a lose pen, lad working with him was flat out between getting beistings into em and keeping track of who was who

Greengrass1 · 16-01-2016 2:24pm

jaymla627 wrote: »

First Belgian blue calf landed just their now, first time I've been happy to have a bull in three years has been all dairy Ai the past 3 seasons, will be a nice little boast to cash flow with the year that's in it

Why are you having first if your cows calve to blue?

jaymla627 · 16-01-2016 4:39pm

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Why are you having first if your cows calve to blue?

30% of lower preforming cows in calf to Belgian blue this year with rest to dairy sires.
Everything's going in calf to beef sires this year bar maiden heifers and top 25% of herd that will get 3 weeks dairy ai, getting of the replacement train as peak numbers going to be milked will be hit next year, replacement rate in herd is only running at 10% year on year, so 20 heifer calves will all that will be needed going forward....
Pretty eye opening when doing the figures the extra cash that will be available from the massive increase in calf sales and the decrease in replacement costs will add around 30 thousand plus a year in cash

mahoney_j · 16-01-2016 5:15pm

jaymla627 wrote: »

30% of lower preforming cows in calf to Belgian blue this year with rest to dairy sires.
Everything's going in calf to beef sires this year bar maiden heifers and top 25% of herd that will get 3 weeks dairy ai, getting of the replacement train as peak numbers going to be milked will be hit next year, replacement rate in herd is only running at 10% year on year, so 20 heifer calves will all that will be needed going forward....
Pretty eye opening when doing the figures the extra cash that will be available from the massive increase in calf sales and the decrease in replacement costs will add around 30 thousand plus a year in cash

Wise move ,no point having a heap of replacements you don't need ,carrying and rearing them is a huge drain on cash .250/300 euro plus for blue calves will be a nice boost through the spring

When Calving Starting

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