ICBF-how to weigh a calf?

blue5000

Got a letter today from ICBF with the little notebook. They want cow docility and weight of the calf at birth from 2016.
Anyone got any suggestions (serious or humorous answers accepted) on how to tag a mad suckler heifer's newborn calf and weigh it while the heifer is doing her best to level you. Are they going to supply a measuring tape?

Bellview

blue5000 wrote: »

Got a letter today from ICBF with the little notebook. They want cow docility and weight of the calf at birth from 2016.
Anyone got any suggestions (serious or humorous answers accepted) on how to tag a mad suckler heifer's newborn calf and weigh it while the heifer is doing her best to level you. Are they going to supply a measuring tape?

a well respected senior member of ICBF (with a phd) stood in a room and stated the following After a baby is born, it loses weight the first week and gets back to its birth weight approx. a week later... so he expected a calf would be similar profile.. The room went silent & checked was it April 1st.... it gives you a week for the cow to calm though

mf240

Pick a number between 35 and 50. Write it in the space . Job done.

RD10

Got that today too. Is filling in the weight not optional?

tanko

Apparently birth size, vigour, scour & pnuemonia incidences must be recorded from now on for calves. Culling reasons for cows and stock Bulls also.

RD10

Have never weighed a calf here before but am always eager to see what weights my animals are at sale time. I wont mind doing it. How easy it will be to get at some calves is another story!
Where do people buy their scales?

Kovu

I'd say anytime in the first week would be grand to get the weight.
Are you supposed to get the three measurements? Birth weight, chest girth & height at shoulder?
Sure you can measure him for a suit while you're at it :pac:

bogman_bass

I've been doing the hight and girth messurements with the calves from quiet cows up to now. You would nearly nee a sheep scales for weighing a newborn calf

manjou

Weigh cow before she calves and then again after she calves subtract difference .
Going to buy cheap bathroom scales next time in lidl and lift calf and stand on scales thats what any inspector will be told anyway because all calves that are weighed in country will be between 35 & 40 kilos anyway.

croot

tanko wrote: »

Apparently birth size, vigour, scour & pnuemonia incidences must be recorded from now on for calves. Culling reasons for cows and stock Bulls also.

Will they accept "she was a pure thief and I couldn't keep her in my own field" for culling reason I wonder

I tried stepping on an old weighing scales with the calf last year and it's not that easy with a struggling calf. I gave up doing after the first few were born.

Kovu

manjou wrote: »

Weigh cow before she calves and then again after she calves subtract difference .
Going to buy cheap bathroom scales next time in lidl and lift calf and stand on scales thats what any inspector will be told anyway because all calves that are weighed in country will be between 35 & 40 kilos anyway.

Are ye crossing the cows with dexters? :P

The handiest thing to gunter up would be like a grocers scales with one side preweighted over the balance by 30kg.. Plonk the calf in one side and gradually increase weight increments on the other side by 1 or 2kg until your spirit level yokemabob in the middle is balanced.

Like this

ganmo

manjou wrote: »

Weigh cow before she calves and then again after she calves subtract difference .
Going to buy cheap bathroom scales next time in lidl and lift calf and stand on scales thats what any inspector will be told anyway because all calves that are weighed in country will be between 35 & 40 kilos anyway.

you'll end up getting figures like 80kg if you do that due to the weight of the cleanings

blue5000

I think the gene Ireland lads were doing it. I think they are looking for bulls that have small, lively calves that go on to grow fast. They call them curve-ball bulls, because of the way a graph looks for growth rate.

I'm just not looking forward to getting a puck in the face while I'm weighing a calf, I reckon I'll be using mf240's method.

Lizard_Moon

I know a farmer who has a cage hooked up to an old pig scales. An oversize luggage scale! He weighs calves and sheep in it

barnaman

You just need a tape,

http://www.tractorsupply.com/know-how_Cattle-Care-101_how-to-calculate-cattle-weight

manjou

Birth weight and all other data will be used to improve the star rating of bulls and also therefore their heifers. Also the info will be available to see. Have a bull here and breeder used him before i got him and it shows up on bull tracker report i think that all his calves are between 35 and 40 kilos.