Calving Essentials

GrasstoMilk

What is your must have for the calving season.
Maybe we can also expand it into what ppl do with cows once they have calved aswell as calves.

For me it's;
Shoof speedy feeder

Trusti tuber- for stomach tubing lazy calves or ones that come late at night- it holds 4l do no messing about filling it twice to get enough into calves.

Tape for cows- 3 runs on the tail take one run off the rail every day, cows in the tank on day 4

4l zip lock bags for colostrum- easier to store in the fridge vs milk cartons and quick to heat up -we date them and remove any unused colostrum from the fridge if it's over 4 days old.

Just bought a single milker milking unit for the calving shed. Fresh cows will be milked in the calving shed once calved and calf fed asap, we'll store any excess to give to heifers calves.
It will save us having to have a pile of colostrum bags or having to start up the milking machine outside of milking times.

I'm sure I've plenty more that I can add into it but for now what's your essentials/Calving routines

whelan2

I need to buy a new jack, what type do ye find the best?

trixi2011

whelan2 wrote: »

I need to buy a new jack, what type do ye find the best?

Vink are good

Mooooo

Flutter valve and calciject in stock for older/ high yielders etc.
Oxytocin in stock to give to cows that have difficult calving or twins
Have a whiteboard in the parlour will get another one for calf shed as well for when the part time lad is around and can write any observations or numbers down etc.
Isolation pens for sick calves. Used pallets in an old stall last year, will get steel or plastic pens this year so they can be washed and 're used.
Have effydral and any treatments in stock prior to calving commencing.
All cow's vaccinated with rotavec.
Have a calving shed with 6 individual pens. Will try to calve everything in there and have cow's in there for as short a time as possible. Have another shed then that I will use as a pre or post calving pen
Going to feed a transition diet from the 7th of Jan to dry cows

Freejin

Thinking of getting rid of individual calf pins here. Have been around as long as I can remember. Usually keep new born calves in the individual pins for up to a week, depending on how fast they're calving.

Old routine was to chalk up the dams number over the gate,the calf would then be fed its dams milk for 3 days. Calves were tagged in a batch maybe twice a week.

New plan would be put all new borns into a pin of about 6 and train up to the tub feeders ASAP. Will pool all fresh cows milk from day 1. Also will have to tag calves as they born.

Will probably keep a few individual pins for slow/sick calves.

alps

Freejin wrote: »

Thinking of getting rid of individual calf pins here. Have been around as long as I can remember. Usually keep new born calves in the individual pins for up to a week, depending on how fast they're calving.

Old routine was to chalk up the dams number over the gate,the calf would then be fed its dams milk for 3 days. Calves were tagged in a batch maybe twice a week.

New plan would be put all new borns into a pin of about 6 and train up to the tub feeders ASAP. Will pool all fresh cows milk from day 1. Also will have to tag calves as they born.

Will probably keep a few individual pins for slow/sick calves.

Your new system will be simpler and I'd suggest healthier for you and for calves. I'd suggest however you research what will be expected of you from the new jhones control programme that seems to be rolling out this year.

I don't know any of the details, but it may mean individual feeding of heifers calves with their own mothers milk, and no pooling of colostrum etc..

Everything grouped here from day 1...far simpler and less infrastructure and much easier to keep clean..

Mooooo

alps wrote: »

Your new system will be simpler and I'd suggest healthier for you and for calves. I'd suggest however you research what will be expected of you from the new jhones control programme that seems to be rolling out this year.

I don't know any of the details, but it may mean individual feeding of heifers calves with their own mothers milk, and no pooling of colostrum etc..

Everything grouped here from day 1...far simpler and less infrastructure and much easier to keep clean..

Are you going joining the programme alps.? Around calving is the main risk I think. That's why I hope to calve in individual pens. It's the first few hours when the calves stomach is most receptive to biestings that it is also most receptive to johnes apparently. Don't think I have it here

blackdog1

Freejin wrote:

Thinking of getting rid of individual calf pins here. Have been around as long as I can remember. Usually keep new born calves in the individual pins for up to a week, depending on how fast they're calving.

I went the opposite way got really good individual pens. Group pens are a nightmare if calves get sick as they will all come down and way more cleaning. All calves in individual pens for first 10 days with they're own bottle, then moved into groups of 5-8.

whelan2

blackdog1 wrote: »

I went the opposite way got really good individual pens. Group pens are a nightmare if calves get sick as they will all come down and way more cleaning. All calves in individual pens for first 10 days with they're own bottle, then moved into groups of 5-8.

During an inspection here last year from the department they don't like calves being in individual pens for any more than a few days. He commented on it here. They are only in individual pens for a few days here anyway

visatorro

Calves in pairs here for 10days or forthnight here. I reckoned historically calves weren't getting a good enough doing for that time. Hard on time but it's worked for me. Feeding with speedy feeder making sure they get the right amount. Plenty of straw meal and water aswell.
All got rotavirus vaccination. They all get all guard bolus and fed precalver gold on silage. Happy with vigour of calves.
Have plenty of calcium and life aids just in case. Tubs of natural yoghurt to anything with scour. And wash out all feeders etc.

alps

Mooooo wrote: »

Are you going joining the programme alps.? Around calving is the main risk I think. That's why I hope to calve in individual pens. It's the first few hours when the calves stomach is most receptive to biestings that it is also most receptive to johnes apparently. Don't think I have it here

I know Dairygold have launched a programme but I thought AHI had announced in the last 3 weeks that their trial programme was to be rolled out nationally..no hint of it here so fingers crossed.

Mooooo

Joined the first one but was , still am, tb testing regularly so don't think it is suitable yet for those areas. All went clear bar one cow who had an inconclusive, a negative and a positive test... culled at 10 yrs old in very good condition due to a cut teat.
Off thread but going forward what may well be the defence against it is one cow calving boxes, quick calf removal and individual treatment in the early days anyway. Heard of one lad who made a large box, think it was a working crate for the loader, to leave in the passage outside calving pen where cow's can still see calves as pulls them away straight away for hygiene reasons. Have three small pens in calving shed here where I've put calves if cow wasn't steady underfoot or if twins landed so they wouldn't be lay down on. Risk is that things get busy and calves may spend too long in those pens then.
Key is to look at things and make them as simple as possible so tiredness and work levels won't leave things slip too much at peak

Keepgrowing

Day book for calving records

Jack with spare head

Ropes * 4 sets

Head rope * 2

Stomach tube

Lube

Gloves

Hot water

Hand basin

Locking gate

Tags and tagger

Rubbish bin

White board

Antibiotics

Clean buckets

Good light

Paper towels and soap

Head torch for intravenous

Calcium and magnesium

Flutter valve

Iodine

List of phone numbers vet etc

whelan2

A couple of days away before the mayhem starts, recharge your own batteries.

GrasstoMilk

whelan2 wrote: »

A couple of days away before the mayhem starts, recharge your own batteries.

Essential. 3 hrs does the yard work atm. Well8be taking a few days trips over the next few days. Straight into it then to get sheds/ pens and fences ready

L1985

Anyone else feeling slightly inadequate??
Only thing is we are suckler...that's my excuse anyway!!
I just asked my Mam to pick up some salt to have on hand!!

GrasstoMilk

L1985 wrote: »

Anyone else feeling slightly inadequate??
Only thing is we are suckler...that's my excuse anyway!!
I just asked my Mam to pick up some salt to have on hand!!

We used to just have bar minimum here, calving jack, drinkers, calcium, magnesium but calving has gotten so compact the few things we've bought make it all that bit easier. We add to it a bit every year. If you were to buy it all the one year youd have some hole in your pocket

Never wrestle with pigs

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Day book for calving records

Jack with spare head

Ropes * 4 sets

Head rope * 2

Stomach tube

Lube

Gloves

Hot water

Hand basin

Locking gate

Tags and tagger

Rubbish bin

White board

Antibiotics

Clean buckets

Good light

Paper towels and soap

Head torch for intravenous

Calcium and magnesium

Flutter valve

Iodine

List of phone numbers vet etc

Everything here plus a bit of Oxytocin and dex for a hard calving or backwards calf. I also have one of those Calf Resuscitators. I bought it about 3 years ago and definitely brought back two calves from the dead with it. It's one of those things that you hopefully never have to use but are glad it's there the day you need it. It's not easy to lob a 50/60 kg lifeless calf over a gate by your self.

GrasstoMilk

Does anyone use the smaller concentrated bottles of calcium? How do you find them

K.G.

going by our experience last year you must have a simple and easy way to milk biestings and a trustituber.we have a simple way of milking them but it was out of commission due to building work for the early part of the calving season last year and i think we paid a huge price.throw in the snow in half finished sheds and you have a receipe for disaster.in our case the crush, the parlour and calving pens are in the one area and under one roof so its just an air line off the parlour and an old bucket plant with its own pulsater to the crush which has a gate in the first section you can open back once she s stalled.the gates all line a cow up for the crush so its easy to get her into it.its nothing fancy but has good control.

whelan2

Postage stamps for sending off bvd samples

Buford T. Justice XIX

A pot of natural yogurt for the sucks with a bit of scour.

GrasstoMilk

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

A pot of natural yogurt for the sucks with a bit of scour.

Bimastat is what we use here. Minute they look a bit off form they get s dose and electrolights

charolais0153

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Bimastat is what we use here. Minute they look a bit off form they get s dose and electrolights

How do u give the electrolytes?

dar31

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Does anyone use the smaller concentrated bottles of calcium? How do you find them

Use calcium bolus for anything that might be sustibale to milk fever straight after calving or in conjunction with a bottle as it slow released.
All minerals through the water for dry and milkers using the Terra system for the coming year

Got a stomach pump a few years back great for giving fluids, luckily didn't have to use much last year.

New calving gate ordered from bo steel. Hopefully arrives in plenty of time, looked at them all at the ploughing and thought it it best, time will tell

dar31

Anyone use the mobile milk trolleys such as the Jfc one.
Connaught agri also have one but with a petrol pump

Are they worth it and electric pump vs petrol.

GrasstoMilk

dar31 wrote: »

Use calcium bolus for anything that might be sustibale to milk fever straight after calving or in conjunction with a bottle as it slow released.
All minerals through the water for dry and milkers using the Terra system for the coming year

Got a stomach pump a few years back great for giving fluids, luckily didn't have to use much last year.

New calving ordered from bo steel. Hopefully arrives in plenty of time, looked at them all at the ploughing and thought it it best, time will tell

Did you manage to get your calving shed rearranged after?

Mooooo

dar31 wrote: »

Anyone use the mobile milk trolleys such as the Jfc one.
Connaught agri also have one but with a petrol pump

Are they worth it and electric pump vs petrol.

Have the jfc one with agitator, no pump. It's fine mixes away the milk replacer, easy to push on flat ground.

dar31

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Did you manage to get your calving shed rearranged after?

Unfortunately not finances this year didn't allow it after the drought. Ended up feeding 1.64t of meal along with buying whole crop and maize.
It will be a priority for next year.
Water comming in through floor for last month, hope it stops before calving

GrasstoMilk

dar31 wrote: »

Anyone use the mobile milk trolleys such as the Jfc one.
Connaught agri also have one but with a petrol pump

Are they worth it and electric pump vs petrol.

We have the jfc one with mixer and dispenser.
Mixes the finest but a bit slow to pump out milk if not fully charged. A bucket would be quicker but you will get milk split on gates etc so it's cleaner in that regard.
If you have to push it up hill forget about it. The small wheels on the back make it too hard to push.
They do a quad version which would be a good job if you have the room to drive it the quad around pens

patsy_mccabe

Small hands and a tonne of patience. :cool:

Snowfire

Sleeping tablets....











I wish..!

bogman_bass

Anybody get the steel handles for calving ropes?

Muddy76

dar31 wrote: »

Anyone use the mobile milk trolleys such as the Jfc one.
Connaught agri also have one but with a petrol pump

Are they worth it and electric pump vs petrol.

I have a JFC with stirrer and pump one here.I found the pump too slow and now just fill buckets and pour in to feeders

tanko

bogman_bass wrote: »

Anybody get the steel handles for calving ropes?

They look handy alrite.
Ive pulled plenty of calves using two bits of Ash about a foot long and an inch thick with the calving ropes tied around them. If that doesnt work its time for the jack.

Pidae.m

Empty Heineken bottle..... A must for every calving shed.

Dunedin

K.G. wrote: »

going by our experience last year you must have a simple and easy way to milk biestings and a trustituber.we have a simple way of milking them

Can you expand a bit on this. Is it suitable for sucklers?

Can be a struggle to get anything over a litre even though cow would have loads of it.

K.G.

Dunedin wrote: »

Can you expand a bit on this. Is it suitable for sucklers?

Can be a struggle to get anything over a litre even though cow would have loads of it.

i use an old bucket plant which has its own pulsation so you only need vacumn -loads of vac pumps on dd.the trustituber is the best tuber as it holds 4 litres if required,it can be put on the ground while inserting the tube,the tube has nice flexibility, is easy enough to hold in the calf and is fast to empty.its dear enough at around 80 quid but i like it

bogman_bass

tanko wrote: »

They look handy alrite.
Ive pulled plenty of calves using two bits of Ash about a foot long and an inch thick with the calving ropes tied around them. If that doesnt work its time for the jack.

I have a set of long blue ropes that I use whe I get the nose out that I can wrap around my back and lean back into but I like the idea of the handles to get started. Depends on the money I suppose.

stretch film

Why not use the Jack .
Match your pressure applied as required.

Donegalforever

Has anyone bought "Calving Aid" from www. Calvingaid.com and if so did you find it useful ?

The manufacturer advertised it in IFJ saying that it "works as a grip on the knot of the calving rope so your hands don't slip when pulling".

I watched a Video demonstrating how to use the "aid".
Unlike using a calving jack, the man using the "Calving Aid" continued to pull both ropes at the same time.... I thought that a bit strange.

It is priced close to €40 including VAT and postage.

Dunedin

Have used the Kilcox detergent to disinfect calf pens in the past but can’t seem to get it anymore or any type for that matter.

What are ye using for pens?

Westernrock

Donegalforever wrote: »

Has anyone bought "Calving Aid" from www. Calvingaid.com and if so did you find it useful ?

The manufacturer advertised it in IFJ saying that it "works as a grip on the knot of the calving rope so your hands don't slip when pulling".

I watched a Video demonstrating how to use the "aid".
Unlike using a calving jack, the man using the "Calving Aid" continued to pull both ropes at the same time.... I thought that a bit strange.

It is priced close to €40 including VAT and postage.

Why would you not use the jack? If you can’t pull it easily by hand and have to put ropes on then you might aswell put the jack on.

Calving handles have been around years but I never really seen the point in them?

Mooooo

Dunedin wrote: »

Have used the Kilcox detergent to disinfect calf pens in the past but can’t seem to get it anymore or any type for that matter.

What are ye using for pens?

Cyclex here

whelan2

Dunedin wrote: »

Have used the Kilcox detergent to disinfect calf pens in the past but can’t seem to get it anymore or any type for that matter.

What are ye using for pens?

Interkokask

Dunedin

whelan2 wrote: »

Interkokask

Where are you getting it. Had a look on line at Agri direct and Magneta and they have no detergents at all. Local agri store has nothing either

whelan2

Dunedin wrote: »

Where are you getting it. Had a look on line at Agri direct and Magneta and they have no detergents at all. Local agri store has nothing either

My vet has it in stock

Mooooo

Stockhealth

visatorro

Lads use a calving jack. You've only one back no matter how strong you think you are you'll do serious harm pulling a calf yourself. Calving Jack used correctly will deliver calf safely for everyone. Plenty of videos online. Ask your vet either if your not sure.

893bet

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visatorro wrote: »

Lads use a calving jack. You've only one back no matter how strong you think you are you'll do serious harm pulling a calf yourself. Calving Jack used correctly will deliver calf safely for everyone. Plenty of videos online. Ask your vet either if your not sure.

It takes a good bit of experience to use a jack right and understand the pressure it places on the cow.

Ropes on the legs and a very light pull at the right time should place no pressure on your own back and be easier on the cow and calf.

Used correctly is the key part to your post.

whelan2

893bet wrote: »

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It takes a good bit of experience to use a jack right and understand the pressure it places on the cow.

Ropes on the legs and a very pull at the right time should place no pressure on your own back and be easier on the cow and calf.

Used correctly is the key part to your post.

Other thing is to have the jack ready, I'm terrible for not pushing the crooks back to the top of the jack after I've used it. Normally because I'm wrecked. Then end up in a rush when calving a cow getting it set up