Calving 2024

Lime Tree Farm

Sickener, leaves a very hollow empty feeling - fine big newborn heifer calf gone to the RVL for post mortem

tanko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121964488#Comment_121964488

I’ve never used him but i’ve heard some farmers say he can be a bit unpredictable. Your neighbour might be better stick with Lim bulls if he’s unable or unwilling to use a jack. Don’t suppose you know who bought the €17K bull in Roscrea yesterday?

patsy_mccabe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967643#Comment_121967643

The €17k bull was sold online and no mention of who any of the buyers were in the report. More buyers than bulls at the sale and good trade all round.

tellmeabit

I've a nice bull call off a DEP heifer and MONTESQIEU as the sire, 3 weeks old now and showing no sign of horns. Don't think either are polled. Is it possible he don't got none?

tanko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121968381#Comment_121968381

Montesqieu is heterozygous polled so half his calves will have no horns.

patsy_mccabe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121964488#Comment_121964488

Need to correct this. Cow was supposed to be AI'd to Curaheen Earp, so don't know what went wrong. Either AI guy gave wrong straw or some charolais bull got to her. He's a massive char bull, that's for sure.

patsy_mccabe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967643#Comment_121967643

https://www.facebook.com/100002162723404/videos/pcb.7393245940757423/1143835893301950

Video of Milbrook Terence on farm before sale.

Sami23

After noticing a newborn calf just 24 hours old is very scoury here. Never seen them to have scour that young before. Yellow runny stuff and fairly stink. I gave her some bimastat for now and will contact Vet in morning.

Is there anything else could give her - I have some engemycin and promox would they be any good ?

Is scour common in that young of a calf. She sucked the mother within an hour of being born and been lucky up to now scour wise with rest of calves.

Thanks

tanko

l’d be afraid it’s E. coli scour, a very dangerous thing if it is.

Sami23

Calf in good form this morning jumping around the shed but I'll still pop to the Vet later and get something for her to dry her hopefully.

Will post an update later.

minerleague

Calving 24 should be finished after last night, but one heifer of my own either didn't go in calf when I thought or broke down and went in-calf later on (left bull with them thinking all in-calf). No idea when she'll calf but wont be soon. Got good nights sleep last night. All calved and out ( 1 use of jack and 3 assisted with hand held ropes)

mr.stonewall

In the thick of calving at the moment her. 10 sucklers out of 25 calved since Sunday. Into single digits left now

Normally would be calving outside, but tough going shuffling them around in sheds. Everything is going out the door as they calves within 24-36 hours. I'm finding a few bits of difficulty this year, 2 with legs down, 1 backwards, and a few calves took a bit longer than normal in the oven.

It has been a rough few months on stock and farmers

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009455#Comment_122009455

How the hell are ya able to get them out in this weather - my field are too wet to even think about it.

Hopefully things improve next week 🙏

mr.stonewall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009753#Comment_122009753

Small groups of 5-6 cows with calves to a full paddock. Yearling stock are back in with the weather and to allow the cows and calves out

minerleague

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009753#Comment_122009753

Not set up to keep them in, 3 pens of slatted shed are my calving pens ( weanlings taken to dry bedded shed on out farm to make room ). Tough going outside this year, small groups, moving often, back fencing. Doing damage although in saying that if you walk recently grazed fields there is regrowth and if you half close your eyes into a squint they don't look as bad as feared. Should add as said before I am lightly stocked also.

None of my land has ever been reseeded and I think it holds up better in bad weather as there is a mat of stuff. I call it MSS but some would call it weeds!

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122008453#Comment_122008453

So calf got a bit weaker this afternoon so ended up bringing her to the Vet. Vet gave her steroid and some other injection maby an antiinflammatory as she was a bit chesty.

She got a Synulox bolus and is now on electrolytes also for dehydration.

Hopefully she improves by morning as not interested in sucking cow this evening.

kollegeknight

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Only have 6 cows this year. To keep the sisters BF happy I Aied them once.

4 in the last week to wrap it up.

4 BB

1 limo

1 Charolais.

the grey cow lost a calf last year- calved against a barrier and contracted around the calf and lost her walk. Landed into the shed and she had calved alone.

4 heifers and 2 bull. Not 1 pull. You’d be tempted to keep going. 😂

Jb1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122012441#Comment_122012441

How's the international going?

kollegeknight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122012695#Comment_122012695

Yeah ok. I wouldn’t be a big fan of it.

Have it 9 years at this stage. It came from the north- injector went straight away. And clutch last year. I’m not a fan of the H shaped fuel tank- has caused trouble before.

a strong and light enough tractor for our land.

sonnybill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121843982#Comment_121843982

he only 3 stars now if you in scep , I have nice calf off him too but cannot use again

tanko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122017616#Comment_122017616

You can use him for SCEP this year, he qualifies on his July and September evaluation last year. If a bull qualifies on any single evaluation as far back as July last year he’s ok to use for SCEP this year. Check with the Herdplus section in ICBF tomorrow.

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122012178#Comment_122012178

Update - so the calf sucked yesterday morning and I gave her electrolytes and a synulox bolus and the dung was thickening up nicely into a normal yellow colour so thought she was over the worst of it.

Went out this morning to find her making a very runny dark brown scour with blood through it. She seems in good form and is still sucking the cow. I gave her a 3rd synulox bolus and will give her more electrolytes also today.

Wonder why has the scour changed from yellow to brown ?

anthony500_1

Ive finished up my last calving for the year, between one thing and another I only had 5 to calf this year instead of my normal 10. Ruthless culling and trying to AI replacements from my own stock bull left me short on numbers but anyways it's done for this year.

3 bulls, 2 heifers.

The 3 bulls came massive all had to be jacked and very hard calvings for all 3, lost 1 calf all over it. The 2 heifers came small handy sizes, and calved unassisted.

Using the same stock bull since 2020,and most years I didn't have to jack anything. 1 at most any of the years. All cows were outwintered, they only got silage and grazing no meal etc they only went into the shed 2 weeks pre starting to calf so they were fit definitely not fat.

It's really annoying me as to why the bulls came so big and the fact I lost one, when the heifers are only on the small side.

Could anyone give an eye opener as to why the bulls came massive??? Or something I could do differently going forward

Hard Knocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018893#Comment_122018893

wax the gestation any shorter on the heifers to the bulls? Did all the Dams feed calves last year?

anthony500_1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019473#Comment_122019473

I don't know about gestation length as didn't see them bulling/been bulled and the scanner man I used was next to useless. They all reared a calf till last October and all were 4th to 6th calvers.

That's what's annoying me, they all got the same treatment, would have been bunched together from the day they went with the bull till they calved down, calf's weaned same time etc.

tanko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018292#Comment_122018292

Did you get it tested to see what type of scour it is or did the vet say???

Hard Knocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019856#Comment_122019856

You couldn’t do any more. We all go through the same. You’ll get cows who put condition on themselves and deliver a small calf, others to starve themselves to deliver a monster.

minerleague

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018292#Comment_122018292

Sounds like coccidiosis?

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122020070#Comment_122020070

+1.

I would get Bovicox (3ml/10kg orally) or similar from the Vet and dose asap. I would also ask your Vet about Gabbrovet to treat for four or five days.

I've heard farmers and Vets saying that calves cannot get coccidiosis during the first three weeks of age which is nonsense. Four years ago we had a six day old calf that had confirmed case of coccidiosis - dung sample tested by our Vet and a second by Oldcastle Laboratories. Our Vet at the time said that there are always exceptions to every rule and never rule out those exceptions. Unfortunately that Vet retired from large animal practice but she was by far the best Vet that I and OH have ever had the pleasure to work with and was an integral member of our business.

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019926#Comment_122019926

When I had the calf at the Vet on Friday he said he just looked like a really bad scour from the milk being rich and didn't test it.

It's only today the scour has turned a brown colour.

In fairness the calf is in great form today so I'll keep a close eye on her and contact Vet again tomorrow if scour continues.