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When's calving starting 2020

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    #992
    Hard Knocks
    Registered Users Posts: 3,954 ✭✭✭Hard Knocks


    Sugarbowl wrote: »
    Have people successfully calved suckler heifers at 24-26 months? I was hoping to start calving them down earlier but it seems the general consensus is to leave them longer. I will have heifers calving down at 3 years next spring and it seems such a long haul to get them to this stage. Looking at them now they look like they could have reared a calf fine.
    Have done, some were perfect fits others were still growing and the 1st year took allot out of them
    There is no right or wrong
    Look after the cow and she’ll look after you


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    #993
    High bike
    Registered Users Posts: 2,375 ✭✭✭High bike


    Well grown heifers around 420 kgs should be well up to calving at 24/25 mts if they get the right bull and shouldn’t stop them developing after from my experience.I don’t see the sense in keep them for another 12 mts with no return.


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    #994
    Limestone Cowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,527 ✭✭✭Limestone Cowboy


    squinn2912 wrote: »
    Last oul stragler calved herself yesterday. Losses for the season are at 7 calves and 2 cows with 28 calves on the ground. All losses in first few weeks while the last four (at least) calved themselves with no fuss at all. Brings me to wonder if you’d be better letting them go on to April every year... A bad year with a terrible start so at least things lifted up a bit. Bulling heifers are at least 20 kgs heavier at bulling so the mistakes are learning experiences

    7 calves and 2 cows here as well and 5 sections, should have been 6 but couldn't get a vet Sunday and lost the calf, cow was wobbly but up grazing after it. Was working today and looked at her when I got home and she had fell and broken a back leg, had to call vets to put her down. Gone to the stage now I'm afraid what I'll find when I go herding. I'm fair mad at our vets over it, they had 1 vet on call between 2 practices and she is based an hour away and was on the way out to a section when I rang, they are far from the cheapest but I'd forgive them for that if the service was good. It a ridiculous area to expect 1 vet to cover. I let them have a piece of my mind anyway for all the good it did me.


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    #995
    patsy_mccabe
    Registered Users Posts: 10,710 ✭✭✭✭patsy_mccabe


    Nobody has mentioned the makeup of the hips on the heifers when calving down at 24 months. By far the most important thing. Big open hips and they will calf anything. Go with a proven easy calving AI bull and most should calf away on their own.

    'When I was a boy we were serfs, slave minded. Anyone who came along and lifted us out of that belittling, I looked on them as Gods.' - Dan Breen



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    #996
    tanko
    Registered Users Posts: 9,229 ✭✭✭tanko


    Sugarbowl wrote: »
    Have people successfully calved suckler heifers at 24-26 months? I was hoping to start calving them down earlier but it seems the general consensus is to leave them longer. I will have heifers calving down at 3 years next spring and it seems such a long haul to get them to this stage. Looking at them now they look like they could have reared a calf fine.

    I've calved heifers at 24-26 months, when it works it's great, when it doesn't you just end up with a runt of a cow that doesn't last around the place.
    30-32 months is probably the sweet spot but that that's no good if you want to have a compact calving Spring herd.
    When some heifers go in calf it's like a switch trips in their brain and they stop growing so they wouldn't look like they could have reared a fine calf if they had calved a year earlier, they might have been a lot smaller.


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    #997
    Albert Johnson
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 1,876 Mod ✭✭✭✭Albert Johnson


    High bike wrote: »
    Well grown heifers around 420 kgs should be well up to calving at 24/25 mts if they get the right bull and shouldn’t stop them developing after from my experience.I don’t see the sense in keep them for another 12 mts with no return.

    +1 on this, I find that the likes of SIM or CH type heifer's tend to grow into tanks if left until 2 year olds before bulling. I like a cow with an average live weight of 650-700kg and once there 450kg and not over done at bulling there shouldn't be any problems imo. A lot of the older lads locally wouldn't hear of bulling anything under a 2 year old but a lot of there heifers wouldn't be any heavier at bulling despite being the best part of 12 months older.

    If a good heifer out of an average sized milky cow isn't capable of hitting the most part of 450kg at 16-17 months then I'd be slow enough to bull her at all tbh. A man locally used to buy very middling quality coloured store heifer's at 30 months or older and bull them. By the time they started to spring they looked reasonable enough but they'd be coming 4 year's old or more and age had covered up some of there faults. Even the worst dairy bred bullock will flesh up if kept long enough but it's the time and expense involved that's the real killer.


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    #998
    squinn2912
    Registered Users Posts: 4,759 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    Albert Johnson wrote: »
    +1 on this, I find that the likes of SIM or CH type heifer's tend to grow into tanks if left until 2 year olds before bulling. I like a cow with an average live weight of 650-700kg and once there 450kg and not over done at bulling there shouldn't be any problems imo. A lot of the older lads locally wouldn't hear of bulling anything under a 2 year old but a lot of there heifers wouldn't be any heavier at bulling despite being the best part of 12 months older.

    If a good heifer out of an average sized milky cow isn't capable of hitting the most part of 450kg at 16-17 months then I'd be slow enough to bull her at all tbh. A man locally used to buy very middling quality coloured store heifer's at 30 months or older and bull them. By the time they started to spring they looked reasonable enough but they'd be coming 4 year's old or more and age had covered up some of there faults. Even the worst dairy bred bullock will flesh up if kept long enough but it's the time and expense involved that's the real killer.

    I like your points. My father and I argued a bit over this and he maintained if she’s the right one she’ll have the weight. Bit of truth in that.
    Saw your point in real life at some special sales. Springers to calve their first calf at 40 plus months. My thought was where the fuk has she been hiding for all that time. Making silly money too. Another sale had 30-36 month old heifers not bulled yet. I think that’s a waste of time.


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    #999
    Limestone Cowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,527 ✭✭✭Limestone Cowboy


    Second last one calved just there now. The other one should go in the next day or two aswell. Can't wait to be finished with them for the year.


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    #1000
    Limestone Cowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,527 ✭✭✭Limestone Cowboy


    Last one calved this morning by herself, nice little roan lim heifer.


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    #1001
    Limestone Cowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,527 ✭✭✭Limestone Cowboy


    Limestone Cowboy wrote: »
    Last one calved this morning by herself, nice little roan lim heifer.

    Here she is.


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    #1002
    Sugarbowl
    Registered Users Posts: 828 ✭✭✭Sugarbowl


    Looks like a great pair. Love the colourings. Is she a first calver? 26 months or more? What Lm bull is she off? Great to see them calving alone


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    #1003
    Limestone Cowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,527 ✭✭✭Limestone Cowboy


    Sugarbowl wrote: »
    Looks like a great pair. Love the colourings. Is she a first calver? 26 months or more? What Lm bull is she off? Great to see them calving alone

    Ya first calver, think she's 27 months. Springer is by eby, she was bought in calf so don't know what the sire was.


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    #1004
    squinn2912
    Registered Users Posts: 4,759 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    There’s a lovely team! Would you think about giving her a month then inject to bring her round and pull her back a bit or if you’ve autumn calving let her into the early part of that group?


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    #1005
    Limestone Cowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,527 ✭✭✭Limestone Cowboy


    squinn2912 wrote: »
    There’s a lovely team! Would you think about giving her a month then inject to bring her round and pull her back a bit or if you’ve autumn calving let her into the early part of that group?

    No, I'll let nature take its course now.


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    #1006
    SuperTortoise
    Registered Users Posts: 2,955 ✭✭✭SuperTortoise


    Had one calf yesterday, elephant of a heifer calf, thought the cow might have twins she was that big, bit of a pull but all well, two more left now, one of them will go at least another 2 weeks and the last one god knows.


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    #1007
    Anto_Meath
    Registered Users Posts: 1,309 ✭✭✭Anto_Meath


    20200623_121929.jpg
    Last one calved here last Tuesday, a lovely Fifty Cent Bull, he is a fine calf, I have been putting a Sim on her for the last 3 years as she is getting on (10 year old this year) and a lovey quite cow, but so far I have had 3 nice bulls, so I am guessing she will be around for another year so all going well. At least she is in time for the €90. Will try and get her back to May calving if I can this year.


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    #1008
    Hard Knocks
    Registered Users Posts: 3,954 ✭✭✭Hard Knocks


    Anto_Meath wrote: »
    20200623_121929.jpg
    Last one calved here last Tuesday, a lovely Fifty Cent Bull, he is a fine calf, I have been putting a Sim on her for the last 3 years as she is getting on (10 year old this year) and a lovey quite cow, but so far I have had 3 nice bulls, so I am guessing she will be around for another year so all going well. At least she is in time for the €90. Will try and get her back to May calving if I can this year.
    Always happens
    Lovely calf, may as well go same again


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    #1009
    Anto_Meath
    Registered Users Posts: 1,309 ✭✭✭Anto_Meath


    That is the plan, because in fairness all the bull calves have been very nicely marked, good quality and very quite. That lad is a lovely dark red with a white strip on his forehead and his hip.


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    #1010
    50HX
    Registered Users Posts: 1,721 ✭✭✭50HX


    Think we should change the title of thread to When's calving finished 2020:D:D


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    #1011
    whelan2
    Registered Users Posts: 29,216 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    50HX wrote: »
    Think we should change the title of thread to When's calving finished 2020:D:D

    Some of us have autumn calvers too. For our sins


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    #1012
    Who2
    Registered Users Posts: 2,052 ✭✭✭Who2


    whelan2 wrote: »
    Some of us have autumn calvers too. For our sins

    This is the last year here. All autumn calvers are finished as i brought what i could back until last week. The bulls coming out this weekend and hopefully earlier next year.


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    #1013
    Buford T. Justice XIX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    The girl I was looking for. Last cow calved, hopefully, though a few dry cows being fattened might need a check on first.
    LGnqW1G.jpg


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    #1014
    squinn2912
    Registered Users Posts: 4,759 ✭✭✭squinn2912


    Who2 wrote: »
    This is the last year here. All autumn calvers are finished as i brought what i could back until last week. The bulls coming out this weekend and hopefully earlier next year.

    Why are you against the autumn calvers?


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    #1015
    patsy_mccabe
    Registered Users Posts: 10,710 ✭✭✭✭patsy_mccabe


    I was walking by a cow yesterday, she is due to calve in a month. On her right side just behind the rib cage had, a big bulge kept appearing and disappearing. About the size of half a football. I take it, it is the calf moving around.
    Would this be normal? I've often seen them moving a bit but this was unreal.

    'When I was a boy we were serfs, slave minded. Anyone who came along and lifted us out of that belittling, I looked on them as Gods.' - Dan Breen



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    #1016
    bogman_bass
    Registered Users Posts: 5,057 ✭✭✭bogman_bass


    50HX wrote: »
    Think we should change the title of thread to When's calving finished 2020:D:D

    Finished breeding at this stage!


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    #1017
    Who2
    Registered Users Posts: 2,052 ✭✭✭Who2


    squinn2912 wrote: »
    Why are you against the autumn calvers?
    Costs and time, it’s great having a couple of batches to sell but it’s torture lately between tagging, dosing and spending half the year watching cows to calve. Straw bedding and ration all winter,some cows coming out wrecked in the spring and carrying the odd one over. It all adds up.
    Intentions are to calve down fifty next jan to April and sell all in the back end bar whatever replacements.
    One batch, less inputs and mainly less time. The following year I’m hoping to close it into a ten week calving period. I’ve brought around a nice batch of replacements and bought in another batch and culls are being moved off. Any of the late calvers that didn’t go back in calf early will more than likely be sold with calves at foot.


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    #1018
    Base price
    Registered Users Posts: 11,180 ✭✭✭✭Base price


    patsy_mccabe wrote: »
    I was walking by a cow yesterday, she is due to calve in a month. On her right side just behind the rib cage had, a big bulge kept appearing and disappearing. About the size of half a football. I take it, it is the calf moving around.
    Would this be normal? I've often seen them moving a bit but this was unreal.
    Possibly the head or hindquarters/arse as the calf moves within the womb. I wouldn't be worried. TBH I'd prefer to see movement than non. I stood watching my pbr SH heifer in her pen this morning for about 15/20 mins to ensure that the calf was moving. She is due on the 17th assuming she held to the 3 rounds of AI and the little fecker AA weanling didn't get to her as well.


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    #1019
    50HX
    Registered Users Posts: 1,721 ✭✭✭50HX


    bogman_bass wrote: »
    Finished breeding at this stage!

    Last one calved may bank hol

    2 of the ones served in march and tested as in calf have broken down so will be moving them on due to weight and age

    V hard to keep em all in a tight calving pattern

    Mentioned in another post i used seaweed this year and v happy with results of it

    All served bar a few replacement heifers that i'll let run another while


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    #1020
    sonnybill
    Registered Users Posts: 958 ✭✭✭sonnybill


    Kevin Costner is some man on the calving jack !


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    #1021
    patsy_mccabe
    Registered Users Posts: 10,710 ✭✭✭✭patsy_mccabe


    sonnybill wrote: »
    Kevin Costner is some man on the calving jack !

    I never laughed so much. That new born has some legs on it. Difficult birth and it gets up dry and runs away like it's a month old.

    'When I was a boy we were serfs, slave minded. Anyone who came along and lifted us out of that belittling, I looked on them as Gods.' - Dan Breen



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