New year, new thread. Good luck all with calving 2023
No, nearly all calve themselves
Probably about 3-4 days. But i usually try not to leave them there too long, out on grass now.
Vet came, had to do section as calf gone way down inside and the way she lying was bad. Heifer calf alive 😀 and cow that calved yesterday taking to her. She has here own big Loki bull calf and now this Loki heifer. She's hereford w/ plenty milk so not so bad.
Cow with section gone
Yeah, father is about but I've few good neighbors who I can call on around here if anything goes abit awkward. They'd be more experienced with sucklers. Father would have being dairy so outside his comfort zone at times. I'd cover the nights, father throws the eye during day.
Well done on salvaging something from the situation
She should make a good cow
Yea Well done lad. You made the best of a bad situation 👍🏽
A 3rd calver cow with twins earlier this morning. We had to sort out front legs to get a pair and a head. Hand pulled both calves, a bull and a heifer.
A second calver just calved a lump of a bull calf which we jacked and it was a good pull. All by the stock bull.
I've the few that's calved out. With this expected chill next week would it be worth getting & putting the calf jackets on?
I don’t think so.
Can anyone tell me. how the hell do you get a cow to put her head tru the calving gate once she's calved?
Had a cow calf last night, calf up and walking when I arrived in shed. For a full hour I tried to get her to go into the head gate. She'd eat nuts if i left them in the middle of the pen, but way too cute to come near the calving gate. Calf kept sucking at the head of the cow and just wouldn't move to her udder. She did latch on eventually but I was frozen standing there by then.
I just didn't trust the cow to hadle the calf in the pen.
If you put the calf out at the front of the gate ? Sorry just saw you wouldn't trust the cow
You won't, unless you can move calf which you can't, or have gates well set up to split her to crush race.
its all about the gate setup Patsy, I have 2 calving pens one with the 3 in 1 gate and the other is a fixed stall with the gate hanging from it from donovan's below.
its a pleasure to catch a cow in this one whereas the 3 in 1 gate is a pain in the hole for suckler's, for dairy the 3 in 1 might be fine but I'm all for having a solid gate between me and the cow and you can gently nudge her in with the gate
https://www.odonovaneng.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Calving-Stall.gif-2.gif
Nuts at head gate & close full gate around with/against her (my pins are square so easier) so she can't turn. Only hassle is usually where the calf goes. I find once they go in once & get nuts they'll do it easier next time.
I've a bosteel one similar to the Donovan one, only job.
I'd agree with others about the second gate in the pen.. Its the only job. Swing two gates in and a bit of a chain to tie them together (twine is only for tying bales in my opinion) with the cow and calf separated safely pull the calf out to the front of the head gate and she will fly out and away you go. Suckler cows must be the thickest animals on this planet when they don't want to do something.
Had to get the Vet for one of the pbr SH cows. I noticed her kicking her underbelly on the stand off pad this morning. I brought her into the straw bedded pen hoping for the best but you know when you see that sort of behaviour that there is a problem. I left her to settle and after about a hour she was pressing but nothing showing other than a bit of slime. We put her in behind the gate and OH handled her. The calf was upside down with both legs and the head back. OH got the calf righted and the legs up but couldn't keep the head in position. Called the Vet and he arrived 15 mins later (we were lucky) and we pulled a big roan heifer calf. Thankfully the cow got up after a few mins and licked the calf. I didn't take a pic as we were flat out trying to feed the rest of the cattle before the snow set in.
Was the calf alive?
The calf was up standing within 5 mins looking to suck the cow.
Great going all round!
That was a good result @Base price when your luck is in its a great thing & a nice Roan heifer to go with it.
I'm delighted cause it's her first heifer calf the other two were bulls.
No 4 calved. Lovely red Saler heifer calf of black 24mth old LMx heifer. Calved herself in 20min. Needed a little hand to get started sucking but flying now.
Always nervous with heifers as hard to know how they'll be, they either want to kill the calf/you or completely ignore the calf or obsessed with it so much wont let it suck.
Dont know how close to head gate you can get them, but I tie a long rope high up on one side of head gate, around cow and back up to other side of head gate and reel her in bit by bit. Use a light field gate to keep between us and stop her turning around. I know people laugh at using baling twine but I find it handy in situations like this in that you can just cut it quickly if needed
A pic of the pb heifer calf that was coming upside down.
That looks a smashing outfit Base and there in the lap of luxury. I love to see good Shorthorn's as there so rare compared to the majority that are only colours with big heads and narrow arses. There's something about nice roan cattle that just looks the part imo.
Went into the calving pen today to give it a bit of a tidy. Normally throw out any dung heaps, tidy straw etc. The cow in there had only dunged in one corner of the shed, at the lowest point neat the gate. Now I know horses, donkeys will dung in the one area, but never a cow. Right impressed, I was.
She's the cleanest cow I have too. Likes to keep herself presentable.
@patsy_mccabe I have a cow like that, she is a bucket reared hereford, the neatest, cleanest tidiest cow around the place, there is never a spec of dirt on her and when she is in the calving shed very easy to keep clean. I have twin daughters of hers coming into the herd that year, will be interesting to see if they are as good as her. They seem ok so far.
What breeding is the stock bull?
Well lads hows things? Joining in a bit late but sure yous might still have me. We’re about halfway through calving now with 14 on the ground. There’s 11 cows left to calve and there will be a bust of them any time now. Didn’t keep on any heifers for the spring this time just the way the year went but we have 8 sim/lim girls joining the autumn herd all scanned in calf. New bull throwing good calves and we hadn’t the jack out yet. I’ll take that, esp for Charolais!
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