New year, new thread. Good luck all with calving 2023
Meant to say those two pens are just 9ft wide. Tighter than you’d like but the cows work grand in them
@minerleague Sorry lad I just noticed this question. That used to be a milking parlour so yea it is a touch more narrow than would be ideal. The middle pen is small but cows can calve it in dead on, just there’s a wee slope going towards the back pen and calves can slip a bit on it. The back pen is roomy but not enough to divide even in it sometimes they lie right into the wall. I agree with above they pick their spot regardless. One time I had a small cow and she calved out through a gate into another one with a young calf. I had to chance in and get her own calf back to her and both were agitated. I went over the lane to feed a group and when I came back 45 mins later she had calved another calf out the other gate and into another cow with a calf. Same Job to do but all were fine. Since then any new cow for calving goes into an end pen!
My pins would be on the small side (father used to be dairy) so around 11ft x 11ft each. TBH i thought the same with the bigger sucklers i have now, so used to open the gate between pins so 11ft x 22ft and they still calved against the gates and walls! They will lie where their comfortable i find.
Many Thanks for all the replies on this
Not necessarily, we have a heifer that put out her calf bed a few years ago and she has had three calves since. However she does try to put it out after calving each time so when she is near calving I get an injection of oxytocin and a bottle of oral drench (I cant remember the name of it) from the Vet and both are given as soon as she calves. It helps but when she lies down she starts to push. To overcome the problem as soon as the calf has sucked we put her out into the yard away from the calf that way she is preoccupied with trying to get back into the calf rather than lying down iykwim.
Edit to add - the cow that put it out on Saturday is actually a 4th calver, I thought she was a 3rd calver. She has got more wicked after each calving so it's a good reason to remove the threat of possible human injury.
Have kept a few of them after, never had a problem with them.
squinn2912 Just a quick question on the size of your calving pens, Mostly try to calve outside but last few years calve more indoors in pens 15' x 15' and still some end up calving up against wall or gate. Your pens look smaller than that so do you end up with this problem at all?
Had one having an uterine prolapse as a heifer. She turned 11 years old this year, no repeated issue and her calves are always on a bigger side. She actually had a lovely heifer calf a couple days ago. We do not cull cows for this reason. None reapeated prolapse yet.
Kept an eye on this girl from the pub as I was watching Armagh beat Cavan. Some calf
Well lad, I have a cow at note now about to have her third calf. AS a heifer she calved on slats and put the calf bed out overnight so it had come away out by the time we got to her and got the vet. She calved no bother herself last year and had a heifer calf. I'll update you about how she gets on this year so it's fingers crossed. She always has a lovely muscly calf but not overly growy and now a bit late so ill see what she has this time and if it's not a great calf she will be let on too but for another reason. Older cows if they put the calf bed out were culled I can think of 2 off the top of my head going back about 5 years I think.
Better get rid of them imo.
Would you always cull for putting the calf bed out ? Or has anyone ever tried putting them in calf again ?
@Base price The Vet treating the calf may have included treatment for accidiodis.
A update on the heifer and her adopted bull calf. The calf got an awful scour with bloody flecks through it within a three or four days so I treated him with electrolytes four times daily and a half a sachet of suplha no.2 powders once daily. It was touch and go with him for a couple of days as he was too weak to suck the heifer but we also bottled fed/syringed a litre or so of milk from her trice daily - I also put a calf rug on him to help him maintain his temperature. I brought him to the Vet to get an IV drip and the Vet added bread soda to the drip (never seen it done before) and it made a huge difference - because I was treating him with sulpha powders the Vet didn't do a scour test. Thankfully he has turned the corner, is bouncing around the pen and sucking freely from the heifer. I'm going to leave them in the shed for a few more days until the weather settles before letting them out into the small paddock behind the house to keep an eye on them.
Had a 3rd calving pbnr LM cow by ZAG calve yesterday morning. We bought her incalf to a LM as a heifer and she was tight calving with the jack. Last year she calved a bull calf unassisted to the stock bull. We had to jack the bull calf out as she wasn't making any progress. Unfortunately she put her calf bed out about five hours later and we had to get the Vet for her. Cow and calf are fine but unfortunately she is another one for feeding.
There are times when it’s nice to be at work and in a doctor’s waiting room and miss all the fun
Well your happy enough to ship her off with no hassle so go with that. At least you've the line still with last year's heifer
Know of one calf born inside out.
She has a great bag of milk, 2nd cross Limousin from a freisan. Ideal cow in every way but getting in a calf, bringing her in twice a day, and the risk of disease with bringing in a calf, I might cut my losses and let her off dry in a few weeks. I have heifers to replace her. I was planning on culling abit harder this year. Just didn’t want it to be 1 of the good cows. She had a lovely chocolat d’champs heifer calf last year, so she’ll continue on her line all going well
A few years back, I had a cow split open a calf on the underside by pulling on the naval. Calf's guts all out on the dirty ground. Vet put back in but calf died later. In hindsight maybe the calf was born that way. I dunno.
Bad luck with the naval Sean, a sickner, will you try another calf on her?
My Still born Probly died in last few hours, had handled her and feet were inside opening but head was elbow length in. Presumed she just needed and hour or two to push calf up higher, pulled with ropes after 2 hours but dead as dodo.
Jaysus lads that is rank luck. Thank God I’;ve never had that with the naval I see it reported on here very often. Strange. Was the still born late calving or anything? Or just dead all along?
Fine Charolais bull calf dead this morning. Week old. Cow licked the navel off him after calving, got bleeding stopped and sprayed iodine. Probably worst thing I could have done. Tried silver spray and Stockholm tar spray and she licked that too so separated them, letting him in twice a day for a suck. Vet was out and said there was nothing more could be done. Sickener. One of the best cows we have as well, probably for the road now
Hard luck squinn. Just after calving a still born there now. First time in a long years, I'd one not alive during calving. Can not win them all.
Aw there likely would have been ways and means but its that much a gunk either way I just wanted her away.
Yes, probably law wouldn't allow it. Some years ago, my neighbour who owned a family butcher stall had a similar case, they dealt with it in the field before removal.
Thanks pal. Aye ach I never even asked that all was done by the time I got home. Don’t think that could happen if she wasnt fit to get into a trailer and it wasnt fair to let her suffer. Very hard thing to happen a young wee one like that. Aw as long as it’s outside the house.
Sorry for your loss. Shame that she couldn't have been be part of the food chain.
bit of a mixed day today, dad rang me to see was I home from work yet I said aye I’m 5 mins away. A yearling heifer broke her back leg maybe bulling and he had to get the vet to put her down. Lovely muscly heifer from one I bought a couple of years ago. Very disappointed. I went down in the tractor to pull her out if the field for collection. An hour later this girl fired out this nice lively wee heifer calf. Tough break, we thought leaving th down the road at the weekend we’d have the same amount all summer
Lovely calf but joskins is a cow breaker
Lovely calf that hard to beat the curls!
