Calving 2025

Putting charolais on any first calver is madness. Age or not they need to push the first calf out to widen up . That’s just my opinion and nothing technical but I’d always go saler or easy calving limo. I tried a few easy calving Simmentals but the y were trouble too. Combine the breeding and ad lib silage feeding and you are nearly guaranteed hassle.

25 heifers incalf here to an Angus bull.
They’ll be getting a kg or 2 of rolled oats for a month before calving. Massive help.

I don’t mind Angus in the right situation but they just don’t fit into what I’m at so I stay away from them. I calve my heifers down to saler and lim and if I get nice heifers I keep them on for cows. I run a Charolais bull as main breed on farm and anything with Angus doesn’t suit me. The colour is the main thing and they usually lack any sort of decent power or confirmation.
The closest I’d go to Angus is stabiliser as I’ve seen a few lads get class results with stabiliser cows put to a ch bull.

sorry I thought it was a heifer. But in general he’d be a very easy calver.

possibly, I’d try closing both away and let sick morning and evening first

If you can get them to a couple weeks old the second calf will learn to suck from behind cow when they see first calf sucking, happened here before. As long as they don't get kicked so much they get afraid to try

Is she viciously kicking or just to stop him sucking? Sometimes the best option is in a pen with other cows and close calves away except to suck a few times a day, in the commotion of all calves going in to suck at the same time the cows often dont care what calf or how many of them sucks her.

I’ve had that issue a couple of times with cows having twins or first calvers not taking to the calf. Pure stubbornness, put cow in crush for a few weeks to let the calves suck. Throw meal into trough and a few big stones so she has to work to get the meal and stretch it out longer. Unless the cow is an absolute b**** they’ll come good after a couple of weeks

I find it is always a good call to get the vet and they land a live calf when you are any bit unsure.

@Dunedin How is the 2nd twin doing now.

Haven't tried it but read somewhere that pouring some of her own urine on their bums helps the cow recognise her own calves when she sniffs them.