Inducing a heifer

vanderbadger · 10-01-2011 09:32AM #1

folks, have a first time calver, she was due on the 4th unless I recorded ai dates incorrectly, in calf to easy bb, she seemed to hurt her back or something during summer and her walk is slightly off but she is fine and has managed on slats fine all along, no sign of her calving though, she is on straw now as she was struggling to get up in cubicles, she has sprung up in milk and looks farily open at the rear end but no sign of her bones going down, starting to get a bit worried, especially since blues nearly always arrive on time, should i just leave her be or induce her, never had to induce anything before??

reilig · 10-01-2011 10:23AM

What BB Bull is she carrying to. Some of them bring longer than others? I've seen our vet induce before when there were issues. Its a simple injection but leaves the calf very dopey. What breed is the heifer? I'd never use BB on a first calver but I have a neighbour with 3 BB calves out of heifers this year already - all off BBQ. I'd be nervous with them, but he has only had to assist 1 of them with calving. Your vet would be best placed to advise you methinks - a phone call won't cost anything.

vanderbadger · 10-01-2011 10:28AM

reilig wrote: »

What BB Bull is she carrying to. Some of them bring longer than others? I've seen our vet induce before when there were issues. Its a simple injection but leaves the calf very dopey. What breed is the heifer? I'd never use BB on a first calver but I have a neighbour with 3 BB calves out of heifers this year already - all off BBQ. I'd be nervous with them, but he has only had to assist 1 of them with calving. Your vet would be best placed to advise you methinks - a phone call won't cost anything.

ya this one is bbq as well, she is a simm heifer, big tall heifer, i also had another first timer calf to bbq and she calved down on time, the calves are small from bbq in fairness but ya its still a bit of a gamble with first timers, i just have a bad feeling about this one, had the vet out the other day and he was going to give me injection but i decided against it hoping she would calf away

reilig · 10-01-2011 10:35AM

vanderbadger wrote: »

ya this one is bbq as well, she is a simm heifer, big tall heifer, i also had another first timer calf to bbq and she calved down on time, the calves are small from bbq in fairness but ya its still a bit of a gamble with first timers, i just have a bad feeling about this one, had the vet out the other day and he was going to give me injection but i decided against it hoping she would calf away

If i were in your shoes, and he was offering the injection to me, i'd take it. Just make sure that you have beastings or satchets of colostrum in case she doesn't come to her milk - she could be well sprung, but may not release any when the calf goes to suck.

whelan1 · 10-01-2011 11:07AM

my aunt always said when the apple is ripe it will fall:D

vanderbadger · 10-01-2011 11:19AM

ya i will leave her be i think, i was going back over ai slips in case i got date wrong but i think im ok on that front, if she hasnt calved by thursday i could inject her thurs night and that way she should calf on sat

Bizzum · 10-01-2011 12:37PM

How many days is she gone?

vanderbadger · 10-01-2011 12:50PM

ai'd on 28th mar so 283 days would be the 4th jan, blues gestation might even be 281 days not sure

Bizzum · 10-01-2011 01:11PM

So 289 days today.
I would be inclined to wait, I dont see 289 days as being outrageous.
The fact that she is Sim, she can bring a bit of time.
Several of our cows go over 290 and one has gone 300 and 301 on her last two calves.
Hope your one is lucky for you.

reilig · 10-01-2011 01:16PM

I have never had a calf off BBQ that was more than 2 days over. Normally the cows calve to the day or sometimes even 1 day before. 6 days over is a lot for him and the fact that the heifer got a hurt during the pregnancy is a major reason to be cautious.

whelan1 · 10-01-2011 01:31PM

but induction can bring its own problems too , the op said the animal is springing in her bag and behind so something is obviously on his way , patience:D

pakalasa · 10-01-2011 02:08PM

I'd be inclined to wait too, 289 days isnt a long time. The limousin average 290 for example. I had a cow go 310 days or something last year. When the calf does come you wonder what all the fuss was about.;)

Bizzum · 12-01-2011 09:15PM

291 days today.
Any sign of a calf?
She has to be two days nearer since this thread began.

vanderbadger · 12-01-2011 09:43PM

Bizzum wrote: »

291 days today.
Any sign of a calf?
She has to be two days nearer since this thread began.

no sign yet anyway , she has filled up another little bit i would think

Bizzum · 12-01-2011 10:09PM

Thats progress anyway.

leg wax · 12-01-2011 10:15PM

had a cow go 310 days the other day to ovo, but i have noticed since i have started to calve down lim cows that all the blonde cows are going over by 1o /15 days longer than the lim cows.

vanderbadger · 12-01-2011 10:16PM

ya she projectile ****es every time she gets up so she must be under a bit of pressure, i wish she would jsut calf at this stage, its a pain in the hole trying to keep an eye on her with work and evrything

pakalasa · 12-01-2011 10:24PM

Noticed the pins starting to drop on my first cow this evening. She's not due for 2 weeks.
That time of year again. Bit of a lift to see young calves running around again. Even the extra 1/2 hour brighness in the evening is great.

Legwax, how do you find OVO to calve? He's got some scary calving figures!:eek:

Bizzum · 12-01-2011 10:27PM

The cow we have thet went 300 and 301 days on her last two calves is a Blonde x cow too. And she was carring twins on both occasions!
This year she was moaning and groaning for a month before she calved.

leg wax · 13-01-2011 07:54AM

pakalasa wrote: »

Noticed the pins starting to drop on my first cow this evening. She's not due for 2 weeks.
That time of year again. Bit of a lift to see young calves running around again. Even the extra 1/2 hour brighness in the evening is great.

Legwax, how do you find OVO to calve? He's got some scary calving figures!:eek:

hes ok on cows that will not throw u grade calves but if you put him on a good cow watch out thats my last one i think and will not be useing him again as i see it as no advantage ,bigger calf does not mean more money so its not worth the worry with him.

pakalasa · 13-01-2011 08:09AM

leg wax wrote: »

hes ok on cows that will not throw u grade calves but if you put him on a good cow watch out thats my last one i think and will not be useing him again as i see it as no advantage ,bigger calf does not mean more money so its not worth the worry with him.

Well, that makes sense. When he's that hard calving, he shouldnt even be in AI.

Bitten & Hisses · 13-01-2011 10:30PM

Lads, ye're frightening me now. I had 2 cows calve to EDJ in the last week. Cow #1 calved unassisted without incident. Cow #2 who calved no problem to EDJ last year had enormous difficulty. I just couldn't get the calf's hips out and he died.

Cow is still down and will be for at least a few more days, although she's able to move herself around the pen and is generally lively. What worries me is the cow in the next pen. A big Charolais cow, incalf to OVO and gone 289 days. I'm absolutely terrified of what may be in store.

vanderbadger · 13-01-2011 10:34PM

cow calved this evening, i thought initially the calf was too big to pull and was going for vet, anyway ended up pulling him with a neighbour, nice bull calf, he is ok but Extremely sleepy and dopey, couldnt get the fecker to suck so had to defrost beastings..cow is fine as well

whelan1 · 13-01-2011 10:37PM

happy days

vanderbadger · 13-01-2011 10:40PM

whelan1 wrote: »

happy days

ya relief to be done with it, one more first timer to go, probably tomorrow or over weekend, wont be sorry to see the end of them for another year

Bigbird1 · 13-01-2011 10:44PM

pakalasa wrote: »

Well, that makes sense. When he's that hard calving, he shouldnt even be in AI.

Dat makes no sense, why shouldn't he be in AI, OVO is prob 1 of the most successful bulls over the last few years,The farmer has the info to hand and its up to them which bull he chooses.

pakalasa · 13-01-2011 10:47PM

Great!
Did you ever pinch the back of the tongue. It's supposed to get them sucking.
I usually spray a bit of milk on the mouth/nose. The taste/smell gets them going.

@Bigdird1 - Why bring grief on yerself. OVO is the hardest calving bull in AI. Some people might be using him and not realise this. Even Legwax agrees with me.....

Bizzum · 13-01-2011 11:02PM

vanderbadger wrote: »

cow calved this evening, i thought initially the calf was too big to pull and was going for vet, anyway ended up pulling him with a neighbour, nice bull calf, he is ok but Extremely sleepy and dopey, couldnt get the fecker to suck so had to defrost beastings..cow is fine as well

292 days. Great stuff. Do you use a bucket with a tit on it when your feeding the beastings?

Bizzum · 13-01-2011 11:07PM

Bigbird1 wrote: »

OVO is prob 1 of the most successful bulls over the last few years

For Me when I think of the most successful BB bull in the last few years I think of EDJ, He bred some show winners. Empire was very successful for the pedigree boys.
I suppose though its how one measures success.
If OVO was successful for you- Keep with him!

Bizzum · 13-01-2011 11:14PM

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

What worries me is the cow in the next pen. A big Charolais cow, incalf to OVO and gone 289 days. I'm absolutely terrified of what may be in store.

Over the years I lost sleep worrying about this or that cow. I have since come to realise that invariably the one I worry most about will pop out a calf, and another 'sure thing' will break my heart!
Just keep a good eye on her, Knowledge is power, you know how long she's gone, and what she's carrying to, and probably her history.
So your not totally winging it!
Best of luck.

Bigbird1 · 13-01-2011 11:43PM

pakalasa wrote: »

.

@Bigdird1 - Why bring grief on yerself. OVO is the hardest calving bull in AI. Some people might be using him and not realise this. Even Legwax agrees with me.....

I know he is one of the harder calving bulls,but if you want to go for that extra push of power why not use him on cows with good calving ability..if people use him without realising it, its there own fault as OVO has
high reliability figures and this can be seen

Inducing a heifer

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