STARTED CALVING

[Muttley]

Well I started calving here in Sk. this past week. Had a early one about a month ago(I don't count that as starting) I figure a bull came over and visited my girls a little sooner than I had planned.

We did alot of A.I. last spring and I thought maybe with hay not being as good a quality and the grass they went on being very poor we would miss cycles or have weak heats. But the cows are bagging up nicely and it looks like we will have a pretty good year on catching the A.I. after all.

Any interesting calving stories out there yet, or are things pretty much usual?

[ValueChainFX]

Muttley

I see a couple of the little buggers jumping around as I drive through Alberta here. Still lots of snow on the ground and a little cold, but they are looking pretty good. Haven't heard how things are going for the guys but I am sure we will soon!

[corine]

We started 3 weeks ago, and # 76 just hit the (cold & snowy) ground. So far so good, nice strong & quick calves.
However, it's -30 in the wind right now so I better go and get some duct tape for the little guy's ears

[Muttley]

WHEW!!! is it cold out there this a.m.

Me thinks this is the coldest night this winter here in Sk. A little breeze to go with it to.

Ifin the babies know better they'll stay inside till this cold snap is over!!!

[corine]

Never works that way, the cold seems to trigger them had three of them overnight, and the calf heater only has room for 2 What to do... At least we have a good supply of frozen colostrum. -41 in the wind here this AM.

[countryguy]

I truly feel sorry for people calving in this frigid weather right now.I know exactly what your going through.This two month cold snap just does not want to leave.Where is that global warming we were promised??Me thinks alot of bulls won't be visiting the ladies until at least July after this year!!

Good luck with the rest of the season troops!!

[Muttley]

I am lucky that we do not use a hot box much anymore. I have a 30x40 insulated barn. We find that even if the calves are frozen that if put in the barn they thaw right out.
Even just one pair in the barn and it's pretty warm. Put two or three pairs in and you can work in the barn with your coat off. It can get a little warm for the cows but we usually just kick the cows out for a little while every few hours and leave the calve in. After a couple of days they can both go out.

This way seems alot less work than toweling off calves and putting them in the hot box. Had two calves today and they are both happy and content tonight. Cows calved on their own inside and we haven't had to handle the calves at all.

[bunny]

Hi there,, I was reading a few of the calving stories and noticed the duct tape one.. Does it work to keep the ears from freezing and how do you do it??

[corine]

Hi bunny,
What you do is use duct tape to wrap the ears against the calf's head. The body heat from the calf will keep them from freezing. It is not always easy to get the duct tape to stay put as the calf can be pretty slippery just after birth The weather is much better now, just below freezing during the day and about -15 at night, which makes life much easier for man and beast. We did end up with 6 calves in the garage that very cold night, but all are well and eventually all the moma's took their babies again, lots of extra work though. Nearly 100 on the ground now, nice calves but they are staring to get bigger, one was 130 lbs, quite a few over 100 lbs. Gotta make sure none of the bulls will get in with the heiffers I was just talking with the local auction rep, and he said that many people were having large calves this year. Anyone else here?

[Muttley]

I have used the old duct tape over the years on many a calf. I think it works better than the "muffs" you can buy. I found the muffs only worked real well if the ears were dry before putting them on and many times a agressive licking mom could get them off.

Those ears are so important to keep on. You will get docked money at sale time without ears. There have been many a purebred calf in this country that was a top notch animal that went for less to do to frozen ears to.

[TJM]

We had a vet that thought the colder the weather and the longer the period of cold, the calves would be heavier. He thought this happened because of increase in blood flow and the animals ate more to stay warm, so had more to offer the unborn calf as far as nutrients. I tend to agree with his theory in part, any late calves around here are rarely extreme. Good luck in the calving barn everyone!!!!

[clavoie]

Hi everyone, I`m writing to you from the eastern part of the country.I would like to know how to apply the famous old duct tape on the calf`s ears.From this side of the country,it is something that we don`t know.

[cswilson]

Muttley did u synchronize your cows-if u did how were your results. I custom AI several hundred cows every spring and have seen some mixed results so far.