Heifer Calving Troubles

[crazeeakerz]

This year we have had a horrendous time with heifers calving. The calves are too big and almost all required assistance. Some losses too. The bull we used was used on 2nd and 3rd calvers and had no trouble. I have heard of other producers having similar problems. Does anyone have any ideas?

[rip]

I have also been hearing of more than usual problems with big calves this year. I think that you will find on a year like this ,when the winter is so mild, the calves are bigger as the cow does not require as much feed but we tend to feed just as heavy and as a result a lot of the growth goes into the calves. We try to feed the cattle at least a half mile from the water source as well as this gives them a lot more exetcise and builds the muscles on the heifer so they are in better shape and do not tire as easily when they do have a large calf.

[brian99]

Two things come to mind, the bull and the feed. A medium bodied bull good for 2nd and 3rd calvers isnt necessarily good for heifers. Most people here run red angus or shorthorn with the heifers and switch later. As for the feed, protien makes muscle. Overfeed protien and you get bigger calves. Alfalfa hay is probably the worst culprit. We had one heck of a time getting our cow to lose weight in the 3rd trimester because they came off the range so fat. Know what condition score you want at calving and feed to attain it.

[brian99]

Oops. I meant to say longhorn, not shorthorn.

[myboyjeff]

We have had similar problems. All calves are very large with the exception of maybe three out of 35 head. Our heifers all had difficulties this year including two c-sections so far. Our bull is a Red Angus that had a 68 pound birth weight. Our cows are Polled Hereford. The mature cows handled the large calves alright, but the heifers could not manage the size of the calves. Was is just that kind of a calving year? We have never had calves this large, or a single c-section.

[crazeeakerz]

We used a black Angus bull on our heifers. It was probably the feed suggestion you made that caused the trouble. Alfalfa is an important part of the ration even though we limit feed our cattle. Thanks for the tip.

[tammy]

We have had a calf crop with overall larger birthweights this year as well, though no real problems as a result. However, the only one left to calve is our only first-calver, so we have our fingers crossed. Interestingly enough, I read once in some publication put out by the cattle industry that mild winters will produce smaller birthweights and severe winters the opposite. The reasoning was that the cold weather increased blood circulation to stay warm, hence more blood supply (and more pounds) to the fetus.

[rsomer]

What makes big calves? Some things I have heard people say are: -lots of winter bedding will make small calves -feeding oats will make big calves -feeding barley will make small calves -feeding liquid molasses will make heifers calve easier -making your cattle walk for water will make them calve easier (I actually believe this one) -cows having access to green grass calve easier -as a bull gets older he will throw bigger calves -if cows have to go down a sharp slope to get water you will have lots of mispresentations That is all the comes to mind, there will be more stories out there and I would be interested to hear them. As for our heifers the calves started out big and I was worried but the last ones have been smaller and the heifers calving by themselves. Same bull, same feed so go figure.

[crazeeakerz]

I have been pleased with the response to this calving problem. I might have seen some solutions, but then again perhaps not. Just to refresh the issue I thought I might give some more details on our situation. We used a yearling black angus bull who had a low birth weight. With no experience with this bull we didn't quite know what to expect. He ran with our heifers as well as some 2nd and 3rd calvers. The heifers had large calves. We had trouble with 75% of them. Had some losses too. The older cows calved easily and had smaller calves. (about 70 lb.) We had good quality alfalfa hay but because of the mild winter tried to limit feed the cows. Cows and heifers fed together. The cows had to walk about 1/2 mile to water. It might be just one of those peculiar things that happen from time time but who knows.

[rip]

Some times nature is a very hard case to figure out. I do recall reading somewhere that the cow is responsible for 75% of the birthweight of the calf and that the size of the bull at birth has very little to do with the size of the calf and that the size of the cow when she was born has a much higher impact on calf sizes. I do know that sometimes we just have freaks and trends which aren't really explainable. We had a cow bred to the same bull 4 years running, the first three years were normal 100-120 pound calves, just what we strive for, the fourth year she gave us a heifer weighing 222 pounds. Not what we wanted. Sometimes I think the genes just don't mix. I know this doesn't answer your question but I quess what I'm saying is I'm not sure that there is any one answer and that we all have our guesses. That is one of the joys of ranching, every day is a new challenge.

[kempb]

I might comment that just because a bull has a low birth weight himself doesn't necessarily mean that his genetic merit for birth weight is low as well. Just as in the cases mentioned numerous times already there can be many reasons for a low birth weight. However what was the bull's EPD for birth weight? That is a much better reflection of his genetic contribution to the birth weight of his calves. You may have bought a bull with a low birth weight, say 75 pounds which sounds great but what if there were four more bull calves by the same sire that all had 100 plus pound birthweights. Maybe that one birthweight record on that bull doesn't do a good job of reflecting his genetics for birth weight, perhaps he was out of a heifer himself. Birthweight is a major contributor to calving difficulty and should be considered in bull selection especially for bulls intended for use on heifers.

[bob]

we used red angus and herford bulls on our heifers and every year we had to help some of them calve till 18 years ago we got a reg.longhorn bull and our problems were solved. we calve out 50 hiefers every year and i dare say we have only helped 3 or 4 in all those years. i know the calves do not sell as high as other breeds but they still bring more then a dead one or the cost of a vet bill. also our hiefer are not hurt and they will come back into cycle alot sooner and make better cows.