Calving stats

[crashbox]

All water bags broken as soon as they are noticed to avoid drowning/smothering.

I try to avoid breaking water bags unless been on show for a while (and allow slightly longer for heifers), to try to ensure full dilation.

They usually end up calving fine.

Perhaps a fair few of the recorded assists would have happily calved on their own, making the stats a little higher.

 

[Werzle]

I try to avoid breaking water bags unless been on show for a while (and allow slightly longer for heifers), to try to ensure full dilation.

They usually end up calving fine.

Perhaps a fair few of the recorded assists would have happily calved on their own, making the stats a little higher.

I will nick the bag with my knife if a hfr or cow isnt getting on with calving , it seems to stimulate them to get on if they lick and smell the juice but i wouldnt break waterbags as a routine.

 

[beardface]

Alot of that 57 depends on whether it was a light pull on larger calf, slower calving cow or full jack job.

 

[ploughman1963]

Bcs would 2.5 - 3 ish.
About 12-15 assists would be backwards.
About 10 reasonable big pulls but no sweat broken.
The rest would just be cos they are not getting on with it so just a quick pull. Always use jack though to avoid getting so far out by hand and getting beat.
All water bags broken as soon as they are noticed to avoid drowning/smothering.
95% of calving done by myself. 1 lad feeding every morning for a month and my old man does bedding and takes cows out with pick up and trailer. Wife does all the registration work. I've hardly left the yard for a month

OK, totally different system - as I pointed out my background is dairy - but I wouldnt consider getting involved until the cow had at least an hour to calve naturally - I wouldnt get involved unless I felt I had to. 2-3 assists out of 280 - but I want easy calvings so less stress on mum with as little internal bruising as possible with a view to getting back into calve on first service

 

[sodbuster]

good work, whats your regime? im guessing you dont put everything that calves in individual pens?

Normally tag and outside once sooked. This year had to keep them in where they were until enough had calved to jumble around. Still got 100 inside that calved 3 weeks ago

 

[puppet]

Any reason to keep them in so long?

 

[sodbuster]

Any reason to keep them in so long?

Lack of grass

 

[puppet]

You have certainly been busy. We are very much outside usually 60 in spring and again in autumn. They are in cubicles over winter with access once calving to 8 acres of sacrificial grazing with some scrub and trees for shelter. Pen and crush at the gate if a problem and for tagging.
10 so far, never seen any born. 1 dead cow after a calf bed out but only the third time in 1500 calvings.
Big saving in bedding and transport calving outside though if you are alone I can see that inside may have advantages.

 

[sodbuster]

Excellent i cant even get my ewes to lamb that fast never mind cows calve.

140 in 6 days. Biggest day was 30

 

[Gulli]

Bcs would 2.5 - 3 ish.
About 12-15 assists would be backwards.
About 10 reasonable big pulls but no sweat broken.
The rest would just be cos they are not getting on with it so just a quick pull. Always use jack though to avoid getting so far out by hand and getting beat.
All water bags broken as soon as they are noticed to avoid drowning/smothering.
95% of calving done by myself. 1 lad feeding every morning for a month and my old man does bedding and takes cows out with pick up and trailer. Wife does all the registration work. I've hardly left the yard for a month

1 backwards out of 40 odd calved so far here. Assisted 10 but they have all been heifers that were on the fat side and I had a run of massive calves at the start and lost a couple so probably been a bit too keen to get them out! I'd say 3 of them were reasonably hard pulls, like you I almost always use the jack if I'm going to pull a calf, no point risking getting it stuck halfway imo.
20 to go but we've had a bit of a break, think the bulls went on strike for a week.

Been a tough calving this year think we are running at about 90% which is terrible by normal standards. Had a bad run with ecoli and the weather was a shambles at the start of April so really struggled for space

 

[Hilly]

140 in 6 days. Biggest day was 30

Mine have been as slow as your fast

 

[Davy_g]

Terrible year for me.
One heifer turned out to be not incalf. Was scanned incalf then went to an outfarm for the summer. Never did bag up before i twigged - never seen her bulling all summer. My bad.
One cow calving and presented with a foot back. I thought i intervened in good time but proceeded to lightly pull a dead heifer once the foot corrected.
One aborted 6 weeks early after getting bullied. Nothing showing on the calf PM and cow -ve for BR.
I assisted what looked a routine enough calving. Jack on and for only the second time ever i got stuck at the back hips. Got the calf out with a bit of patience and perseverence. Lifted its head a few times but despite all my attempts of getting it breathing and heart beating it died on me. Too much stress and there too long i think.

So 4 cows out of 16 with no calf. Went 4 or 5 years without a lost calf so hard to take. All are relatively unrelated so nothing i can really do to help put it right. Just go again next year.

 

[Welderloon]

Been no shortage of death locally, the daily passing Knacker wagon tarpaulin height never lies.

 

[Wolds Beef]

Winceby herd of Lincoln Red Cattle

15 to the bull this year
14 have calved. 1 MT
15 live calves. (1 set of twin bull calves)
2 assists
2 I had to help suckle.
10 Heifer calves
5 Bull calves
First calves 8/2/24
Last calf 5/4/24

Bull Hemingby Aries The Hemingby herd is dispersing later this year. (Whatch this space.)
Most calves are well shaped

P.S. Just passed our yearly TB test yesterday.!!

WB

 

[Dog Bowl]

77 cows scanned in calf
All AA cows back to AA.
Started calving 1st Feb. 6 left to calve now. Bulls in 1st May, came out 31st July.
Assisted 2, one a hard pull the other was more assistance because she didn't get on with it.
1 set of twins.
0 still born.
Only lost 1 calf at 2 weeks of age with suspected meningitis.
Assisted 1 calf to drink. Tubed none.
Had a worrying amount of mild pneumonia cases kicking around as space in sheds was at a premium as couldn't turn out. Draxxin sorted. Didn't lose any.

Calve inside and turn out when calves are strong enough. We are high and exposed here. Been a frustratingly long winter. I calve on my own generally, wife will help where needed before/after work.

We had a shocking calving season in 2023 so having a better time of it this year has been such a blessing. Cows not getting on with calving, unthrifty calves that wouldnt drink, so many assisted calves, christ the list was endless. As an aside, this year we bolused and jabbed with multi min before calving after bloods revealed worrying trace element levels and think this has helped enormously. Before we just chucked iodine about on their backs and put lick buckets out.

Fed decent grub to the cows 3 weeks pre calving onwards and concequently kept the colostrum quality high. Calves have been flying and look great.

Christ have used some serious quantities of straw keeping cows clean this winter.

 

[Davy_g]

As an aside, this year we bolused and jabbed with multi min before calving after bloods revealed worrying trace element levels and think this has helped enormously.

What was your bolus of choice?

 

[Dog Bowl]

What was your bolus of choice?

Agrimin smart trace

 

[HillLuing]

Started 20th March also
230 calved out of 260
65 of those are heifers
12 dead for various reasons from stillborns to less than an hour old
1 C Section in a heifer
18 assisted, mostly all heifers just needing help easing through the vulva


We are happy with how things have went here so far this year!