Calving jack

[Whitepeak]

You can buy a Vink style head to go on your HK calving aid for about £30 , made by Moorepark.

I bought one from Fane Valley for my Tecnall calving aid about 5 years ago.

View attachment 1020359

We bought one of those heads for our old tecnall bar a few yrs ago as the plastic heads kept cracking. It wasn't many months before the whole bar needed replaced due to the ratchet wearing out.
Replaced with a vink, which dad thought was expensive at the time. Try not to use it much, but it's a great bit of kit when we do

 

[roscoe erf]

Vink. I don’t use it very often and still try just with ropes first. It’s a comfort standing in the corner though, knowing it will do the job if I need it.

this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[TheRanger]

Going against the grain here, but we had a Tecnall for 20 years, and it never let us down, when the head eventually broke I decided to buy a new one exactly the same but with the Vink style head. Was a few years ago now but as far as I remember it was about half the price of the Vink.

 

[HundyMundy]

went with a vink. Now I have one hopefully won’t need it and calving will be a breeze.

 

[shearerlad]

Which calving jack and which fertiliser spreader are about the only two such topics which come up on TFF that pretty much everyone is agreed on!!

Vicon wagtail???

 

[Dave6170]

Bought our first calving jack today, a vink.

Any tips on how to use it correctly and safely?

 

[C.J]

Bought our first calving jack today, a vink.

Any tips on how to use it correctly and safely?

There are videos on you tube.

 

[HundyMundy]

On our one blue rope on the back ( closest to the hand) hook for an Evan pull. They are a bit cumbersome compared to the old jack, but once they are in place with a bit of a pull on it stays in place.

 

[Old Tup]

Make sure your ropes are not too long or have an extra knot closer to the calf allowing you to reposition during the pull.
Nothing worse than running out of pull at the last bit. Not so much of a problem with the long version.
Start with the ropes as short coupled as possible.

 

[som farmer]

the yanks use calving chains, whereas we use rope, any theories ? They are also rather more brutal calving a cow. On 'the farm guy', couple weeks back, they couldn't calve a cow, nor could they 'work it out', so caesarean, the calf had 8 legs, all shown in detail, yuk

 

[Timbo]

Bought our first calving jack today, a vink.

Any tips on how to use it correctly and safely?

Yes, dont think of it as a winch for recovering a 300hp tractor thats upto its axles in mud.

A calving aid is there to take up the slack as the cow pushes. NO more.

 

[Dave6170]

This is it, is it a standard or alternate model? Shop said standard but it looks like alternate to me. Came with a

red and a blue rope

 

[Tarw Coch]

This is it, is it a standard or alternate model? Shop said standard but it looks like alternate to me. Came with aView attachment 1028810 red and a blue rope

Yes, I’d say that’s going to pull the legs alternately but it’s different to mine which is alternate. I went for the alternate as I felt it was a better way of easing the calf out than just a straight pull, don’t know if I’m right on that, just my gut feeling.

 

[Gulli]

Bought our first calving jack today, a vink.

Any tips on how to use it correctly and safely?

Be patient, lean on the bar when the cow pushes and when she stops lift it up and take up the slack with the ratchet. Don't try and pull it with the ratchet and don't push down too hard on the bar, neither are any good for the cow or calf

 

[Macsky]

If only every purchase paid itself off as quickly as a Vink!

 

[Macsky]

Be patient, lean on the bar when the cow pushes and when she stops lift it up and take up the slack with the ratchet. Don't try and pull it with the ratchet and don't push down too hard on the bar, neither are any good for the cow or calf

This

 

[Sharpy]

Bought our first calving jack today, a vink.

Any tips on how to use it correctly and safely?

Only use a calving jack if the cow is standing up or lying on her side ie with all four legs sticking out the side. This let's you pull the calf in a downwards direction, the same way gravity assists when a cow calves standing up. They just come out better and easier with a bit of angle.
DO NOT use if she is sitting down ie with legs under her like a cow in a cubicle. If it's a hard pull she won't walk again.
Also as above use mostly to stop the calf slipping back in and to assist her.

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

the yanks use calving chains, whereas we use rope, any theories ? They are also rather more brutal calving a cow. On 'the farm guy', couple weeks back, they couldn't calve a cow, nor could they 'work it out', so caesarean, the calf had 8 legs, all shown in detail, yuk

We use chains and a hand winch. Chains are more hygienic I'd imagine?

 

[Ffermer Bach]

We use chains and a hand winch. Chains are more hygienic I'd imagine?

calving ropes go in the washing machine after use

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

calving ropes go in the washing machine after use

stainless steel calving chains get rinsed off in hot water.