Moocall falling off

[Henarar]

I think it stops skills from being passed on, same with breeding figures I still try and feel their bones, a friend reckons he can tell a cow within 12 hours so he moves them out of cubicles, but I don't seem to have got the feel for it yet.

I don't think it does, you still have to look at the animal to know when to put the thing on and they are not 100% anyway, in years to come when they bring out something else maybe
as for breeding figures well if we never looked at the animal I wonder where that would end up ?

 

[Sid]

I think it stops skills from being passed on, same with breeding figures I still try and feel their bones, a friend reckons he can tell a cow within 12 hours so he moves them out of cubicles, but I don't seem to have got the feel for it yet.

i think she might calf soon

 

[Henarar]

View attachment 468294 i think she might calf soon

tell us when she does

 

[Will Blackburn]

Technology breeds laziness?

Is that what you've found after installing robots?

 

[Lazy Eric]

We just bought one then I've found this thread.. I'm intending to use it on hefs or ones that may give problems i.e too fit. We lost a nice calf last week. Checked at 1 am and all fine , went back in at 6.30 am and she had just calved but didn't get up and lick it .. smothered due to afterbirth over its nose.. I was gutted.. if I'd been there an hour earlier be alive.

 

[Sid]

Is that what you've found after installing robots?

Nope. I use the tools i need and park the rest

 

[Henarar]

We just bought one then I've found this thread.. I'm intending to use it on hefs or ones that may give problems i.e too fit. We lost a nice calf last week. Checked at 1 am and all fine , went back in at 6.30 am and she had just calved but didn't get up and lick it .. smothered due to afterbirth over its nose.. I was gutted.. if I'd been there an hour earlier be alive.

yep you only have to save one and it is the cheapest thing you have bought
I mainly use ours over night, we have cctv but that's no good if your asleep

 

[M-J-G]

View attachment 468294 i think she might calf soon

This is the problem, what happens when you have 30 that look like this?It would be a case of, which lucky girl gets the moocall tonight?

They may work for stragglers, or for small numbers calving now and again, but that would be the only use it could see for them.

As for the idea of saving a calf paying for them, the opposite can happen too.
I've heard of several calves being lost because people have been reliant on it, and it had come off or the device had failed. One got an alert one morning, went out and the calf was nearly dry. I know of a few that were put back in the box.
It's the problem of thinking everthing is fine because the device hadn't said it isn't.

Give me a camera any day. At least it can watch a good sized group at once.

As for the skills being lost, I would agree, perhaps not for those who knew what the job was like to do without skill saving devices, but for the newer entrants to the industry, who have been spoiled by such luxuries. Will they the be able to tell you when a cow will calve, or how to split a field with a mower without the aid of their toys? Many seem to struggle already!

 

[Lazy Eric]

Spoke to a few people who have them and all seemed positive.. so time will tell..

 

[M-J-G]

We had one for a while but drove us both nuts. Partly because ped Blues love lice (thin skinned, so get itchy) too much. All ours love (in spite of regular applications of Spot On, I might add) to back up to a corner for a good scritch and we found the Moocall on the floor more than once. For us, because we tend to have batches of calvers due around same time because they're ETs, we'd have to have several on, so expensive.

I really, genuinely prefer the CCTV system (especially as now have sooper-dooper, newly installed AgriCamera one!) because I get to know my in calver's behaviour patterns quickly. Yes, I do have to wake up a couple of times a night come calving or foaling but I don't even need an alarm when sitting up - just go on auto pilot somehow! With the new system, even Pip at Surrey Uni can do the odd night covering, so it's not as onerous as it used to be.

Slightly different re horses, I am considering a foaling alarm system as have four due this spring, three are maidens so they will be time intensive for sure. But of course Moocall works well for the majority for sure but i would be worried I'd miss that upside down, back to front calf which can't engage properly so giving heifer wrong signals and no tail up. Had those in the past and it's only because her behaviour pattern is different that my own alarm bells rang.

From what I see, if you use Spot-on you'll have lice, very unsuccessful, I don't think it's worth the time spent putting it on.

 

[Sid]

I was round the side of another shed and "heard" a cow. Now my experience told me that wasn't a normal sound. My son ,16, heard the cow but didn't hear the difference. We went round to see the cow just getting up to clean the calf off.
No the cow in the picture hasn't calved yet.

 

[Henarar]

This is the problem, what happens when you have 30 that look like this?It would be a case of, which lucky girl gets the moocall tonight?

They may work for stragglers, or for small numbers calving now and again, but that would be the only use it could see for them.

As for the idea of saving a calf paying for them, the opposite can happen too.
I've heard of several calves being lost because people have been reliant on it, and it had come off or the device had failed. One got an alert one morning, went out and the calf was nearly dry. I know of a few that were put back in the box.
It's the problem of thinking everthing is fine because the device hadn't said it isn't.

Give me a camera any day. At least it can watch a good sized group at once.

Nothing beats looking at the cow not even the camera
I would not rely on them completely but as I said you can't watch a camera while you sleep
I can't tell to the hour/minute when a cow will calf, perhaps some can
I will stand by what I said you only have to save one and the thing is more than paid for but as you say it shouldn't be a reason to get complacent, these internet cameras are meant to be the bees knees watch them anywhere, like f**k you can


anyway there is a fair chance the way things are going give it five/ten years and they will be obsolete so to some extent will cameras for calving

 

[Sid]

Ah the good old days when the cow calving was right outside the back door in the little loose house. Slip across the back porch pop head over door in slippers and pjs and feck off back to bed if all quiet. Progress eh?

 

[happycows]

Technology breeds laziness?

Says the man that's just put in 2 robots to milk his cows

 

[Henarar]

Says the man that's just put in 2 robots to milk his cows

I spose it does at one time we would have to go down to the pub or some such to chat to other farmers now we can do it from anywhere

 

[Sid]

Says the man that's just put in 2 robots to milk his cows

Robots are there to harvest the milk simples.

 

[bert]

Nothing beats looking at the cow not even the camera
I would not rely on them completely but as I said you can't watch a camera while you sleep
I can't tell to the hour/minute when a cow will calf, perhaps some can
I will stand by what I said you only have to save one and the thing is more than paid for but as you say it shouldn't be a reason to get complacent, these internet cameras are meant to be the bees knees watch them anywhere, like fudge you can


anyway there is a fair chance the way things are going give it five/ten years and they will be obsolete so to some extent will cameras for calving

Why can't you watch the camera's anywhere? aslong as you have signal i thought you could do it on your phone?

 

[Lazy Eric]

All I know if something has alerted me in the wee hours something was happening I wouldn't now be trying to foster on an expensive calf to an even more expensive heifer..
Not fool proof these things I'm sure .. but maybe another weapon in my armoury.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

View attachment 468294 i think she might calf soon

I bet this one calves before it

 

[Henarar]

aslong as you have signal

Why can't you watch the camera's anywhere? aslong as you have signal i thought you could do it on your phone?

You said it