Calving 2019 - Advice and Help thread

Angus2018

Same as last year's thread. If anyone has any questions or calving advice to give don't hesitate to post. There is always someone having trouble with a breach or calf not sucking.

If regulars could keep an eye on this thread too that would be a great help, as for anyone else just looking if you have any info or help to share its very much appreciated. You will always learn something knew every calving season.

We haven't started calving here yet. First ones due mid February.

GiantPencil

Had one born New Years Day, glad I went up again before bed seeing as the calf was just born and half way under a gate and the cow was getting distressed......Will be investing in a camera for next winters calvings for sure

whelan2

Have a heifer in to calve now. Not supposed to be starting for another 10 days at least. Fingers crossed all is OK. Had all sheds ready which is a help.

patsy_mccabe

I bought Glucose and Bread Soda in Dunnes Stores last week. Quick homemade electrolyte.

http://animalhealthireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Recipe_for_Homemade_electrolytes.pdf

whelan2

Not a great photo, but all is good. Daughter did the watching as I was away

High bike

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I bought Glucose and Bread Soda in Dunnes Stores last week. Quick homemade electrolyte.

http://animalhealthireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Recipe_for_Homemade_electrolytes.pdf

handy one to have Patsy

Angus2018

GiantPencil wrote: »

Had one born New Years Day, glad I went up again before bed seeing as the calf was just born and half way under a gate and the cow was getting distressed......Will be investing in a camera for next winters calvings for sure

The amount of times I've woke up at 4AM, checked the cameras and spotted a calf pushed into the next pen. Or worse when you finish a calving, head to bed, and then check the cameras to find she's pushed the thing under a gate.

Base price

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I bought Glucose and Bread Soda in Dunnes Stores last week. Quick homemade electrolyte.

http://animalhealthireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Recipe_for_Homemade_electrolytes.pdf

Dropped into the local shop this morning and reminded the owner to stock up on bags of glucose.

whelan2

Delivered a set of twins there now. First one was straight forward, second one had a leg bent back. Pair of aax heifers from a heifer all good

lanod2407

Had a separate post added when I saw this thread - probably better here ...... Mod can delete other thread if required (Maudlin' Calf - HELP)

Heifer calved 9 days ago (Galloway). Calf hasn't got going at all - had them in a shed for a week to give him a chance, and while he's feeding he's not getting full ..... stomach in front of the hind legs not filling out.

As a result he's maudlin' out in the field now, not following his mother around, quite listless and generally a right pain in the arse. Put them out in the field yesterday as another cow has calved and thought that the sight of the other calf running around the field like the Duracell bunny might kick-start him. No change.

Anyone got any recommendations on how to get a bit of an appetite on him to get him going?

whelan2

lanod2407 wrote: »

Had a separate post added when I saw this thread - probably better here ...... Mod can delete other thread if required (Maudlin' Calf - HELP)

Heifer calved 9 days ago (Galloway). Calf hasn't got going at all - had them in a shed for a week to give him a chance, and while he's feeding he's not getting full ..... stomach in front of the hind legs not filling out.

As a result he's maudlin' out in the field now, not following his mother around, quite listless and generally a right pain in the arse. Put them out in the field yesterday as another cow has calved and thought that the sight of the other calf running around the field like the Duracell bunny might kick-start him. No change.

Anyone got any recommendations on how to get a bit of an appetite on him to get him going?

Is he hungry? Does the cow have enough milk for him. How's his navel?

lanod2407

whelan2 wrote: »

Is he hungry? Does the cow have enough milk for him. How's his navel?

He looks like he's not full - stomach sunken in, but he's not showing any sign of hunger - lethargic and no bit of a kick in him at all.
I'd have to run the cow down the crush to check her milk - she's a first calver and the galloways are hairy cattle so hard to see how much of an udder she's got.
What's the navel check?

whelan2

lanod2407 wrote: »

He looks like he's not full - stomach sunken in, but he's not showing any sign of hunger - lethargic and no bit of a kick in him at all.
I'd have to run the cow down the crush to check her milk - she's a first calver and the galloways are hairy cattle so hard to see how much of an udder she's got.
What's the navel check?

Is his navel dry? Make sure it's not smelly or hard. Did he drink soon after he was born?

lanod2407

whelan2 wrote: »

Is his navel dry? Make sure it's not smelly or hard. Did he drink soon after he was born?

I'll check it out when I get home.
He was a bit slow feeding when born and I got a litre of collostrum into him - took over a third of it sucking and had to get the rest in back his throat

lanod2407

lanod2407 wrote: »

I'll check it out when I get home.
He was a bit slow feeding when born and I got a litre of collostrum into him - took over a third of it sucking and had to get the rest in back his throat

Navel fine. Eyes not very alert - though it has been dark 2 hours. Greeny gunk on the duct of one eye

Cow & calf back in shed - vet tomorrow

greysides

lanod2407 wrote: »

I'll check it out when I get home.
He was a bit slow feeding when born and I got a litre of collostrum into him - took over a third of it sucking and had to get the rest in back his throat

How soon after birth did he get the litre and when did he get the rest?

charolais0153

lanod2407 wrote: »

Navel fine. Eyes not very alert - though it has been dark 2 hours. Greeny gunk on the duct of one eye

Check his temperature

greysides

In addition to the other suggestions, I note its a heifers calf and was slow from birth. Makes me wonder if he was sick beforehand. Any stillbirths/abortions/infertility problems in the herd? Do you vaccinate for anything?

whelan2

At this stage I'd probably get the vet to him or bring him to the vet. Did you check has she much milk?

whelan2

lanod2407 wrote: »

Navel fine. Eyes not very alert - though it has been dark 2 hours. Greeny gunk on the duct of one eye

Cow & calf back in shed - vet tomorrow

Any update

lanod2407

whelan2 wrote: »

Any update

Vet this morning.
Premature and heifer hasn't enough milk yet. Touch of pneumonia.
Bottling him to supplement the milk.
Still alive but lethargic as f***.

White Clover

lanod2407 wrote: »

Vet this morning.
Premature and heifer hasn't enough milk yet. Touch of pneumonia.
Bottling him to supplement the milk.
Still alive but lethargic as f***.

Keep a red lamp on him if you can and monitor temperature. Don't leave him get dehydrated either.

squinn2912

5 calved here all grand. 3/4 maiden heifers all needed help despite smallcalves. Easy with the jack. They’ve been getting a pinch of meal but not fat. I’d have expected them to calve themselves but no. Any ideas?
5 heifer calves as well

whelan2

lanod2407 wrote: »

Vet this morning.
Premature and heifer hasn't enough milk yet. Touch of pneumonia.
Bottling him to supplement the milk.
Still alive but lethargic as f***.

The importance of adequate biestings soon after birth has to be adhered to. The calf will be on the back foot now for a while.

whelan2

squinn2912 wrote: »

5 calved here all grand. 3/4 maiden heifers all needed help despite smallcalves. Easy with the jack. They’ve been getting a pinch of meal but not fat. I’d have expected them to calve themselves but no. Any ideas?
5 heifer calves as well

What minerals are they on

Lady Haywire

Noticed a massive difference in calves when i supplemented the water last year with iodine. Raring to go once they hit the ground (bar the ch with the stifle joint out!)

Angus2018

squinn2912 wrote: »

5 calved here all grand. 3/4 maiden heifers all needed help despite smallcalves. Easy with the jack. They’ve been getting a pinch of meal but not fat. I’d have expected them to calve themselves but no. Any ideas?
5 heifer calves as well

If they are first time callers its only natural to need a hand. I calve my heifers April 1st onwards, so they get a month out on the grass before they housed to strengthen their legs and burn off winter fat. They end up much stronger and calve better than when they are locked up.

Licks are very important coming up to calving, maybe up their meal, you need to start about 3-4 days beforehand.

squinn2912

whelan2 wrote: »

What minerals are they on

They’re on the pre calver ones. Cleaning quickly and everything

Angus2018

Nothing to worry about as long as the calves are up and sucking in a reasonable time.

Mac Taylor

Lady Haywire wrote: »

Noticed a massive difference in calves when i supplemented the water last year with iodine. Raring to go once they hit the ground (bar the ch with the stifle joint out

How does this work, we have the drinkers in the shed? Just wondering how I would get it into every cow. Tks

squinn2912

Angus2018 wrote: »

Nothing to worry about as long as the calves are up and sucking in a reasonable time.

Yea they’re good, lively calves. New bull. The cows are able to spit out the calves. (Autumn calves so not like with like). One sluggish but he’ll be ok

Lady Haywire

Mac Taylor wrote: »

How does this work, we have the drinkers in the shed? Just wondering how I would get it into every cow. Tks

We have drinkers in the shed too but I'd use a small syringe to put 1/2ml iodine behind the float in the drinker (used Lugol's the stronger stuff) twice a day at feeding so even though the first cow probably got most of it, they'd probably all end up getting enough. Also sprayed some on the cows coats to ensure they'd lick it off, just up at the start of the ribs.

Just noticed calves had a lot more 'get up & go' compared to other years. Though cows were being supplemented with meal too so this year will sow us if it was the iodine or the nuts.

lanod2407

whelan2 wrote: »

The importance of adequate biestings soon after birth has to be adhered to. The calf will be on the back foot now for a while.

Being v premature I was caught offside when he dropped, so it would have been around 6 hours between birth, finding him and then getting the colostrum from the chemist - which I'd understand is too long.

Anyway, I'm getting 3 litres of milk into him a day now, and he's slowly starting to perk up - not moving around much at all, and I put a jacket on him yesterday as I've no access to power up in the shed for a lamp and his mother is in and out to him - she's broken back out to the others a few times, so I decided to let her have access in and out. Seems to be happier with that.

wiggy123

have heard-to be careful with the iodine.. to much can be bad for the calf.

White Clover

Cattle don't store iodine so no fear of overloading them.

wiggy123

meant the resultant calves.. heard reports-about lambs! being lively at birth-then bang(to much iodine)

whelan2

And we're off proper, fr heifer calf fr2239

Mooooo

Was she early or on time?

whelan2

Mooooo wrote: »

Was she early or on time?

Served 23rd April. Had to pull it big enough calf

Angus2018

4 weeks until we start here.

I make a list every year of what I need so I'm prepared well in time. When its 4 AM and I have to jack a calf, milk the cow, stomach tube the calf and warm it up with a hairdryer I'm glad I have it all sorted in advance. Am I missing anything?

High bike

Angus2018 wrote: »

4 weeks until we start here.

I make a list every year of what I need so I'm prepared well in time. When its 4 AM and I have to jack a calf, milk the cow, stomach tube the calf and warm it up with a hairdryer I'm glad I have it all sorted in advance. Am I missing anything?

fair play not too many that organized including yours truly

greysides

Disinfectant for water while calving and for pens later. Cable ties to substitute for the straw that goes up the nose to stimulate breathing. Handles for calving ropes (manual pulling). Head rope, to keep head coming with legs.

Lady Haywire

I've never had to use a head rope yet, it's just behind the ears is it?

greysides

Lady Haywire wrote: »

I've never had to use a head rope yet, it's just behind the ears is it?

Yes, behind the ears and under the jaw. Helps keep head coming in tandem with the legs. Don't put too much force on it with a live calf though.

Angus2018

High bike wrote: »

fair play not too may that organized including yours truly

I've had quite a few experiences of running around looking for something in the middle of the night. The glass bottle and old sheet are for prolapses. Very rare but the night we had one I had to empty a bottle of wine down the sink. I've slowly been adding to this list every year.

greysides wrote: »

Disinfectant for water while calving and for pens later. Cable ties to substitute for the straw that goes up the nose to stimulate breathing. Handles for calving ropes (manual pulling). Head rope, to keep head coming with legs.

Cable tie is a good one! I'll make sure I have one in my jacket all calving season.

I use straps instead of ropes most of the time. Its a full loop with a knot near the bottom for your hands so its like a handle. I find it much easier on the calves legs and easier on my own. I'll get a picture tomorrow. We couldn't get a calf out with a jack one year but using the straps I was able to twist and pull it out in a few mins.

Never used a head rope but I'll look into it.

greysides

A hammer handle through the calving ropes helps pull. An old trick of Eddie Straitons was to have the ropes joined (I.e. one rope) and 'sit' in it, using your legs, and hands on the cows rump, to pull the calf.

patsy_mccabe

I keep forgetting every year to freeze some colostrum. I tend not to need it, but you know yourself. The year you need it, you won't have it.

squinn2912

After 5 heifer calves we finally got a bull out of a maiden heifer tonight. Bit of a pull with the jack but all good.
Dairy man round the road usually get colestrum from him then freeze it. Easier than trying to charm the lim ladies!

greysides

Needs must, when the devil drives. Just keep in mind that something like 20-30% of Irish dairy herds are infected with Johnes Disease. As diseases go, it's a bad one to introduce.

squinn2912

greysides wrote: »

Needs must, when the devil drives. Just keep in mind that something like 20-30% of Irish dairy herds are infected with Johnes Disease. As diseases go, it's a bad one to introduce.

I get your point but I have lots of confidence in this herd

tanko

greysides wrote: »

Needs must, when the devil drives. Just keep in mind that something like 20-30% of Irish dairy herds are infected with Johnes Disease. As diseases go, it's a bad one to introduce.

So Johnes can be transferred in frozen biestings as well as fresh milk?