Was approached by my neighbor and asked if I would assist in calving his 2 cows later this year. He knows we foal out 20-30 mares a year so I guess he figured cows aren’t much different. Does anyone know if you can milk test cows like we do mares? These are young friendly heifers. The last calf we had was over 20yrs ago and I don’t really remember much other than it took a lot longer than a mare!! Any info would be appreciated!
We calve 600 dairy cows a year! We never milk test any of them. We have a pen close to the barn that makes it easy for people to glance in to all day, and at night the night shift has to check every 2 hours. Are these beef or dairy animals? Beef calves are easier because they tend to have much lower birth weights, while dairy animals can easily weigh twice what a beef calf does
Calving out first time heifers is way tougher and more risky than older cows. Some breeds of cow calve out easier than others, and require less help. You may need equipment that you do not have with your horse foaling operation, pulling equipment. If your neighbour has experience, and is just looking for more hands, stepping up and being a good neighbour on your part is an excellent thing for you to do. If your neighbour is depending on you for advice, not so great a deal for either of you. Bull calves need to have a ring applied to testicles, and both male and females need ear tags applied. Both of these jobs are easier done early. Like you, I have done calving many years ago, and some things have changed in terms of federal regulations due to Mad Cow Disease, etc.
we do both cows and horses at homes. Cows are waaaaay more obvious about their pending labour which makes attending a cow birth a lot easier. Watch for pelvic changes and bag development and just keep a close eye on behaviour changes. The nice thing about cows is they are very laid back about things and will typically stop pushing when things aren’t sitting right. You can go in and rearrange if need be with less difficulty than in a horse. Most farms do have a calving jack to assist if they get stuck. Be careful not to pull too hard. Typically a rope or strap on each leg, tied around a short piece of broom handle as a handle, then one strong person on each leg will be enough if you don’t have a jack and need to pull. All the same rules with pulling towards hocks pull one leg forward for shoulder lock etc etc. You’ll be fine.
And out of curiosity, is this your neighbor’s first attempt at calving animals? Are they new to animal ownership?
you may ask if he used a calving ease bull (low BW) - that should put your mind at a little ease
I have know idea what kind of cows they are. He bought 3 all the same age and one is a bull. They have a variety of animals and he raised cattle as a kid. We have used him for “manpower” on a few severe dystocias so he knows we have all sorts of pulling equipment and have no issue with going in to rearrange limbs.
I can’t monitor them for changes so that’s why I wondered about milk testing.This could be interesting:eek:
Chances are, you’ll show up to check on them one day and find a calf in the pen with them.
However, calving isn’t always easy. There are so many things to learn that are just a little different, that take a little time around the block to learn. I’d have a good relationship with a large animal vet and have him on speed dial just in case something goes south.
No milk testing, but do watch for the bag getting bigger, milk leaking from the teats, the calf dropping, or the cow acting broody around other calves. I’ve seen all of those before a calf is born.
Considering that these are heifers that haven’t calved before, I would really recommend finding a good large animal vet just in case.
Also, keep an eye on the ligaments on either side of the tailhead. Yes, they’re ligaments even though they feel like bones. They will sink in a LOT as calving approaches. They’re much more apparent in cows than in horses. Good luck!
[QUOTE=Skip’s Rider;8117771]
Also, keep an eye on the ligaments on either side of the tailhead. Yes, they’re ligaments even though they feel like bones. They will sink in a LOT as calving approaches. They’re much more apparent in cows than in horses. Good luck![/QUOTE]
And get squishy. They’ll get downright Jell-O like. Poke, poke, poke. If it’s firm she’s not going yet. If it jiggles, she’s going soonish.
Can you find out the breed? Some naturally calf out easier than others.
Also, don’t panic if the placenta doesn’t slide right out within an hour. Cows can take longer - like a couple days. Ew.
As soon as the calf is on the ground and attended to (breathing), make sure you offer the cow buckets of warm water to drink. Lots of warm water.
Make sure the owner knows to keep track of cow ear temp after calving. If those ears are more than a tiny bit below body temp (just feel with your hand) she’s going to need calcium at the very least.
Wow. This is alot to digest! Going to try to print the thread. We foal out many high risk mares and have dealt major complications. Hope that helps me with what lies ahead! I’ll try to find out what kind of cows these are. We are up to our eyeballs with mares right now so it might take a while. Thanks for all of the info so far.
What color are they? Black? Solid Red? Red with white heads? Cream-ish? Brown?
We have Longhorns (low birth weight) and always keep our fingers crossed they don’t have any issues… especially since the mamma’s get very protective over their new babies. As in we can’t even walk into the pasture to see if it’s a bull or heifer calf, we have to ride the tractor to be able to get close enough.
So my only words of advice are do not assume the mamma’s will be friendly. Ours will eat out of our hands, once the new baby arrives you can forget that.
Mature cows, you should not have any problems.
Heifers, all bets are off there, from how they will calve to if they will be contrary to handle or sweet.
With heifers, you have a good hour, with cows, two, from the time they start trying to calve to do something if they are not making progress on their own.
OF course, you do keep an eye on things and if help is needed, always better sooner than later.
Unlike with horses, that the foal has to come now or it is in trouble.
Calves are best pulled if you need to with small chains, obstetrical chains best, as they don’t cut circulation like rope does.
If a calf is unresponsive, or having trouble breathing, hold it by it’s legs upside down and swinging gently will help drain it’s lungs.
As others have mentioned, never assume any cow is going to be pleasant when stressed and have a way to get away from them if they charge.
Unlike foals, calves are able to breathe during the birthing process, so when you see them calving you leave them alone for an hour.
Cows can be very funny around people they don’t know and will put off calving if you are there. It is better to leave them alone.
People have been killed by their own beasts. You are in more danger as they don’t know you.
NEVER go near a cow and new calf. I find the mothers that were born here are okay. Still I don’t go near them on foot. A quad is safer as you can outrun them.
I had to get rid of one cow as I went to get equipment to help another cow, just in case as she eas calving, and the other cow kept attacking me, while I was on the quad. Luckily I had a rake with me! She came at me from the moment I entered the paddock. She had been fine up until that cow calving. The cow calved alright without me and we sent the attacking cow away immediately.
Don’t put weight on the mothers, as they are approaching calving. It puts weight on the calves and you want them as small as possible, especially if they are first time heifers.
Don’t put weight on the mothers, as they are approaching calving. It puts weight on the calves and you want them as small as possible, especially if they are first time heifers.
Call the spca because I’m about to say something that will upset some folks. It is a fantastic idea to stay armed around cows you don’t know. The farmer should have a plastic snow shovel to use as a scraper in barn alleys. This is an awesome weapon because you can meet a cow head on with a good smack and not do any more damage than to stop them in their tracks with a “what the hell was that?” kind of expression on her face.
Literally a smack with the back of the plastic blade to the forehead. Do NOT use a pointy pitchfork anywhere on them because you’ll just piss them off.
That said, I’ve had to do that all of twice in the years I’ve been working with cows. And both times, those cows went for meat because that behaviour is unsafe and does not need to be bred on.
I think it is a bit irresponsible to have someone without any experience looking after your critters, any of them, without at least having walked them thru what they should do and what to expect and have them help under supervision for a while.
It is ok to keep an eye and call if something seems off when the owner of the cattle is between checking times.
Not ok to tell someone without any idea what they are doing to just check and help them calve.
Sure, probably you won’t have to do anything.
Our cows calve by themselves in the canyons, but we are there every day feeding and counting and checking on them and going to look for any that is not coming into the feed grounds, to check on them.
Heifers, now those we check every two hours in a trap by the house, may go for five hours overnight if nothing looks ready to “domino”.
Have a couple days break with foaling. Got a chance to look at cows and talk with neighbor. The girls are White Face Herefords the daddy is Black Angus. Anyone see potential problems here???
