Calving management and practices

[HelenH]

Calving management & practices, in general: 

1. Remember the calf develops about 75% in the eighth month of pregnancy.  At this point, feed intake/weight gain of the female greatly influences fetus size.  Thin cows need additional weight prior to this stage and fat cows/heifers should be on maintenance diet. The point is, don't overfeed the fetus. 

2. Bonding--  Calving that is prolonged for any reason likely cause some injury or exhaustion to the cow. The pain from calving &/or retained placenta attributes to poor bonding and the classic unwillingness to allow her calf to nurse.  The cow feels miserable, wants to fend for herself, especially near the back-end.  In hindsight, perhaps pain is the reason even pet cows can't be trusted immediately after calving.  But, we usually blame cow family genetics or the breed.
    Inject Metacam 20mg/ml @ 15cc S.Q. anti inflammatory/pain relief. Convenient, lasts 3 days. Its pain management.  I was amazed with the turnaround in mothering/nursing within 20 minutes.
    Also use for pain & inflammation associated with pneumonia and bull banding.

3.  Vitamins in forages don't survive ensilage process.  If this is your feed program, insure adequate levels from other sources. (Vit. AD, E and selenium-in deficient regions)
    There are several studies showing the importance of Vitamin ADE and selenium with respect to pregnancy, calving & afterbirth , calf survival and vigour.
    Admin  4cc about 3 weeks precalving. Low rate, but I believe this has improved my results.  If vitamin levels are fine, the body expels the surplus.  Also admin. scour vaccine booster. 
    If it keeps the doctor at bay, I don't mind the effort.
    I realise 'DL'  insists everything should go down the throat.  This depends on every cow consuming her share.  Product appeal and social factors may restrict this in some systems.       

 

[aj]

We cut some big bulls this fall......and the vet give them some kinda new long term pain med.......they needed to use the bottle up. Might be the same stuff.

 

[BTDT]

Actually, the calf has the highest ADG in the last trimester (3 months), not month 8.  That is why nutrition of the cow is vital during the last trimester, not only for calf development and calf vigor, but also for strength of cow to birth correctly.
I have never heard of metacam, is it prescription? Withdrawl?

 

[blackdiamond]

We're breeding our heifers younger-- to red maine purebred bulls, or like I like to say-- generic angus.  once that heifer hits 12 months- she's getting heat checked--  by 13 months, it's a good chance, they've been AI'd already...

We had a red angus bull here that was calving ease on jersey heifers. 

Must be the genetics though...

 

[Till-Hill]

If a heifer can't calve on her own bred simmy, hereford, angus, etc I got no need for her. How profitable can it be paying for a freeloader heifer for an extra 6 months to a year. Feed price way it is I need to squeeze every extra penny out
These cows and make them work for me not the other way around.

 

[Aussie]

Have to agree with Till-Hill calving at two and making money.

 

[mccannfarms]

We calve in that 2-2.5 window and it has been literally years since we have pulled a calf or even had a calf in the 90+ lb range. We have used both Angus and Limousin Bulls and there is great genetic diversity in our cow herd. We make sure that our heifers are in great shape when they are bred and usually before they enter their 2 trimester they are out on pasture (mostly fescue and ladino clover) with supplemental hay and salt mix till after they calve. I know that we have been extremely fortunate to be able to not pull any but we make sure to use high calving ease genetics on our heifers. We also have started having all of our heifers pelvic checked prior to breeding and those that are a little small (some of our limi's are a little later to "blossom" ) we hold off on breeding for a few mos.

Typically our show heifers that have been taken a little better care of are bred to calve closer to 2 and our "normal" heifers fall closer to that 2.25-2.5 age just depending on when they were born and where that fits into our calving plans.

My other thought would be that females out of larger scrotal bulls would fare better at calving on their second b-day than those out of smaller scrotal bulls as it has been proven that bull scrotal size correlates to heifer maturity rates.

 

[RyanChandler]

How does early sexual maturity translate to larger pelvic areas and lower bw's? (It doesn't) I think you're confusing sexual maturity with physical maturity.

 

[mccannfarms]

How does early sexual maturity translate to larger pelvic areas and lower bw's? (It doesn't) I think you're confusing sexual maturity with physical maturity.

Did your physical body not change after you reached sexual maturity?
If you look at people, part of puberty in women is a lot of them develop wider hips (wouldn't that correlate to larger pelvis typically?)

 

[blackdiamond]

How does early sexual maturity translate to larger pelvic areas and lower bw's? (It doesn't) I think you're confusing sexual maturity with physical maturity.

Did your physical body not change after you reached sexual maturity?
If you look at people, part of puberty in women is a lot of them develop wider hips (wouldn't that correlate to larger pelvis typically?)

not in the case of heatwaves....  I've seen often, those massive hipped muscle bound ones-- have tiny little pelvic

 

[RyanChandler]

How does early sexual maturity translate to larger pelvic areas and lower bw's? (It doesn't) I think you're confusing sexual maturity with physical maturity.

Did your physical body not change after you reached sexual maturity?
If you look at people, part of puberty in women is a lot of them develop wider hips (wouldn't that correlate to larger pelvis typically?)

key word- AFTER.  You said, "My other thought would be that females out of larger scrotal bulls would fare better at calving on their second b-day than those out of smaller scrotal bulls as it has been proven that bull scrotal size correlates to heifer maturity rates."

Scrotal size correlates to SEXUAL maturity, not physical maturity as in their "growth curve."  IF you want to put it in people terms, women(in general) start ovulating LONG (years) before they are physically mature.  Same w/ most cattle.  A bull can have the biggest nuts ever recorded and still pass on tiny pelvises.  Studies would suggest this bull's heifers should start cycling earlier than others but It doesn't suggest anything to do with MCE.

 

[blackdiamond]

Did your physical body not change after you reached sexual maturity?

I don't know that he's hit either maturity point yet
<party> <rock>

"growth curve."  [/quote]
;D

 

[mccannfarms]

Im not suggesting that SC directly correlates with an individuals maximum potential Pelvic Area, I am suggesting that a heifer from a larger SC bull would reach her PA maximum potential sooner than those of smaller SC bulls.

And according to "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development" Pg 225 Paragraph 2 under the heading Puberty it states "It is at puberty, in response to estrogens, that the female pelvis matures to its adult form." Therefor one could reasonably deduce that if an individual reaches sexual maturity at an earlier age they would also reach their mature pelvic size at an earlier age.