Should I gamble?

[firesweepranch]

Just had our 11th calf born this morning, and guess what? The 11th BULL calf! My girls are not too happy about that. At this rate, we will have to buy show heifers for next year 

Oh, and to add to it, 5 of them are red. Only one cow is red, so we expected a red calf out of her (she was bred to a red Amigo bull), but the others have been a surprise because they were all bred to black bulls. So, 4 times I have beat the odds (25% likely red when hetero bull and cow bred). This last one was sexed a heifer, but at 10 days late, I knew we were in for another bull calf. 72 pounds (Grandmaster calf) out of a first calf heifer, not bad for a late calf! Glad we do not have a problems with predators, this heifer just walked off and left the little guy, did not clean or lick him at all. We penned them up in a little 8 x 8 stall, and she allows him to suck, but just looks at him like "yuck!". Funny first calf heifers!

At least they are all alive and sucking....

 

[lightnin4]

My first calf born from using sexed heifer semen was a bull too!

 

[leanbeef]

There's a product on the market called O-NO-MORE (orphan no more), and this stuff works miracles! I try to never be without during calving season. I'm sure we've given away more than we've used because we're the ones who get the first call when anybody has a problem during calving season!

I'm not sure exactly what's in this stuff...it's a "calf claiming powder" made of certain minerals and powders. Comes in a plastic jug about 16 oz and costs about $15 retail. You sprinkle it on the calf, mama licks it off, and by the time she's done, you have a mama that loves her baby. By far the easiest and the most effective way to deal with new mamas who are less than excited about their babies.

As for the red calves and all bulls...wow! Our fall was heavy one-sided with bulls outnumbering heifers two to one. Spring has gone a little better! We rarely have a red one because we rarely use a heterozygous black bull. I had a heterozygous cow a few years ago...I bred her to Dream On twice...got two red heifers, two years in a row! There's a simple solution if you don't want red babies...and it's easier than guaranteeing you get at least ONE heifer calf!

 

[GONEWEST]

What bulls gave you the red calves?

 

[firesweepranch]

What bulls gave you the red calves?

2 Rendition calves
1 Built Right embryo calf
1 from the bull in my avatar, who is out of Dominator (who is red)
and the Amigo calf, which was expected. 
Our next calf due is at the end of the month from a homo black bull, Ellington Dominator (by Olie). That one has to be black!

 

[firesweepranch]

There's a product on the market called O-NO-MORE (orphan no more), and this stuff works miracles! I try to never be without during calving season. I'm sure we've given away more than we've used because we're the ones who get the first call when anybody has a problem during calving season!

I'm not sure exactly what's in this stuff...it's a "calf claiming powder" made of certain minerals and powders. Comes in a plastic jug about 16 oz and costs about $15 retail. You sprinkle it on the calf, mama licks it off, and by the time she's done, you have a mama that loves her baby. By far the easiest and the most effective way to deal with new mamas who are less than excited about their babies.

As for the red calves and all bulls...wow! Our fall was heavy one-sided with bulls outnumbering heifers two to one. Spring has gone a little better! We rarely have a red one because we rarely use a heterozygous black bull. I had a heterozygous cow a few years ago...I bred her to Dream On twice...got two red heifers, two years in a row! There's a simple solution if you don't want red babies...and it's easier than guaranteeing you get at least ONE heifer calf!

Where do you get the O No more? Would like to have some on hand. She allows the calf to nurse IF we are in the pen either scratching her or have her on the halter. Other than that she tends to kick the calf away. She is not mean, just careless, I think. We go in with her every 4 hours to make sure he is getting colostrum, and sucks quiet well. I suspect she will be in the little pen for a few days until she figures out she has a little one to look after. She moos at him, but that is it. She was a slow starter herself when she was born, but her mom was VERY protective and we could not even get in the pen after the cow calved. So complete opposite as her dam!

 

[leanbeef]

I found it several years ago at a local co-op & decided to try it. I was a believer the first time I used it, and I recommend it now to everybody I can. I keep telling my dad I wish we were dealers...it's that good! It's probably the best value of anything I can think of if you own cattle!

There's a phone number on the bottle for the manufacturer...I'll get that for you and pm you when I can. In the mean time, if she's lowing to the baby, I would be encouraged by that. That's a great sign, and I doubt it'll take her long to figure things out. I did have a heifer last year though, that did kind of the same thing. She seemed to love the baby, but she didn't like to let it nurse. She wouldn't stand still unless I put her in the chute. And I did that twice a day for a month! I kept thinking she would come around, but my patience with her ran out after that long. I bought a set of hobbles and with 36 hours she had decided to play by the rules! I would give her a few days, and then I'd up the ante. Drastic times call for drastic measures!

 

[nmcattle]

I purchased O-No-More from one of the vet supply stores, either Jeffers or Valley Vet if I remember right. I tried it a couple years ago and had less than desirable results. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but it took a few days by the time I ordered it and recieved it after it was shipped. I think the time delay caused most of my issues and the cow had made up her mind that she wouldn't accept it. I have also poured grain down the topline of the calf the first couple of days to get the cow to lick her calf. I don't have a cow that resists grain. Good luck.

 

[cpubarn]

O no more is carried by valley wet. $12 a j

 

[firesweepranch]

Well, day two, and the calf is doing great. She kicks him off the udder when he starts to nurse, but moos at him. If I scratch her tail head, she lets him nurse without kicking but flicks her tail at me. Today we took them out of the little pen and put them is a smallish pasture, and she was worried about where he was at, which is good. She moos at him a lot, but also neglects him. She pushes him around when he gets near her head. She is almost like a tough love kind of cow! But he seems to be eating just fine. I think they will be fine. I just want to keep an eye on her to make sure he is eating good.
Here are some pics I took tonight.
The first two is the newest, born Saturday morning (heifer is the momma I was talking about above). Calf is a Grandmaster bull calf. 11 days late (295 days).
The third pic is our Steel Force embryo with his recip dam. She is a Lookout x Cayenne cow, second time calver (3 years old).
The fourth pic is a calf born Friday morning, a sib to the red steer my daughter showed last year that won our county carcass contest and was 2nd at South Central Regional show in AR last year.
The last photo I just through out there because I snapped it while checking cows. He is an October KHLER Make It Rain 3/4 blood calf. His dam is a half blood macho that won South Central Regionals in Durant, OK in 2009, we picked her up from Collins at an Exposure sale. I like him!