Colostrum is often referred to as “liquid gold” and for good reason. This milky substance is full of vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates and proteins, providing the very best nutrition needed to help build the immune system in those first critical days and to give the calf the best start possible for a strong and healthy body. Of particular importance to the newborn calf are the absorbing antibodies or proteins within the colostrum. While the calf nurses his mom, these absorbing antibodies are entering his bloodstream and absorbed through the intestinal lining, immediately going to work in helping to build his immune system to help fight disease and infection.
A newborn calf’s intestinal lining is very thin at birth (called an “open gut”, allowing large molecules to enter) and starts to gradually thicken in the hours after birth, eventually closing altogether. The act of nursing increases the rate at which the gut starts to close. Therefore, it is extremely important for a newborn calf to get as much colostrum as possible in the first few hours after birth. Colostrum remains important past those first few critical hours, but the calf’s ability to absorb the antibodies into their gut significantly drops by hour 12, with the gut closing completely by hour 24.
While we hope for every newborn calf to get his colostrum directly from his mom, that is not always possible. In cases where a newborn calf is unable to nurse his mom or there are complicating factors (e.g., mother cow is very ill or dies, etc), you can used a powdered colostrum mix (available at farm stores like Tractor Supply) and bottle or tube-feed it to the newborn calf. These mixes aren’t ideal, but can be a live saver for a calf. If a calf makes it through its first few weeks of life, it begins developing a immune system that will replace these antibodies in fending off infection and disease, and hopefully promote a long, healthy and productive life.
In any profession, having the right tools is critical to getting the job done, and the livestock business is no different. During calving season on a cow-calf operation, the tools of the trade are commonly gathered into what’s referred to as a ‘calving bucket’.
Each operation is unique and requires different treatment of calves at birth. Some farmers and ranchers pay little attention to the calving process and let the cows and calves tough it out on their own. Others keep close tabs on every aspect of the birthing process and run the calf through a whole series of procedures shortly after birth. Most folks are somewhere in between.
So let’s take a look at a typical (our) calving bucket used on a small operation in Maine. If you’re a beginner, this might help you know what to prepare for during calving season.
What’s in our calving bucket?
1. Tag gun and tags – We place individually numbered ear tags in each calf born. Bulls and heifers get different colored tags so they can be sorted easily when the time comes. Our numbering system uses a standard letter for birth year and unique number for each calf. There are many different tag numbering systems you can use. The important thing is that each animal is identified and can be tracked.
2. Iodine – The calf’s navel should be dipped in, or squirted with iodine to prevent infection that can cause serious health problems including death.
3. Bander and bands – We’ve made the decision to castrate our bull calves at birth whenever possible. Traditional thinking has been that intact bulls perform better, so many ranchers wait to castrate bulls when they are older, say 3-6 months of age, or at weaning. Current advice from veterinarians suggests that any gains that might be realized using this method are probably minimized by the added stress and associated weight loss and health issues that later castration puts on the calves. I just figure it’s easier on both parties to get it done when they’re born. UPDATE: Please see our newest post, where we discuss our experiment with delayed calf processing and castration/banding!
4. Multimin, syringe and needles – We’re currently giving a shot of multi-min to the calves at birth. Other cattlemen in our area have success using Mu-Se or Bo-Se. These are vitamin/mineral injections that help overcome any deficiency the calf may have that will keep them from realizing their full potential and being happy and healthy critters. Some producers give vaccinations at birth, but if a calf gets adequate colostrum from mom (who should be up to date on her vaccinations), they receive the antibodies they need to stay healthy.
5. Notebook – We get records down on paper and later enter them into CattleMax online.
6. Weighing system – We have a hanging scale and a makeshift cradle that hooks onto a birch pole to weigh the calves. We also have a calf tape, which uses hoof diameter to estimate weight. We’re still working out the kinks of weight estimates, but do believe that collecting birth weight is an important aspect of herd management.
What else is in our bucket? Not much else at the moment, but that’s sure to change as we continue to grow and learn. The important part is thinking about having a kit ready for when calves hit the ground. Proper management early on can make or break an operation’s bottom line. What’s in your calving bucket?
April showers snow storms bring May flowers April/May calves!
The last month we have been on pins and needles, excited and nervous for the start of our first ever calving season. We were so relieved when the snow finally melted away and we started to have several dry, sunny days in a row. We figured it was the perfect time for a calf to be born, right? It seemed that all of our careful planning with our breeding season was panning out.
Apparently, though, Mother Nature still had a few surprises up her sleeve.
We woke up the morning of Thursday, April 24th and were immediately thrown back into winter. It was such a shock to see the wintery scene unfolding out the window. Snow, sleet, rain, cold temperatures…you name it, we had it that day.
Perfect day for a calf to be born, right?! And, especially for greenhorns like us trying to calve with limited indoor facilities.
First-calf heifer UL220 did not care not that the weather and ground conditions were horrible for calving. She was having her calf, warm or cold, snow or sun…weather be darned. This calf was coming.
So, we pulled our winter gear back out (bye-bye sandals:)) and dove headfirst into what would become (for us) an absolute nightmare situation. Looking back on it, we realize that it could have been much, much worse. But, for us, it was pretty rough. All of those “what ifs” and “oh, that won’t happen to us”, came thundering down on us as we fought a very mental, emotional and physical battle to save this heifer and her calf’s lives.
Let me start at the beginning…….
Thursday, April 24, 2014
In the recent weeks, we had started checking the herd every couple of hours for signs of labor. At around 1:15pm in the afternoon, I (Sara) was checking the herd when I noticed that one of the heifers had isolated herself from the herd. We have some heifers that are a little anti-social normally but this was definitely not one of those heifers. This was actually our friendliest and most social heifer. She is also our youngest (will be 2 in June). She is the only one that we can actually rub/touch. I walked over to her and immediately got the “stay away from me” vibe from her. Very unusual behavior for her. Later on, Jeremiah told me that she would not let him pet her that morning.
Bent tail, bad mood and anti-social. I think we are having a calf!
I also noticed that her tail was bent to the side. She was not chewing cud or eating. She was simply standing in some bushes, away from the herd, with her tail bent to the side and in what I would call a very bad mood.
I called Jeremiah at work and filled him in on what I was seeing. He told me to keep an eye on her and to keep him updated. I came back to the house and within 30 minutes, I put my muck boots back on and practically sprinted back to the pasture. I just knew that calf was coming. Too many signs and the bent tail was a dead giveaway (I can say that confidently now that we have seven calves on the ground).
As I approached the pasture, I could see the heifer was in the same location but laying down on her side. I knew it was game on at that point. My heart was racing and I was almost delirious with what to do. I remember running around the hay bale area, trying to collect dry hay to put around her. I was so excited and very naive for I thought I was going to witness an easy, natural birth.
The heifer was definitely having contractions. Her whole whole body lifted off the ground with the effort. She alternated between laying down and standing up, with her tail lifted straight up in the air. During one of her sessions laying down, she pooped and peed. There is only going to be probably two times in a cows life when she pees laying down. One, she is extremely ill and/or dying and two, she is having a calf! At that point, Jer decided to come home and we switched places for a bit. I came back to the house to take care of things and Jer took up the watch.
Passing the water bag.
I got a phone call at 2:45pm that she had passed her water bag. There was definitely no turning back now. I rushed back to the pasture and joined Jer.
Two hooves!
Shortly after she passed the water bag, we could see two hooves poking out.
The contractions were literally rocking her body. For about 2 1/2 hours, we watched her (from a safe distance) as she continued to alternate between laying down and standing up with hard contractions. From our research and advice from other people, first-calf heifers can labor for 1-3 hours.
This was our first experience and there is a very fine balance between letting nature take its course and us (humans) intercepting. We did not want to assist too soon and risk causing health risks to both the calf and the mother. Also, we really did not want to be the reason for any bonding issues for the calf and mother.
UL220, seconds before we pulled the calf. She was absolutely spent. She could not progress past the front legs.
As more time passed, it became evident that UL220 was slowly starting to give up. She simply could not push the head out and she had no more to give. She was done. We had to step in at this point. We risked losing both the mother and the calf if we didn’t intervene. UL 220 is our youngest heifer and small for her age. She isn’t even two years old yet! (in June).
We had been in phone contact on and off during the labor with our good friend and mentor, Gene. Since this was our first calving experience and it was looking like we were going to have to pull this calf, Gene wanted to come up and provide physical and mental support!
Jer and Gene gearing up to pull the calf.
Pulling…..
and the calf is out!
Within 5 minutes of Gene arriving, him and Jer pulled the calf.
They said that they barely had to tug on the chains and…..
the calf slipped right out!
I watched the entire process and documented it with the above pictures. It was completely surreal. We were all so excited and relieved that the calf was out.
The tough times, though, were only starting.
The prognosis was not looking good for our first ever calf……
Our very first calf. A red Angus bull calf born on April 24, 2014.
On our farm right now we have four calves on the ground. That is four out of an expected 10. It has been a whirlwind of a week, with lessons learned at every turn.
We have spent a lot of time talking about selecting your bull and the option of using a calving ease bull on this site. With 50% of our births thus far needing assistance (2 out of 4), we are learning that you really do take your chances when selecting a bull, good genetics or not. Life, or in this case, calving, doesn’t always go exactly as planned.
Let us explain……
Last summer we leased a yearling, black Angus bull to breed our 10 red Angus heifers. This bull had good calving ease genetics, and we were hoping that he would prove to be a good calving ease bull himself. Calving ease was especially important for us as we were dealing with first-calf heifers and this was our first time calving.
Our fourth calf. A 110-pound black Angus bull calf born on April 30, 2014. This picture was taken just minutes after we pulled him out.
Of the four calves we have on the ground, we had to assist in pulling two of those.
One of those two calves was a whopping 110 pounds! That is a big calf for a mature cow, let alone a first-calf heifer.
He is a brute.
Despite our bull’s good calving ease genetics, he is not proving himself as a calving ease bull.
A 110-pound calf is simply not calving ease.
Pulling our first calf during a snow/rain/sleet-storm. This is the same calf in the first picture in this post.
Our other three calves were 80, 86 and 87 pounds. We had to pull the 86 pound calf.
Not what we consider calving ease.
Our 3rd calf being born. A black Angus heifer born on April 28, 2014 at 87 pounds.
Our 2nd calf being born. A red Angus bull calf. Born on April 28, 2014 at 80 pounds.
The 80 and 87 pound calves came out like a dream, though. Exactly how you want your labor and delivery to go.
‘
Even though they came out easy they are still on the larger side.
Our desired birth weight for calves from a first-calf heifer and a calving ease bull is 60-75 pounds.
Before we know it, in about 2 1/2 months, another breeding season will be upon us. We will be leasing another bull and you better believe that we will be making that selection very, very carefully and keeping all of the advice that we give in our selecting a bull post in mind.
We do have our eye on a proven calving ease bull that we would like to lease this summer. Even so, you take your chances with whatever bull you pick.
We got into the beef cattle business knowing that, as with any business, there are risks and there are rewards, there are ups and there are downs.
Our 110-pound calf, B7, nursing his mom.
As I am typing this, I can see our newest calf nursing his mom. He is a big boy, and we had to pull him but that calf is strong and healthy.
We had written this post BEFORE our calving season started. With four calves on the ground, we feel that we need to add a few caveats. In fact, we have written another post, partner to this one, adding information and “words of wisdom” in selecting a bull. Please click here to read that post.
Bull selection is one of the most important elements to having a successful cow-calf operation. Having the right genetics that match well with your environment is critical to your herd’s performance. Because calves will get half of their genetic material from the bull and a single bull can breed many cows, choosing the right bull has the greatest single influence in improving the genetics of a herd. You need to carefully consider the goals of your breeding program and your operation as a whole and what traits and genetics you are looking to add to your herd.
Some questions you should consider in selecting a bull are:
Will you be using a bull from within your own herd or will you be leasing a bull?
Using your own bull is ideal as you are familiar with his genetic and heath history. In addition, your bull should be comfortable and familiar with your property and with you. Furthermore, you do not have to contend with a lease contract, a breeding fee and the dynamics of transporting the bull. However, bulls typically must be purchased from a seedstock operation or another farm to avoid genetic problems due to inbreeding.
Leasing a bull is a great option for those without the financial means, facilities and/or the desire to have their own bull. Here are some things to consider:
When leasing a bull, you need to consider the health of the bull and of the herd that he is coming from. You do not want your leased bull to introduce a disease to your herd. You want him to be in the best physical shape possible, with current vaccinations. Ask to see his pedigree and his health records. Ask to see any and all records on him. Ask about his breeding success and the condition and performance of his offspring. Conformation is important to consider in selecting your bull. Your bull should be well-muscled (too much can be a negative, though) with a deep chest and short, muscular neck. He should have a good coat (indication of good diet) and alert eyes. He should be docile and quiet and allow you to get close to him and walk around him.
Pay close attention to the condition of the other animals on the farm and of the cleanliness of the farm as a whole. If the farm has sickly animals and has unsanitary and/or unsafe facilities and pasture conditions, you need to think twice about leasing a bull from them – even if the price is a good deal. This is not the time to ‘save’ money. You know the saying “You get what you pay for”? Remember that when deciding on a bull to lease.
Have a written lease contract with all conditions and restrictions clearly outlined, including all fees.
What type of calves work best in your operation?
Are you looking for a bull that throws large calves?
With a larger calf, you have the opportunity for more gain, a higher weaning weight and a larger paycheck in the Fall when you sell the calves as feeders.
A larger calf may be able to handle weather-related and other stress better than a smaller calf.
A larger calf, though, can make labor and delivery more difficult on the cow, especially if you have a small-framed cow and/or a first-calf heifer. You may have to provide a lot of assistance to the mother cow during delivery.
Do you have the facilities, equipment and the know-how to assist in pulling calves?
Do you work on the farm full-time or do you have a job that takes you away from the farm during the calving season?
Are you looking for more compact, smaller-framed calves?
Labor and delivery, especially for a first-calf heifer, may be easier with a smaller calf. Nothing is guaranteed, though.
Possibly less or no assistance needed at delivery with pulling calves.
Advantageous if you have a full-time job away from the farm and/or do not have good facilities for calving (e.g., barn with a stall to restrain mother cow while you pull the calf).
Smaller calves will obviously have lower birth weights and you need to consider such impacts on weaning weight and average daily gains if you sell these calves as feeders and also, yearling weights if you are using these calves as replacement heifers or adding to your herd.
Are you breeding heifers?
When breeding heifers you especially need to consider the size and age of the bull and the type of calves he produces.
You may want to consider a calving ease bull for your first-calf heifers.
Putting a mature, low-calving ease bull on a first-calf heifer may produce a very hard and difficult calving for that heifer and leave that animal in poor physical condition. The stress of a difficult delivery could affect the rate and degree of bonding with the calf, milk production and the success of being bred-back.
Calving ease. Heifer calving ease EPDs were calculated using a multi-trait animal model including birth weight and calving score data. The result is a heifer calving ease direct and heifer calving ease maternal EPD, as defined below.
Calving Ease Direct (CED): Calving Ease Direct EPD is expressed as percentage of unassisted births, with a higher value indicating greater calving ease in first-calf heifers. It predicts the average difference in ease with which a sire’s calves will be born when he is bred to first-calf heifers.
Calving Ease Maternal (CEM): Calving Ease Maternal EPD is expressed in percentage unassisted births with a higher value indicating greater calving ease in first-calf daughters. It predicts the average ease with which a sire’s daughters will calve as first calf heifers when compared to daughters of other sires.
Are you breeding cows?
While CED is intended to be considered in breeding first-calf heifers, some of the top Angus breeding programs, such as Beckton Stock Farm in Sheridan, WY encourage using their calving ease bulls on your cows as well. They explain that calves from these cows can provide a good source for replacement heifers in your herd.
Using a non-calving ease bull may also be appropriate for breeding your cows. A mature cow has had more experience in calving and in maternal care-taking than a first-calf heifer. As such, she may be better equipped to deliver a calf not sired by a calving ease bull.
Calving Ease and Gestation Length
The ideal bull in the cow-calf operation is one who throws small calves that have high weaning weights in the fall. The advantage of having both calving ease and high pay weights is an attractive one, and can often be achieved by using short-gestation bulls.
The standard gestation length of a cow is around 283 days.
The fastest period of calf growth in the womb is during the last days of pregnancy (often around 1 pound per day, or more)
By being born several days earlier, a calf with fast growth potential can be born at a lighter weight, making for easy calving, and still achieve a high weaning weight in the fall.
Short Gestation Length (SGL) bulls produce smaller calves that will still reach maturity at a large size. Therefore, calves from these bulls should not be kept as replacement heifers with a smaller mature size in mind. Your cows may have low birth weights, but they’ll still be large at matureity.
That said, you can have a short-gestational bull that is ALSO a calving ease bull. Our friend and mentor has had great success in using these SGL, calving ease bulls and does use some of these calves as replacement heifers and/or additional heifers to his herd.
Even more time and thought needs to go into planning your breeding season when using SGL bulls, though.
Using a SGL bull can be advantageous for your heifers and cows.
An earlier birth allows the mother more time to start cycling again and to build back her body condition for being bred back.
Feed Efficiency/Forage Convertibility:
Economically viable characteristics in a cattle herd include the ability to maintain weight on low quality forage. In fact, beef cattle were originally developed to take advantage of lower quality forage that wasn’t fit for dairy cattle, sheep and other livestock. Producers should look for a bull that can maintain his weight or even gain weight on a grass-only/roughage diet EVEN when that grass and roughage is of a lower quality.
Easy-keeper/easy fleshing: A bull that can convert forage efficiently is considered an easy-keeper, or easy-doer. This trait is often described as fleshing ability. The ability of a bull to maintain his weight on a grass-only or roughage diet is desirable, but is often related to smaller mature frame, which can sometimes impact market demand for your cattle.
Many bulls are growth-tested on a high octane ration that isn’t a realistic situation on the average cattle farm. These bulls may gain lots of weight in the feedlot, but turned out to pasture they can fall apart. If a bull loses weight or cannot maintain his weight on a grass-only/roughage diet he is considered a hard-doer and will cost producers more in feed. Tread cautiously in leasing a bull that is a hard-doer. Do you want to bred that into your herd? If your operation is grass-only/roughage, you may struggle with daily gains and weaning weights in feeder calves from sires that are hard-doers.
There are many factors to consider when developing your breeding program and quite frankly, for newbies like us, it can be a tad bit overwhelming. We are learning every day, as we consider the genetics we want bred into our herd and how to develop a breeding program that meets the goals and needs for the growth of our operation and performance of our animals.
Two sets of genetics go into making a calf and therefore, much thought and genetic consideration needs to be taken into account when deciding what bull to breed to which heifer or cow.
Speaking from personal experience acquired in just these past few weeks, a calving ease bull or a bull with calving ease genetics does not 100% guarantee a small calf and/or an easy birth. Please click here to read more about our experience.
