March has arrived and today really felt like Spring is coming. It was warm and sunny about 45 degrees. The snow is finally melting which then brings on the great thaw! We now have 68 calves and they are arriving in full swing. Today we tagged 15.
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| Heifer pen |
We check the cow and heifer pens every 3 to 4 hours round the clock to monitor their progress and get the number of the cow who has the calf. We first make sure the calf has sucked, if not we have to give them colstrum that we mix up from powder and water and have to Tube the calf with it. Most calves get up and suck within an hour with only a few that may be "slow'.
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| "Awe Mom" Brahma Baby |
We then tag the calf with the mother's number and give the calf some vaccines, treat their navel with iodine and band the male calves. The weight of the calves range from 40 pounds to up to 90. Our average is about 60 - 70 pounds.
We put the first time mother heifers usually in the barn when they are ready to calve to help them focus on their calf and bond with it. We then turn them out in a separate pasture with all the pairs together.
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| Heifer Barn |
It takes alot of teamwork each of us taking a shift to check all of them. It takes about 45 minutes to go through the herds. At night, Nick checks at about 9 pm, I, Cynthia, check about midnight and Brian checks in the early am about 4 or 5.
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| Calf pile |
If there is any problems we help each other. At times we have to pull a calf and assist in a delivery if a leg is back or if the calf is breeched. For the most part they calve on their own.
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| Happy Calf! |
Again, will continue to update our progress with the calving season!
Cynthia, Nelson Ranch
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