First Dexter calf of the New Year?

[littlecowfl]

WHo is going to have the first Dexter calf of 2018? It won't be us, because our first calves aren't due until February. So, anyone have a cow that looks ready? Winter calving is a bit easier for us down here, so maybe one of our Southern farms will be the first? No bugs to bother the cows this time of year and the coldest we get is usually in the 20s. We've seen teens before, but it's unusual.

[otf]

littlecowfl, I sure hope it's someone from down your way (though I understand Jacksonville has seen snow flurries and sleet?). We are at 2* this morning. I think the animals deal with it better than I do, mainly because they don't see or hear all the weather hype on TV or radio. Calving in this would be my worst nightmare. Brutal.

Happy New Year to you!

Gale

[littlecowfl]

I learned about calving in Colorado and Wyoming back in college. Worked on the university herds of Angus, Hereford and Black Baldies. Horrible dystocia rates because their bulls were throwing large calves. I think it was close to 10%. We pulled a lot of calves in February and March. These were huge herds, too. Wind chills were averaging -20 and, of course, us college students had the night checks. Of course, I've never had to use that knowledge with Dexters.

We were supposed to bring in the cows that looked ready. We had over 20 stalls in the barn, and we knew what to look for, so no excuse for missing one. However, we had the midnight to 3:00 shift and the team before us missed a lot of cows, so we'd find a cow and calf out in the cold more than once.

One cow's calf was born right before our turn to check. The calf was lying with her, still wet legs, frozen stretched out, but she was bawling, so we blinded mama with a flashlight and dragged that big calf across the snow shoved her under the fence. Then, we heaved her in the pickup bed and someone let the cow out to follow us down the lane while I held onto baby in the bed. I kept yelling at the driver to go faster because mad mama was about to join me in the bed! They shut the gate behind us just in time. We put the baby in the deep sink with warm water until we could move her legs, then, under a heat lamp, with blow by oxygen, until she took colostrum and could get up. Someone else got mama cow in the barn and she joined mama cow later.

Another night, an older, experienced cow calved on a brutal night. She dropped him right in the snow. We were figuring out how to snatch him from her because he wasn't moving or making a sound. Mama cow didn't give us a chance. She called to him twice, then shoved her big nose under him and threw him up in the air. The second time she did that, he bellowed when he hit the ground and she started licking him. Smart old cow. She didn't need us to get him to breath.

They really are remarkable creatures.

[emsshamrock]

We had a heifer born tonight in western Michigan! Up and running around like normal. We are in day 3 of our January thaw with one more day yet... snow+rain+fog=not a fun time!

[littlecowfl]

I think we have a winner! Congratulations!