A surprice with a sad ending

[hamonsdexter]

As I was rotating my herd this morning a I found a dead Calf. I was not suppose to have calves until mid April. Doing a little investigation I had found one of my Heifers I had acquired about 6 months ago it was hers. We went from 60's early this week to low Teens last night. The calf looks like it was born fine with no problems just must not have made it through the night. This Girls was not showing any signs of labor the night before. I guess I have learned my lesson I need to get them preg check when I acquire not cows. the person I got her from said they were open. She will not be 2 until March so she got breed young.

What should I do, Try to sell her as I wanted to keep my bull with my herd all winter to make it easier. If she get breed now it will be a summer baby which could be bad. I usually like to calve early spring to take advantage of the green pastures

[marion]

Chad, I don't know where you are but even if she bred back fairly quickly it would be a fall baby. It would probably be easier to keep the heifer inside and keep the bull with the herd. IMO, as she is a heifer and bred so young it would be a good idea to keep her inside anyway to check her udder and make sure that she is not developing any problems from the unexpected birth. If you decide you don't want the hassle of caring for her separately all winter, she would benefit from penning and individual feeding and handling for a while prior to a sale.marion

[lakeportfarms]

Chad, sorry to hear about your calf. However at the young age of the heifer it could have been much worse. Marion is correct, you would probably be looking at least a September to October calf next year, and it would be a good idea to keep an eye on her for a couple of weeks in a stall or small pen to make sure she'll be ok.

However, I wouldn't sell her because of this or the concern that you'd have to hold her open until next summer for a spring calf. I'd put her in with the bull, and let him breed her for a fall or late fall calf. Your climate isn't much different than ours, and fall is probably my favorite time of the year to calve. Little to no mud, still some pasture if you aren't overstocked, and the calf has the benefit of mother's milk all winter long and can be weaned onto spring grass. It's true the mom's nutritional requirements are going to be higher during the winter months, but overall I don't think it's any more than if you have 8 month old weaned calves eating hay. So overall I don't think there is any appreciable difference. The only drawback could be that if it's a steer you're going to want to butcher him at 24 months at the end of the fall re-growth rather than carry him through a winter and hay to get him to 29 months.

[hamonsdexter]

What problems should I look for. She is pastures that connect to my barn so I can her in right now if she show signs of problems. It does not even look like she bagged up all that much.

[wvdexters]

So sorry to hear about that calf. I'd watch her for a few days and if she's doing well I'd consider putting her back in with the herd for the winter. Fall is a good calving time, and it is alot easier only having to hay and water one group through the winter instead of two.

Also, you might want to take a good look at the other heifers you got from this fellow. They may not be "open".

[cddexter]

Aren't you curious about why the calf died? I'd be getting an autopsy. You don't say how old it was, but I'm wondering if you have la lepto problem? Calf comes early, born dead, looks just fine, no external sign there's anything wrong. c.

[carragheendexters]

Hi Carol,
just wondering do you guys vaccinate for lepto over there? It is part of our 7in1 vaccines, and is really pushed over here because of the risk of infection in humans, it is a very debilitating disease in humans. Here in Australia the other thing that causes early calvings often born dead, or abortions is Neospora, carried in foxes.
regards Louise

[kansasdexters]

Louise,

We vaccinate for Lepto (we use Novartis Virashield 6 + VL5 HB Somnus) in all of our breeding stock, and also as an annual pre-breeding (4 to 6-weeks prior to breeding) booster vaccination in all our heifers, cows, and bulls. We are in Kansas and we've never had any animal losses due to Lepto, probably because of our herd health program. Lepto is carried by deer in Kansas, so it is a real threat in our state. A good vaccination program is the most effective protection against this disease.

Patti

[legendrockranch]

We also vaccinate for lepto and use Vira shield 6 + VL5 HB Somnus the same as Patti.
Louise it is interesting you mentioned Neospora, I believe it is carried by several other animals besides fox.
Several years back a Dexter owner lost several calves (aborted) to Neospora that was the first I had heard of it.

Sorry for your loss Chad

Barb