Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Well that was fun

Sam glad everything worked out for you. Lol I have done my share of stuffing one back in. It damn sure ain't fun. Last one I did was about 2 years ago. Me and this other old [bleep] was checking cows, range cows, found and old girl that had her uterus hanging out. We was about 2 miles from the closest corral, so I told Bob to head her and I would catch the heels. Well he did a good job or roping her and I heeled her then tied off and proceded to stuff it back in. figured I was in for a lot of trouble but lucked out and got it in pretty easy. Then I had to rest before I let her up lol. Youth is a wonderful thing Sam lol. Ed

35 years ago I was interviewing for my first job. The vet and I were called for an Angus cow with milk fever, down in the middle of 160 acres of cornstalks.

Mid-March had brought some nice showers and the mud was deep. No chance of getting a vehicle close to the patient, Doc and I slogged the quarter-mile out to her afoot.

The cow came around about half way through the second bottle of calcium and we had to hold her down to finish. She wasn't happy. Caught our breath, yanked the ropes off her and made a break for it.

We were about 20 yards from her when got to her feet. With about 10 pounds of mud stuck to each boot, she was gaining fast.

Doc yelled, "Split up!" We did, and it seemed to confuse her as which of us she should kill first. Took turns running and jumping/waving to get her attention. About 200 yards like that and she finally gave up.

Not all my patients want to kill me, but this one did!

Milk fever, what is it with women? You save their lives and sa soon as they feel better they try to kill you. I carry scars from a big old Holstein with milk fever.

Cow update, she is still fine.
Didn't want her calf but we have been working on that and she will now stand and let her nurse if someone is in the pen watching. Throw her some cake as a reward.

The calf sure came to life after it figured out how to latch onto a tit.


This little toad was born a couple days ago. Rare smokey calf.

Looks like a charolais.

Sam
Better mark that young cow and at the end of the season send her down the road. You just don't want that genetic weakness in you herd. Cheers NC

Oldman, you are correct.
That calf would be 1/4 charolais. His mother is 1/2 charolais and the father is a registered black angus bull.


Northcountry, we won't even run her with a bull this summer. I doubt she'd even breed back and if she did there'd likely be trouble. Stick her in a pasture with some old cows and sell this coming fall/winter.
Keep notes on who's who because it's easy to forget numbers.

I as well sir....I as well.

I use to run 1/2 charolais 1/2 angus or 3/4 charolais 1/4 angus cows and bred them to black angus or brangus bulls. Got mostly smokey calves, with a few reds and a black one, once in a while.

Cool looking calf.

Just came in from helping a heifer with uterine prolapse. Except for for a steady drizzle at 34 degrees, it was a nice evening to be out with the cows.

Sam, if all goes well with your heifer, there's not a great chance she'll repeat if she calves again. We routinely give uterine prolapse (as a sequelae to calving)heifers a second chance and seldom does it happen again. Not the same story as a vaginal prolapse prior to calving, they go on the cull list first offense. That's a heritable problem.

I'd be more concerned with general attitude and not claiming her calf. That alone might be reason to junk her.

Good luck!

Good lookin' youngster there, Sam.

Dang, you cow folks seem to have all the fun! Kinda helps me to remember why I gave up on that romantic life and started being a car mechanic!

I had 300 Saler heifers on a leased place in 05 - "running" them was an appropriate phrase. I could go to the pasture gate horseback, on foot, on a 4 wheeler, or in the pick-up, and the entire bunch would hit the far fence-line. Obviously didn't help that the property owners insisted on rotating pastures every few days! After getting most (all but 35 or so) out of a mountain pasture of about 1200 acres, we went in twice with 10 riders (a week apart) and never brought out an animal. You'd see elk, and nothing but heifers butts going into the brush!
I had another goofy bunch that we didn't disturb until shipping - they gained 50# more than the salers, over the summer.

Nothing scientific on my part here but, something we started doing a long time ago was feeding our heifers in the evening instead of the morning. Seems like we have less calving at 3 in the am if we do this. Lots nicer to be able to sleep some during heifer calving.

Hopefully no more bad luck.... Pretty crappy weather today, we lucked out and didnt have any calves. We are just starting and have only had 2 heifers calf. Lots of cows starting to show now tho... Won't be long, got to get new air seeder all rigged up and clutch in the Kenworth. Spring is a crazy time of the year.

MM, I was waiting for someone to comment!


OM3, we have 3 red cows, 3 char cross and 1 char cross heifer who had the above calf. Keep a little color for marker cows, easy to tell if we're missing a little bunch during feeding.


Ben, cool calf, very territorial mother.


CD, you are crazy for messing with these 'problematic' cows!
Interesting info, thanks. We don't get enough prolapses to establish any kind of breed back pattern, I just kind of assumed she might have trouble again.
But like you say, good to nip the poor mothering instinct in the bud right away.


BB, the 'joy' of cows is hard to beat, almost as fun as working on old equipment!


Mark, that sounds about right, high headed sons a bitches!


Amra, I've heard that as well but we haven't tried it.
This has been a slow, somewhat odd start. We're calving out 75 head of heifers and other than the prolapse I haven't found anything calving at night in the last 10 nights. Last few years it seems like there'd be something going on at least everything other night. Sure is nice to have limited nighttime drama.


C, good to hear from you man, hope all goes well this Spring for you guys.
Spring is a crazy time for sure. Wouldn't it be nice to just farm or run cows and not do both? grin

Hell of a way to make a living, sammo.. You folks have my highest respect.

I made a one day recon into the park yesterday, still a bit of winter going on down there.. Nasty, nasty, getting in and out of there.

Is that the bovine equivalent of calving a white buffalo?

It was a nasty deal this morning, hopefully the bad luck is hitting early...

Cow down, feet out, she didn't get up and I was able to get chains the calf. Couldn't pull it by hand so we hooked on with the pickup and applied a slight amount of tension. Popped right out.

More feet, she was carrying twins.

Second calf had been dead for awhile and the smell was putrid, I puked getting the chains on the calf. All the hair pulled off, the hoof tips fell off, I puked again but managed to get it out of her.


Two great big dead calves, fuucked up deal.



After that is was smooth sailing, probably had +10 calves today.


Clay, the smoky is 1/8 charolais, 7/8 angus so I was mildly surprised. Charolais must be a dominant breed but hell if I know.

I know a couple guys that seemed to have lots of twins and raise them with out much troubles . Me never had too many , most were born one or both dead , the ones that were alive 80% of the time were more trouble than they were worth compared to one "normal" calf