Calf hauling

[topside1]

Hi all, on the 16th of October I plan on buying and hauling two 3-7 day old bottle calves. They will be purchased thur a sale barn, and keep in mind I have never bought anything out of a sale barn. Sold yes, bought never. The journey home will take over two hours (105 miles @slow speeds). I have haul numerous calves over time, but those trips are under 20 miles. They will be riding in a small trailer with four high sides, no top on trailer, floor with bedding. At this point I will be bringing two bottles of my finest homemade electrolyte solution to feed to them prior to loading or during the ride.
Can you all think of anything else I should bring or do before the trip home or during the trip home. Ways to limit stress, any ideas, tips, lessons learned. I'm not a big believer in shots, however in this case I am willing to listen...

As always thanks for your time....

[RosewoodfarmVA]

Anything under a month old is carried in the back of our full size van. Lay a tarp down and we can get up to 4 in there. That way there is no wind stress, chill, etc. Course it makes for a smelly ride, but, hey, they all make it home without getting sick! Seriously, 2 hours of riding on a trailer with all the wind, chill, etc is just asking for sick calves. If you have a van, or know of someone who does, or even a truck with camper shell, that would be far better.

We don't give ours shots, however do watch out closely for signs of scours or pneumonia, as the stress of handling, especially from a livestock auction, can cause their immune system to go down. Keep some penecillin or LA 200 handy and at any sign of rough coughing, diarhhea, droopiness, give 3cc twice a day for several days.

[topside1]

The sides of the trailer are a lot taller than you may imagine and do block the wind quite nicely. I will take a picture. I want to take this trailer vice my cattle trailer, the cattle trailer is overkill, but that's just my opinion....Picture will be posted within minutes...Rosewood, thanks for the advice, if you think of anything else please post...

[Up North]

Rosewood makes a good point. Calves are babies, and wind can chill them down. Knowing how things go, the day you come home with calves would be the day the drought breaks and it pours rain .
Deep bedding and a tight tarp for roof and they'll do just fine.

Now, if you have not bought at auction before, perhaps you could benefit from the counsel of grizzled veterans?

[topside1]

Here's my goat/calf hauler. Guess I could staple a tarp to the top. The weather is still in the 70's and 80's lately. If it rains it's obvious that I will have to pull the red trailer. I asked my wife about pulling the seats out of her van, well that idea went no where real fast...LOL

[topside1]

UpNorth I have a couple of Grizzly Vets on call...Do you actually mean it may rain again? Unlikely, you just can't believe how bad it is....

[topside1]

In case you were wondering, my daughter is buying the two calves and they won't be cheap. Need this to go smooth as possible. She is counting the days and the excitement is building.

[unioncreek]

You could always put a tarp over the top of the trailer if there is any worry about wind.

Bobg

[RosewoodfarmVA]

For wind protection tack a tarp over it...that ought to be fine. However with that small of a trailer and only one axle, that'll be an awful lot of bounce! Bedding should take care of that though if it's thick enough. I hope all goes well for you both.

[RosewoodfarmVA]

One other thought...If you can, it would be better to purchase directly from the farmer, rather than going through a stockyard. Ofcourse if you don't know who you'll be getting them from then you can't do that. My observation is that there is an awful lot of sick cows and potential "bugs" in a stockyard and a new calf's immune system isn't up to defending itself from them. Also, you never know if it had its first milk (colostrum). If you are intending to get calves from a dairyman(the only ones who will have week old calves for sale) why not visit the auction to make some contacts, then after you have found a reputable dairyman, ask him to call you when he has some. That way you avoid the diseases present in a stockyard plus the calves will have less stress problems just going from the farm to home rather than farm-stockyard-home.

Make sure they have had their colostrum and preferably they should be a week old. Around here they are selling for $50-90 depending on health/weight for holstein or holstein cross (jerseys less). Keep an eye out for runny poops, coughing, or otherwise droopy attitude.

[topside1]

Thanks everyone, a tarp it will be, plus deep bedding. If all goes well and we don't chicken out, I'll be posting photos of my daughter and her two little heifer calves right after the auction....Any other ideas input will still be appreciated.

[HazyDay]

You should have come to our sale today. I am home schooled and walked over to a farmstore and walked be it, they were still selling them at 3:00! It started at 11:00am!!!!!

[moopups]

Douse iodine on the navel and spray shipping fever aerosol antibacterial spray before hitting the road. Avoid draft at all costs and limit the ability to move within the trailer.

They only need room to stand, if there is room for sudden shifts you could have broken critters.

[Shirley]

Is that your red trailer in the pic? Why don't you use that? I would. I don't think it is overkill, they would be better off (no wind, no sun).
When I brought my bull calf home from the auction he was maybe a week old. Before I left the auction I had a bottle of milk and water with electrolytes to give him. It was late in the afternoon and he and the others had been in crowded pens all day with no water, no nothing.
So Good luck! Make sure you post pics once you get them home!

[topside1]

Shirley, the red trailer is mine. I'd rather take the little one it rides great behind the wifes van and gets better gas mileage than my 4 wheel drive truck pulling the red cattle trailer....Don't call me cheap, just economical. Yes I will post photos...

[JulieLou42]

At 8 hours old, I took a 1/2 Jersey bull calf to my neighbor's a mile away in the back of a pickup truck with a rubber mat on the bed, with wooden rails on it, on a bumpy, curvy, hilly road...and he stood up all the way by himself, never fell. I was flabbergasted, to say the least!

[Highland]

Topside-- i like that "not cheap just economical" LOL
I have 4 holstein cows to calve in the next couple of months and I "might" take pity on you and sell ya a couple of heifer calves.Hopefully the weather will cool down some by the 16th.--- see ya then!

[topside1]

Highland, thanks for the offer. I'll be there on the 16th for sure. Sent you a PM a while back asking how far away is Mammonth Cave (the park) is from the sale barn? Been saving goats milk every day so it seems I'm about ready. See you on the 16th, cooler weather would be nice, summer heat never seems to end.
John

[john in la]

Other than the things already mentioned; I would call the vet and ask him/her if they have any TSU-2. It is a shot that is administered as a nasal spray. If they have it get 1 dose for each calf you expect to buy at auction. Make sure they give you the nasal atomizer that screws on the end of the syringe. Spray 1/2 a dose in each nostril.

TSU-2 helps their ammine system work better and gets them threw all the nasty things roaming the halls of a auction house. I use to use it on every calf I bought but that has been years ago since I do not buy at auction anymore.

Cheap insurance!!!!!!!!

[topside1]

Thanks John, kind of info I was looking for....