I am really sad....

Jackie · #1 03/25/09, 12:26 PM

I got a bred dexter heifer for my birthday and the previous owner is going to keep her until we move in June. SHe said she was due to calf around the end of March and she would take care of that for us.

Well she had her calf today but it froze before she found it. She said the heifer never licked it off and it was gone when she found it. I am so sad. It was a heifer calf too.

I just want to bawl. I was so looking forward to taking my kids out to see the new calf and I was SO excited when I saw her number on the phone. Darn it anyway.

tailwagging · #2 03/25/09, 12:44 PM

I am so sorry =(

mycowLilly · #3 03/25/09, 01:05 PM

I'm so sorry. I lost my calf this morning too. I've had him around for a few months... but he died suddenly today. I HAVE been bawling... I'm sorry for your loss.

postroad · #4 03/25/09, 09:03 PM

That sucks! Usually Dexters are real good about taking care of their calf?

Karin L · #5 03/25/09, 10:03 PM

Postroad, she was a heifer, with no previous experience raising a calf. A few heifers in a breed known to have good maternal insticts are not all that smart of what to do with this thing that just came out of their back end.

Jackie, my condolenses on your loss.

Jackie · #6 03/25/09, 10:37 PM

I am just so sad that she had to pick today. Yesterday the weather wasn't too bad...few days before that was actually nice. Supposed to be nice again tomorrow. Today was brutal. Of all the days.....

She was 1/4 angus if that makes any difference.

Will she be okay next year? Or will loosing the calf this year make her think she doesn't have to do anything next year? I used to live on a large cattle ranch and any heifer that lost her calf was sold....no matter what the reason.

What kind of mother will she make in the future if she lost her first calf?

The owner said we can work something out about this. I am curious to know what that might mean. It's not her fault the calf died...but I DID pay for a heifer + calf. What would normally happen in this circumstance? I don't really expect anything....all I wanted was a healthy calf.

I am sorry for your loss mycowlily....it must be SOO much harder when a calf dies on you after you got to spend a lot of time with it.

wr · #7 03/26/09, 12:00 AM

Jackie, our weather is brutal. The calf would have almost needed human intervention within minutes for it to survive so I would forgive her. I've calved cows in every season and finally concluded it was far easier on me and the cows to start calving around Easter.

As a long time purebred breeder, anytime I had something like this arise, I gave the purchasor options. They could take the heifer and I would have offered first choice of the heifer calves at weaning and I'd make sure they left with the best or I would allow them to choose a different heifer with live calf. If the purchasor found none of those options suitable (which I've never had happen), I would offer to allow the purchasor to bring the heifer back to me for rebreeding to a bull of their choice. or refund their money. If the breeder values his reputation, he will offer you similiar.

The the feels that they only sold you a heifer in calf and you feel you bought a heifer and calf, it is important to understand the difference. You might want to check with your Dept of Ag but in Alberta, a calf would have to suck before it is considered viable or a live birth. Start your paper trail now, just in case the breeder changes their mind.

haypoint · #8 03/26/09, 02:44 AM

If I owned a cow that was to calve in late March and it was March 24th and the forecast was bitter cold, I think I'd get her inside, just in case.

This is tragic. Perhaps others that read about this loss will insure their livestock are better cared for when the weather turns harsh.

Jackie · #9 03/26/09, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haypoint

If I owned a cow that was to calve in late March and it was March 24th and the forecast was bitter cold, I think I'd get her inside, just in case.

This is tragic. Perhaps others that read about this loss will insure their livestock are better cared for when the weather turns harsh.

She had wanted to get her in, but last week she had a calf in the barn with a heat lamp and the barn caught on fire. It was damaged bad enough that the cattle couldn't be locked in, but the doors were open so the cattle could go in if they wanted. They also had a 3 sided shelter filled with straw. She just decided to have the calf out in the snow.

Just wondering though....what happens if you have 50+ bred cows/heifers. You can't exactly lock them all up.

She was not equipped to get them all in anyway. Normally you would NEVER have to worry about bitter cold this time of year. We are having a freak year...we really are.

Karin L · #10 03/26/09, 05:09 PM

Jackie, IMO with 50+ cows/heifers due at this time of year you just have to make sure they got access to shelter and hope for the best.

Like wr said, I'd give her a second chance. The weather's been nasty this year, not good for operations that expect warm temps this time of year.

Just curious, but what are the other 3/4's of this heifer's breeding? Might not have much to do with her calving ability, but I'm just curious nonetheless.

Oakshire_Farm · #11 03/26/09, 05:41 PM

If you have the cow for next year that you will be able to control the situation better, you can have the cow in the barn. Watch to see what happens with the calf, you can always milk the cow and bottle the baby. If you just have 1 cow and 1 bottle baby it is not alot of work, unless the cow is wild

Lazy J · #12 03/26/09, 05:56 PM

Welcome to the world of livestock husbandry!

Buck up and prepare for next year. At least you won't have to worry about preparing for both animals.

Jackie · #13 03/26/09, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karin L

Jackie, IMO with 50+ cows/heifers due at this time of year you just have to make sure they got access to shelter and hope for the best.

Like wr said, I'd give her a second chance. The weather's been nasty this year, not good for operations that expect warm temps this time of year.

Just curious, but what are the other 3/4's of this heifer's breeding? Might not have much to do with her calving ability, but I'm just curious nonetheless.

Oh she is mostly Dexter. Polled and long legged. All black. I love her and I want to keep her...I couldn't see me selling her even if she could never be bred again (which is hardly the case). She was a very special birthday present and I am going to keep her for life.

Jackie · #14 03/26/09, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazy J

Welcome to the world of livestock husbandry!

Buck up and prepare for next year. At least you won't have to worry about preparing for both animals.

Ya, I am going to breed my cow/heifers to calf the end of May start of June. I have been looking into the benefits of warm weather calving and being able to let them calf in the green grass. Sounds good to me. I have no time for dealing with calves in the snow.

haypoint · #15 03/27/09, 05:04 AM

If you had 50 cows, you might not have them bred to calve all the same week.
For a cow to elect to come inside to calve isn't realistic. My cows and horses won't go into the barn in the winter as long as they can find wind shelter. In the summer, however, they'll stay in the barn all day to escape the bugs. Yes, even with fly wipe on.
All part of the learning process.