Problems. Calving

farmgirlcindy · #1 05/25/14, 04:25 PM

We have 6 angus cows. Four are heifers. Last year we bred them and so far this spring we have had one cow (who lost her calf last year because the cow couldn't birth it and we didn't get there in time) couldn't birth this year either so after several hours a a vet call we had to take the cow to our local university for a c section. So .cow and calf are doing well but we are not going to breed her again. The next one was a heifer she had her calf on her own, the thrived one was a heifer Nd we had to pull the calf, the fourth one was a three year old heifer and she had her calf which was dead. We have two left to calve. One heifer and one cow. Does anyone know if this is normal for angus. We have raided Hereford before and didn't have any problems calving. What is going on. The heifers were eighteen months old before we bred them. We are about ready to go back to Herefords.

agmantoo · #2 05/25/14, 05:01 PM

The problems you encountered are not common to Angus alone.
Such occurrences can be traced to a number of causes. Such as heifers bred too young or at too light weight, by not having a bull that is known to produce of easy birthing calves, cattle that are too fat, by cross breeding breeds that are not compatible in size, not having a proper mineral program formulated to the needs of your location, etc. What was the breed of bull used on the herefords? What was the breed of the bull on the angus? Any background on either bull before using them?

farmgirlcindy · #3 05/25/14, 08:09 PM

I know my cows are in the heavy side but we don't feed them anything but grass in the summer and shy in the winter. They have 15 acres to graze on. We keep mineral blocks out all the tine. The Herefords were bred with a large Hereford bull. The angus powered bred with a small angus bull. The one cow that had problems with the calf cueing last year was already bred.

farmgirlcindy · #4 05/25/14, 08:11 PM

Sorry about the type o s.

Waiting Falcon · #5 05/25/14, 08:51 PM

It pays to have a pelvic exam before ever breeding heifers for the first time. Pelvics can be misshaped where a calf can never come out, they can be small or what is are looking for is large well shaped. Whether it cost $5 per head or $50 to test is cheap compared to the loss of a calf or cow.

farmgirlcindy · #6 05/26/14, 08:30 AM

He is our bull. He will be 2 in August and he ifs probably around 1000 lbs. Not real tall in fact e were worried that he couldn't reach them but he got the job done. We bought him last summer when he was 11 months old.

ksfarmer · #7 05/26/14, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmgirlcindy

He is our bull. He will be 2 in August and he ifs probably around 1000 lbs. Not real tall in fact e were worried that he couldn't reach them but he got the job done. We bought him last summer when he was 11 months old.

The size and age of your bull isn't as important as the genetics he carries. If he had a personal low birth weight and comes from a line of small birthweight cattle , he will likely produce smaller birth calves. Some bulls will only give large calves and should only be used on larger cows. If you don't know the genetics of your bull , you are rolling the dice and taking your chances.

MO_cows · #8 05/26/14, 09:19 AM

Angus used to be almost bullet proof for calving ease, but a lot of growth and performance has been bred into them and you have to be more careful breeding them today. What is the background on your bull? Even if he isn't registered himself, I would hope he is only a generation away from registered stock so you can know the birth weight and calving ease in his bloodlines. I'll get on my soapbox here for a minute and remind everybody how expensive a cheap bull really is!

What you have described is far from normal for any breed. If it were me, I would get a pelvic area measurement on all the cows and cull any that are below normal. If they are normal, send that bull to slaughter. If he really is only 1000 lbs. at 2 years of age I would ship him anyway.

Also, do your cows have good minerals available?

agmantoo · #9 05/26/14, 02:30 PM

You have 4 heifers and 2 cows and 1 bull. Your 15 acres of pasture is all that feeds these in the summer. Hay is the sole source of nutrient in the winter. Where are you located? Any chance you can post a pic of these animals?

farmgirlcindy · #10 05/26/14, 06:05 PM

Yes I will take pics tomorrow. Thanks

farmgirlcindy · #11 05/26/14, 08:10 PM

I have tried twice to upload pictures and can't get them to upload. We live in central indiana. We have great pasture. We usually have to mow it twice a year.

wannabfishin · #12 05/27/14, 09:33 AM

how big were the four calves so far? did the vet say the c-section calf was too big to have it normally?

farmgirlcindy · #13 05/27/14, 11:47 AM

About 70 lbs. yes the vet said that cow could not have a calf normally. Pelvis is too small that is why we are going to butcher her this fall. The one that had to be pulled vet said heifer was just lazy and didn't push said her pelvis was plenty big. The last one who's calf died had her calf on her own. Don't know why calf died.