New Charolais/Highland calf

[farmy]

We put a Charolais bull in with our Highland cows last spring, and the first baby was born yesterday. A little white heifer. We used the Charolais because he was what was available at the time, but the calf looks great! We should have five more in the next few weeks if all goes well. Has anyone else raised this cross? If so, how'd they do?

[opus]

And the calf came out all by itself??

[farmy]

Originally Posted by opus

And the calf came out all by itself??

Sorry, opus, I don't understand. Are you saying Charolais throw big calves?

[opus]

Yes, with some exception, Charolais throw big caves and Highland tend to throw small calves. Not saying you are going to have trouble. If you did a bunch of genetic research on the cow and the bull, it might work fine. If not, pay close attention to your cows when the start labor.

We check cows once calving starts, every 3 hrs during the night. If we have heifers, every 2 hrs. Actually, we try not to have heifers, we generally sell them and replace them with 3 yr olds.

We dont sleep much either. *;o)

[farmy]

Thanks, Opus. We'll keep a close eye on them. The second was born this morning without trouble - except that mama gave birth to him INTO the water tank, and it was about ten degrees out. Believe it or not, the little guy survived. We named him Jacques Cousteau.