Early March is the start of our spring calving season. We watch for signs and keep a close eye on our heifers (first timers). This year started off with our first calf “Jack” joining us in the early hours of the morning. We had been expecting him but not expecting his name would hold true to how we had to assist his mama. More on that later!

It feels like just yesterday that Steve reminded me “6 weeks until calving” and now we have more than half of the calves running around! We have been sharing a lot of pictures of our new arrivals but we thought we would share more of the behind the scenes and what goes into taking care of our herd during calving season!

*Feeding/Nutrition

Balanced feeding throughout the year helps to support the cows during their pregnancy. A healthy weight and a balanced diet with alfalfa/grass hay, protein and minerals is also needed when the cow begins supporting their calf after birth.

*Bedding

What goes in, must come out…. the cycle of hauling manure, bedding and hauling again is heightened in the winter and spring months. We winter our cows at home and put bedding on just a portion of the pasture to allow the remaining grass to grow up in the spring. Based on the crop rotation in our fields, we also utilize corn stalks to provide some natural grazing throughout the winter & spring. Keeping cows & calves warm and dry during the eb and flow of rain and snow is vital to the health of our herd.

*Birth

Remember Jack? Well we have two types of births, assisted and unassisted. Assisted births can be as simple as giving a little pull or two on a calf’s leg to help move the calf along past the sticking points or as in depth as using our calf jack & chains. We prefer to let the cow or heifer progress on their own time and have their calves naturally. Once we notice a cow or heifer in labor, we closely monitor her progress. Jack’s mom was not making any progress, so our first step is to make sure the calf is in the correct position. Front hooves first, with the head following shortly after. Jack was in the right spot, just needed a little help from his friends.

Enter Steve & Jessi! We first tried to help by pulling on Jack’s front legs using our chains (looped around each leg above the ankle) & handles (one hooked to each chain). We work to time our pulls with any pushes from mom. With no luck, we moved to the next resort. Our calf jack is a more efficient and consistent way to help a calf make it’s way out of the birth canal if it is a tighter fit. The chains are secured on each side of the calf jack and we can use the right amount of pressure and angle to follow the natural path the calf should take (Down & Out!). It took time but Jack made his way out and his name was given pretty quickly!

Unassisted births are preferred & most common. It is a great morning when you walk out to check cattle and you see a fresh calf already nursing!

*Nursing

Our goal and the perfect scenario is when a calf is born, within an hour they are up and working to nurse. It is extremely important that within the first 6-8 hours of the calf has consumed a healthy share of colostrum. We have learned from past experience that being overly cautious is better that making assumptions that a calf is nursing. For calves that need a little more help or need to “mother up” we give them a 1-2 day stay in the barn in a pen to themselves.

This is another area that we hope to leave to nature but for the health of the calf we need to step in. We use different methods depending on the calf’s desire or lack there of! If a calf is actively trying to nurse but just can’t figure it out, we use our maternity pen to secure the cow and direct the calf right to the teat. If a calf has no desire, our first attempt starts with hand milking and work to get the calf drinking from a bottle. If that is unsuccessful, we choose the direct route! We take the contents of our bottle or milk up colostrum to fill a drench bag. The drench bag looks similar to an IV bag set up but at the end of the tube is straight to navigate through the calf’s mouth and throat. We allow the calf to swallow it down, lift the bag and in goes the milk!

Our hope is that with a full belly and some time, the calf will process it and when it is hungry again we can start getting the calf to nurse on its own!

*Daily checks

Team work makes the dream work! Steve and I have found that by taking turns checking the herd throughout the day we communicate and catch more of the signs of calving and calf health. This year we had five calves born in a 6 hour period, with two of them being assisted births. To top the time frame, it was also a colder day so the barn was full! By the time we finished calving that day it was past midnight but everyone was warm and snug!

We have a had a great start to the calving season and look forward to finishing strong!

UP NEXT….. PLANTING SEASON & PASTURE TIME!