If you've been raising cows for any amount of time, you're bound to experience the loss of a calf. According to experts in the industry, the majority of calf mortality occurs within the first 24 hours of birth. This mortality can be a result of a difficult and prolonged birthing process, severe weather conditions at calving, or other factors such as poor nutrition during the … [Read more...] about What to Do When a Cow Loses Her Calf
Calving
Is That Cow Going to Calve Soon? – Signs of the Onset of Labor
Here on the farm, calving season is always an exciting time of year. Although we've been doing this for about a decade now, thinking our first calving season, we didn't know what exactly to expect. Of course, we certainly had a "vision" for our first calving season. We were realistic with knowing that it would not be all rainbows and unicorns but we certainly were not … [Read more...] about Is That Cow Going to Calve Soon? – Signs of the Onset of Labor
Why Do You Need to Pull Calves?
The other day I noticed an ad from a major vet supply company encouraging folks to stock up on calf pullers, since calving season was near on many cattle operations in the U.S. It was an interesting reminder that here on our small farm, we haven't had to pull a calf in years. What's calf pulling, why do calves need to be pulled, and how can it be prevented? Let's … [Read more...] about Why Do You Need to Pull Calves?