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Eustis, NE | Posting this for my 2 cents worth and that is probably all it is worth. Was looking for other calving ideas when I ran across this argument?
I don't have a large herd only a little over 100 head. I calve on grass and only check maybe twice if that often in nice weather (20+ and sunshine) unless I see one calving. Sometimes they are close by and see them more often when tagging calves.
I did calve some of my heifers in the pen when it was colder than hell. I lost one calf from a cow in the snow and cold. I only had about sixteen in that cold snap. All but one calved in a 45 day calving period.
My overall calving success (failure by some standards) was 7 dead out of 108 head. One lost on stalks early February, one in the cold snap. Two heifers that both ended up at the vet. One was a C-section and other a week later was hard pull with vet doing episiotomy to get it out. In hindsight I should have taken a genomic sample to see if the calves were from any of my herd bulls. One was probably close to !40 lbs and other was over 110 lbs. No other calves born were probably over 90-95 lbs, most were in the upper 70-88 lbs. I will state for those of you that question my guesses, I weighed calves for 25+ years with a spring scale and rope so believe my guesses to be very close. I lost 3 during the summer. One dead next to a stock tank in a pen. Not sure, no post on the calf. I had missed him in a count a few days before but didn't go up to the tank. Lost two others when my cattle got mixed with the neighbors (bulls fighting) but both cows would go back to the fence line bawling. One was leaking milk from her teats. Never found either, in my or his pasture. If this is failure it is mine alone. I also had good success by my standard in the 2019 heavy spring rain. Most is probably luck but some of my own making by not having them locked up but out on pasture. I know everyone may not have that luxury but sometimes that is your luxury of having the ability to check them easily.
I have raised almost all my own cows so what I have is my faults or successes. They mostly calve on their own with very little intervention. But that is why I do things my way. If I needed to live with them I would be changing my herd.
Not saying this is a perfect herd. It never will be. I will be changing it, to try to hit my and maybe the beef industries, ever changing goals.
Before anyone starts to criticize another try to see it from a perspective other than your own.
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Calving on large herds Part 2
