Post by DostThouHaveMilk on Mar 28, 2006 11:05:14 GMT -5
Well, Midge, it looks like I stole your heifer vibes the day our three heifers were bred. You got a bull and I got two heifers from a split straw of Paramount (7J442).
Unfortunately, my second heifer was DOA (dead on arrival) as far as I can tell.
Cadence was dripping milk from three of her four teats (would have been four but the fourth had a little dirt on it). Her ligaments had relaxed and she was moving much slower. This was yesterday late afternoon when I fed the goats and the two heifers. I was surprised to see she had not progressed as much as I would have expected when I checked her at 9PM.
I went down this morning and saw her with her placenta in the process of dropping but didn't see a calf anywhere. I thought that was little strange but figured it might be in the horse barn sleeping.
I was wrong. She was standing near it cleaning up the area. The heifer was dead. It had its tongue sticking out still which leads me to believe it never moved or took a breath. Calves are born with their tongues sticking out. That, along with the fact that she was a first calf heifer five days past due with a heifer calf (not common on our farm at all) and the weird colored placenta (burnt orange instead of blood red cotyledons) lead me to believe the calf was born dead. It was not cold enough to freeze a calf that the mother cared for as she should and it was born on a hay pile (very warm).
So now we have a dead calf, a grieving mother trying to chase off the goats and no choice but to bring her in to milk her now instead of leaving her with her calf for a few days while we find space for her in the barn. This will leave a very unhappy Nikki alone down there. Though I suspect she should calve within the coming days. She is due today after all.
So far our heifer to bull count for the year is five heifer calves to one bull calf but only three heifers to show for it.
I had figured she would have a bull calf for this person I am selling this months bull calves to.
Unfortunately, my second heifer was DOA (dead on arrival) as far as I can tell.
Cadence was dripping milk from three of her four teats (would have been four but the fourth had a little dirt on it). Her ligaments had relaxed and she was moving much slower. This was yesterday late afternoon when I fed the goats and the two heifers. I was surprised to see she had not progressed as much as I would have expected when I checked her at 9PM.
I went down this morning and saw her with her placenta in the process of dropping but didn't see a calf anywhere. I thought that was little strange but figured it might be in the horse barn sleeping.
I was wrong. She was standing near it cleaning up the area. The heifer was dead. It had its tongue sticking out still which leads me to believe it never moved or took a breath. Calves are born with their tongues sticking out. That, along with the fact that she was a first calf heifer five days past due with a heifer calf (not common on our farm at all) and the weird colored placenta (burnt orange instead of blood red cotyledons) lead me to believe the calf was born dead. It was not cold enough to freeze a calf that the mother cared for as she should and it was born on a hay pile (very warm).
So now we have a dead calf, a grieving mother trying to chase off the goats and no choice but to bring her in to milk her now instead of leaving her with her calf for a few days while we find space for her in the barn. This will leave a very unhappy Nikki alone down there. Though I suspect she should calve within the coming days. She is due today after all.
So far our heifer to bull count for the year is five heifer calves to one bull calf but only three heifers to show for it.
I had figured she would have a bull calf for this person I am selling this months bull calves to.