Calving season is one of the busiest times of year for a cattle producer. It is when all the work that you have put in throughout the year will begin to pay off. Many producers have already started with their calving season with others starting theirs soon.
What happens during this time can have an impact on the number of live healthy calves that you will have. Also getting your calves on a good start can play a part on their lifetime performance. Since this is where the cow/calf producers makes his living it is best to do this right.
With the busyness there are many things that can go wrong. It is always a good idea to have a plan in place in order to make the season run smoothly with less headaches. The last thing that you want is to be caught off guard by nasty winter weather and have to be scrambling for supplies.
1. Make a list and check it twice
The point of this one is to make sure that you have everything that you need and that they work properly. It never fails that if you fail to do this you will either not be able to find what you need when you need it. It will also be likely that the thing that you will need will not work properly.
You should take an inventory of:
- nurse replacer
- check that your scale is working properly
- find out if you have enough tags and markers
- that your record book is ready.
Also wouldn’t be a bad idea to make sure that your calf puller is in good condition and working like it should. This is because you will likely have to pull a calf during the coldest, nastiest part of winter. During this time it wouldn’t be a bad idea to review your health protocols with your veterinarian.
It will make things easier on you if you have a list prepared. This will make sure that you are not overlooking anything that you may need later.
2. Take inventory of forage resources
The point of this step is to make sure that you have the necessary resources to feed all of your animals during this crazy time. Do you have enough good quality hay to feed your cattle?
The nutritional demands of both keeping themselves warm, and calving are higher than normal during this time. Do you have any supplemental feed available to fill in the gaps that forage may not provide on it’s own? The last thing that you want is for bad weather to catch you unprepared.
I don’t have to tell you how important it is to have the resources that you need now and not wait till the last minute to purchase them. The way that luck usually goes is if you wait till the last minute then what you need will not be available when you really need them.
3. Have labor resources lined up
With everything you have going on in your life you may not be able to be there every hour of the day. I mean it’s more than likely that you do have a life outside of the ranch. Many producers these days are required to have jobs somewhere in town. And the ones that are full time ranchers will have obligations elsewhere such as kid’s sports games and the like.
So if you don’t have a hired hand already working for you it’s not a bad idea to have one ready when needed or have a neighbor that is willing to help. The key thing here is to have someone that is reliable and whom you can trust. It will do you no good to have someone if they won’t show up when you need them.
Whoever it is that you have helping you it is important that you go over any health protocols that you have. You should also show them where everything is stored so that if they are needing them they will be able to find them easily.
This is just for a piece of mind knowing that if for some reason you are not able to be there you will know that things will be taken care of.
4. Plan for the best, prepare for the worst
Do you have adequate shelter for your animals in case the weather turns bad? Do you have things in place in case an emergency occurs with you or your animals?
Having a plan in place tends to make things run a bit smoother. But also have the necessary resources available in case things do turn bad. It is not being pessimistic to have a back-up plan in place case things do not go how you would like them to. After all, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
A good back-up plan could include the regular and emergency number of your local vet if a medical emergency should come up. Knowing where you will move a sick or injured cow while you wait for the vet is not a bad idea either. It will work easier, not to mention be cheaper, for you if you can have the cow close to the entrance of your place. This will save both you and vet some time by not having to hunt her down.
If you are not sure what a list of things you will need for calving season may look like Miles City Ace Hardware has one that is online.
If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more then please check out my other posts here.
Review
Having a plan in place before calving season can make things less stressful for everyone involved. Some things to consider when planning this are:
- Have a list of all equipment available and make sure they are in good working order
- Make sure that you have all the forages and supplements you will need to meet nutritional demands
- Have some one lined up to help you if for whatever reason you can’t be there
- Have a back-up plan for things like medical emergencies that may come up
