VENTING!!!

[justme]

I'm so mad I can spit nails!  Lost my first calf of the year!!!! dang it!  Heifer calved 2 weeks early, coyotes got to it and we found it dead.  I could kick myself in the hind end.  It would have been my first Mucho Dinero calf!

We seen the bull breed this heifer so never dreamt she was due to her A.I. date.  Didn't even see her start to bag up until it was to late!  

whew...I don't feel 100% but at least I feel a little better.

 

[farmboy]

happens to the best of us  :-\

 

[justme]

I just blame myself for not seeing her coming on...now I'm paranoid!

 

[forbes family farms]

Sorry to hear about your first calf of the year dying don't you just wish you could go back in time and replace everything.

 

[justme]

More than you can ever imagine.  It was out of a Total Package heifer and our bull that was reserve at the Iowa Beef expo.  It was one of the most anticipated calves we were expecting.  What makes me madder is those darn coyotes tore it up so much we cann't even tell if it was a heifer or a bull (argue)

 

[kanshow]

Oh blankety blank!  I'm right there with you! 

 

[CAB]

Sorry Gidget. It happens to us more on the first one more than any other. It seems like over the years I have lost more first of the season's first calves than I have had born alive. Hope that I can take a lesson from you and get better prepared for my own first one. We have 2 due on the 14th of March, so will see. Hope the next ones are better for you. Brent

 

[DL]

This may or may not help your bovine guilt but in the cases I am aware of here where coyotes chewed on the newborn calf,  the calf was born dead,  the dam knew this and decided not to protect the calf. You can determine if it was born dead by looking at the lungs - if they were not inflated (ie pink and air filled) the calf was born dead.

 

[afhm]

Take my philosophy I fyou don't have em you can't lose em.

 

[Clark Club Calves]

If you have LIVEstock you will have DEADstock

 

[Bulldaddy]

I agree with CAB, the calf was probably already dead.  I have seen my cows chase coyotes out of the pasture.  We have lots of them and have never lost a calf to one.  Saw one with a fawn in its mouth last spring.  It is always tough to lose a calf but there was probably nothing you could have done.

 

[frostback]

I'm so mad I can spit nails!  Lost my first calf of the year!!!! dang it!  Heifer calved 2 weeks early, coyotes got to it and we found it dead.  I could kick myself in the hind end.  It would have been my first Mucho Dinero calf!

We seen the bull breed this heifer so never dreamt she was due to her A.I. date.  Didn't even see her start to bag up until it was to late!  

whew...I don't feel 100% but at least I feel a little better.

It may not have been the AI since you saw the bull breed her and it came too early and was dead or did not live long. Too bad either way, I lost my first too but the second is running around cute as can be. Chin up it will get better. Frostie

 

[DL]

I agree with CAB, the calf was probably already dead.  I have seen my cows chase coyotes out of the pasture.  We have lots of them and have never lost a calf to one.  Saw one with a fawn in its mouth last spring.  It is always tough to lose a calf but there was probably nothing you could have done.

Hey Bulldaddy - you are actually agreeing with me and since that is a rarity I figured I'd better point it out  ;D

 

[frostback]

I'm so mad I can spit nails!  Lost my first calf of the year!!!! dang it!  Heifer calved 2 weeks early, coyotes got to it and we found it dead.  I could kick myself in the hind end.  It would have been my first Mucho Dinero calf!

We seen the bull breed this heifer so never dreamt she was due to her A.I. date.  Didn't even see her start to bag up until it was to late!  

whew...I don't feel 100% but at least I feel a little better.

It may not have been the AI since you saw the bull breed her and it came too early and was dead or did not live long. Too bad either way, I lost my first too but the second is running around cute as can be. Chin up it will get better. Frostie

Read that again and I am going to bed because what I said was off. Either way too bad Justme. 

 

[DLD]

Sorry to hear it justme.  Like CAB, I've lost that first one of the season more than once myself, and it's tough starting off on that note. The fact that it was a highly anticipated mating can only make it that much more disappointing, but it's just one of those things.  Once you get a few babies running around, it'll be a little easier to take.

 

[Bulldaddy]

I agree with CAB, the calf was probably already dead.  I have seen my cows chase coyotes out of the pasture.  We have lots of them and have never lost a calf to one.  Saw one with a fawn in its mouth last spring.  It is always tough to lose a calf but there was probably nothing you could have done.

Hey Bulldaddy - you are actually agreeing with me and since that is a rarity I figured I'd better point it out  ;D

Come on now, I agree with you every time you are right. Ha! Ha!

 

[vc]

Coyotes are getting more and more brasin, the ranch where we have our cows had a month old calf killed by a pack of coyotes. The ranch manager had checked on the cows last Monday evening, went back Tuesday to check on the cows that where due, saw some crows circling in the pasture as he approached he saw 6 coyotes feeding on something, turns out to be a month old ET shorthorn heifer who had been doing great up to that point. A cow can run off a couple coyotes but when the number becomes to great she cant run them all off, as she chases one the others dart in. Pasture they are in is about 10 minutes from the ranch house. We have 3 cows they run with theirs, we had a calf get the scours last year, he was just starting to get back healthy when the coyotes got him. Needles to say there is a little hunting going on now.

Sorry to hear about your calf.

 

[Downtown Pete]

had a guy tell me one time that you just as well tear out the first and last page of your calving book because looking at it will just depress you.  i totally argee with this statement...

 

[kobo_ranch]

Not sure where all you guys are that have the horrible coyote problems but I certainly feel for you.  We have a few down here in TX but not many, our local trappers help us a whole lot with them.  We raise cattle and sheep and have never had a problem with the cattle and coyotes.  Our biggest problem right now is the huge black headed buzzards that are here from Mexico.  They are truly a nuisance... not supposed to shoot them either... several of our ewes will have triplets and before they can finish delivering the 3rd one those damn buzzards will swoop in and get the first 2.  Not always but sure have to watch em.
We lost our first calf year before last died on the side of the hill in this Texas heat (Aug born) dehydrated before we got home from work.  Made us sick so understand how you feel.

 

[Bulldaddy]

Yeah, Kobo Ranch, we have problems here in central texas with those blankety, blank Mexican Buzzards.  If you shoot one just don't tell anyone.  Also, I carry a spray bottle filled with water to wet down those august calves.  They have trouble regulating their body temp when it is 100 plus outside and the water sure seems to help.  No matter what you do, you will lose one every once in a while.