backwards babies

[WhoaFlicka]

had 2 out of 10 come backwards this spring anyone else having this problem?

 

[Still Tryin]

2 out of 25 last year and 1 out of 22 this year. Been 10 years since we had any previously. No explanation, cows were out on a pasture lot to get plenty of exercise and be able to move around to get that calf in the right place and it just didn't happen.

 

[Diamond]

past three years I have been having them, including having almost 40% born that way. no clue why ???

 

[Still Tryin]

Any theories out there?

 

[oakview]

In the 90's I had a cow that had her first three calves backwards, lost them all.  Her fourth was alive when I found it, I assumed it was presented normally.  It was my best bull calf and was found dead lying on a hillside at about 4 months of age.  She finally raised a few calves before I sold her.  I have not heard a remotely logical explanation.  One neighbor said that was the type of cow that the county agent would recommend flushing.

 

[shorty gal]

Someone told me if there was an open cow in the pen with your pregnant cows, the jumping would cause the calf to move and be backwards when born.  Believe it or not?!

 

[flacowman]

We always have one or 2 come backwards, never had problems with them getting out except on heifers though.  Oakview that sounds like a cow that deserves to make someone a nice hamburger to me...

 

[Shady Lane]

I bet these are AI calves right?

Maybe you are cutting the wrong end off the straw?

 

[aandtcattle]

The last 2 years at my place have been terrible for abnormal presentations.  I calved just over 300 at my house this year and quit counting the abnormals at about 14 and we had a few after that!  We saved most of them but it's ridiculous!  We don't ever have any opens running with our cows as we sell them off at preg check time in October.  We do winter our cows on a river bottom where they have to climb up and down cliffs and cutbanks to go back and forth from water but we have always wintered cows in this area and never had problems like we have had the last 2 years.  The first "nice" day this last winter I had 2 backwards, 1 with a leg back and 1 upside-down with the head back- all in the same day!  Days like that are hard on the liquor inventory!

 

[Freddy]

The most logical reason I have heard for backward calves in my opinion is a guy told me that large calves can't turn  when nesscessary .  I know the different people that have more than normal problems also have fairly large birth weights ....

 

[aandtcattle]

The most logical reason I have heard for backward calves in my opinion is a guy told me that large calves can't turn  when nesscessary .  I know the different people that have more than normal problems also have fairly large birth weights ....

This is not the case for us, as we focus on calving ease and use a lot of negative birthweight EPD bulls not only on our heifers but on our mature cows as well.  Our average birthweight is between 75 and 80 pounds.  If our abnormally presented calves were big cowkillers, we would have gone broke paying for c-sections the last 2 years!

 

[PAshowman]

Just had a backwards calf last night

Heatwave 1 X Angus 1st time heifer

Bred to Shiver

calf was estimated around 115lbs.  calf didnt make it and the vet had to cut it out of the cow.

the heifer was on full pasture along with just a protein block the last 90 days of pregnancy. I blamed the heatwave genetics on why the calf was so big

Any other thoughts?

 

[aandtcattle]

Yeah, my thought is, "why would anyone ever use a Heatwave clone on a first calf heifer?"  Thats just asking for trouble - no brainer.

 

[DLD]

I took that to mean that the heifer herself was sired by Heatwave1 and the calf she lost was sired by Shiver, who has been called a calving ease bull. 

I'm sure there must be other reasons for the smaller calves that are breech or some other abnormal presentation, but I can sure see the idea that bigger calves don't have the room to get into the right position, 'cause it sure seems to me like the two often go together.

 

[aandtcattle]

By gosh, DLD I beleive you are correct.  He did mean the heifer was a Heatwave x angus and the calf was sired by shiver.  Im sorry, disregard my last post, Im very sorry.

 

[rarebirdz]

this year has been strange, we covered our females with ce bulls to add maternal to our gene pool the calves aren't large but we have had out of 30 so far 5 backwards 1 of which was a breach (got her alive) and 2 with legs back. fun times <party> not

 

[JTM]

The last couple of years we have had a lot of backwards calves. The ones that were backwards were usually 100+ pounds. I haves since gotten rid of most of the culprit cows and will not be AI ing to those bulls anymore. I believe that the big calf theory has something to do with it. I also think it is genetic in some way, either by size of calf or size of cow, etc. I had one cow that had two backwards calves in a row and we got rid of her. I would definitely look at the correlation between the genetics being used, the birthweights of the calves, and if there are cows that are repeating the problem. This year has been pretty good, we have had one backwards.