We have three herds of cattle on our operation. One have their babies in February, one in May and one in September. Each herd is managed separately. Each have their own challenges and good things.
As we are about halfway through the month of January, we start getting really serious about getting ready for babies. Cows gestation periods are 283 days, but like humans the babies could arrive early. We don’t want to haul the mommas too close to their due date to induce labor. We want them to have their babies on their time.
We are in NE Kansas. We never know what the weather might be like in February. We’re very lucky that we have good facilities. We have barns that the cows can stay in. They get locked in at night. All of the girls calving are mature cattle and have birthed several calves and know the routine.
We are cleaning out the calving barns of the equipment that get parked in there when we’re not using them for cattle. We’re setting up portable panels to give them a pen around the barn. We’re spreading lime and getting everything disinfected so they have a clean space so the babies won’t get sick when they are born. We are making sure we have tags to tag the babies so we know who their mom is. We’re making sure we have the equipment we need ready and available if a momma needs help having her baby.
We hope for good weather, but are prepared for the worst. Once the mommas have their baby and get them cleaned off and fed, the worst is over. They are monitored to make sure everything is good, before being hauled out to good grass with lots of protection. We want to keep the calving facilities as clean as possible. We want live, healthy babies and it takes a lot of preparation to make sure we do our parts so the girls so they can do theirs.
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~Matt & Kelsey