Calving Season Tips from Our Team to Yours
To kick off calving season, we interviewed a few of our resident cattlemen about tips on calving products. In addition to their roles within our feed ingredients division, Dan Heindel, Tanner Stutsman and Tyler Stutsman hail from strong livestock backgrounds.
Dan has been around cattle his entire life: from raising and showing cattle to being involved in his family-owned sale barn and working for some top show cattle producers during his collegiate years. He and his family now run a 40-head cow/calf operation with multiple breeds; their goal is to breed and raise the best show cattle they can. Additionally, Dan and his wife also have a few Herefords in Ohio. The most rewarding part of Dan’s calving season is watching a new calf being licked off, stand up, take its first steps, and get its first meal. “It makes the late nights, countless hours and all other tasks worth it. Plus, being able to share the experience with my two children now makes it so much more rewarding!”
Tanner and Tyler grew up with their family primarily feeding cattle, but in recent years they have focused on breeding, raising and showing cattle. Their herd mostly consists of Maine-Anjou and Chianina with some Angus and Simmental genetics. Tanner and Tyler both agreed that calving is the best time of the year. They enjoy seeing how their breeding decisions worked, seeing the calf nurse for the first time with its tail waving in the air, or simply watching the calves run around the pen.
Check out what these guys suggest for calving products!
There are some essentials that we always have in the barn for calving season. Colostrum is a must for calves that don’t get off to the best start and essential during the first 6-12 hours that calf is on the ground. We use #7828 Colostrx that we sell here in Hills. #8819 Achieve Pro with Cryptex goes into every calf born on our farm and has been a major help in getting them off to the right start. #S176314 Calf Warmers from Sioux are the best tool to get a calf warmed up on cold winter days. This will save more calves than any other product during stretches of severe cold. Another handy tool is their Sioux Calving Pen.
We always have OB gloves, a jack and chains or handles close by, plus disinfectant to clean them after they are used. We also keep some type of a colostrum replacer product, a tube and a bottle in the calving barn. I always like to keep a bottle of honey handy; if a calf seems lethargic after a tough birth, putting some honey on its tongue can give it a burst of energy! We bed our barn with cornstalks and straw, usually with #9823 Cowboy Wood Chips underneath to make cleaning easier. Some other essentials to have around for cow health would be #1671 NRG Calving Tub with Mag & Bio-Mas, #9722 VitaFerm Concept-Aid Mag/S, and #1741 NRG Calf Booster.
See some calving products you’d like to add or try this calving season?
Chat with your Stutsman territory sales manager or call our customer service team (319.679.5211) to add any of the mentioned calving products to your product offerings. Interested in trying some of these recommended products? Find a Stutsman dealer near you here.
