The Rural Voice, 1991-02, Page 30r
CALVING AT THE CARPENTERS
Their smooth -running system spells success — and less stress
A successful calving season starts
well before the first calf drops to the
straw. No one knows this better than
Kristine and Andrew Carpenter,
whose calving management system
relies on pre -planning and prepar-
ations that begin months ahead of the
first birth of the year.
The Carpenters use Herefords as a
base in their commercial cow/calf
operation near Arbor Vitae in north-
western Ontario. Twelve miles north
of Pinewood on Highway 619, you'll
find one of the best organized farms
around: annually calving out about
100 cows within 40 days, Andrew and
Kristine have devised a system that
emphasizes careful breeding, effi-
ciency, and, most of all, herd health.
You won't find any cattle in the
barnyard through the winter months.
Keeping a hygienic calving area is one
of the Carpenters' first rules, espec-
ially for first -calf heifers that haven't
built up the immunity of old-time
cows. The farm's 640 acres and many
outbuildings afford plenty of room for
wintering quarters, maternity ward,
Kristine Carpenter and the intercom.
by Darene Yavorsky
photos by Daniel Holm
calving pens, and separate "nurseries":
one for the new mothers who are fed
oats, and another for the old pros.
By early February, the pens,
shelters, and yards are clean and ready
with thick, dry bedding. "Two weeks
before calving," says Andrew, "we
bring the cows home, and once they
pass their first water bag we move
them into the shelter barn. If they
have problems outside, it can be pretty
hard to catch up to the cow!"
Mothering pens in another barn
include two insulated rooms equipped
with adjustable heat lamps. In cold
weather, the insulated pens "warm up
really quickly," says Kristine, "and
there's room for the mum and her calf.
One pen is a little bigger; we use that
one for twins."
The Carpenters are firm believers
in the "bring -'em -in, move -'em -out"
method of calving. Twenty-four hours
in the barn is the limit. "We used to
leave them in the barn for three days,"
says Kristine, "but they got scours.
We decided then that they'd have to
come out of there sooner." Adds
Andrew: "And we disinfect the pens
with lime after every cow."
An outbreak of scours can be a
memorable event. "In 1975," Andrew
recalls, "we were in the barn day and
night — scours like crazy. That's
when we decided we'd have to keep a
clean bed for the calves. That was a
big decision, and it helped a lot."
"We've never had a calf that died
of scours," adds Kristine. "That year
we didn't, either. And we haven't had
that problem since then."
When other farms in the district
were battling scours last year, the
Carpenters had only one incident.
Keeping pens and barn yards scraped
clean right down to the ground is the
solution, according to Andrew. "1
clean my barnyards every two or three
days. It takes a little fuel, but I think
it's worth it."
Not only is the risk of infection
reduced, but a barnyard kept free of
humps and hollows is safer, too. A
cow that stretches on her side and rolls
back into a hole won't survive for
long; if not noticed in time, she and
her unborn calf can amount to a costly
loss. "Since I've been keeping the
yards level, we haven't had that prob-
lem, either," says Andrew. "And
there's not so much mess there in the
spring. It's cleaner." In the mean-
time, he's found that manure and
straw scrapings are just as good as
round bales when it comes to making
windbreaks.
Andrew's ability as an innovator
really shines in his portable calf sling:
its canvas "cradle" supports the calf
comfortably — no noisy moveable
metal parts to rattle and frighten the
animal — and the unit conveniently
hooks onto any barn stall or fence rail.
Andrew Carpenter: look after cattle.
26 THE RURAL VOICE