Author photo

By Drew Lawson
The Record-Times 

Calving during sudden snow

Keeping newborn calves alive in the elements

 

Last updated 4/6/2023 at 9:51am

Drew Lawson | The Record-Times

Cattle feed out of a trough at a ranch operated by Spokane Hutterite Brotherhood Livestock on Wood Road northeast of Reardan. The Gross family was one of many area ranchers scrambling to protect calves during a sudden snowstorm Sunday, April 2.

DAVENPORT - While a sudden blizzard of snow in parts of eastern Lincoln County Sunday and Monday forced most citizens to take cover indoors, area ranchers were forced to take the opposite approach: heading outside to make sure their calves and cattle were safe.

After all, it is calving season for many, and making sure newborn calves without survival skills stayed alive was top of mind for ranchers.

Washington State University Livestock Extension Specialist Don Llewellyn said getting calves out of the wind and water is critical for survival.

"In the first week of life, a calf is really susceptible," Llewellyn said. "It's really important you get them out of the wind and out of the wet."

Edwall-based rancher Tyler Moos, whose family ranch started calving in early March, said ensuring calves have dry straw beds to warm up on is critical.

"You can't put a value on that," Moos said.

Mucky and frosty conditions that come after a quick snow melt also need to be avoided, if possible, Llewellyn said.

"When you expose a calf to that muck, there's a greater chance of pathogens," Llewellyn said. "That can lead to calf scours...which can lead to secondary infections, which can lead to pneumonia."

Moos said calves were checked on every 90-120 minutes to ensure survival this weekend. All the young lived to see another day, he said.

"You just got to make sure you have a lot of hay ready to go," Moos said.

Making sure calves are watered and fed is doubly important in suddenly bad weather, Llewellyn noted.

"If the calf has a belly full of milk, they can tolerate quite a bit," Llewellyn said.

Davenport-based Wheatland Veterinary Clinic veterinarian Todd Winzer said many ranchers use a "hot box" to keep calves safe.

"It's like a large plastic doghouse with a heater," Winzer said. "The old-school method a lot of ranchers use if they don't have hot boxes is to bring calves into the bathtubs and literally bathe them that way."

Spokane Hutterite Brotherhood Livestock manager Ed Gross, whose family ranches on Wood Road northeast of Reardan and 22 miles south of Sprague, said his crew "basically lived" with cattle on the Sprague-area ranch to keep calves safe.

That's a move Winzer said is especially important when a calf is born that day.

"Those first 12 hours are critical, and wind breaks are essential," Winzer said. "You gotta be there, otherwise you'll just simply have a dead calf. If they're born into a snowbank or creek (without care), they'll die in a few hours."

Livestock handler Conrad Gross added that the cattle near Sprague are rotated through several feeding pastures. During this weekend's storm, cattle were in a 5,000-acre field with tall grasses that helped keep calves warm.

About 50 calves were born in this stretch, and all survived, Conrad Gross said.

That was less of a concern on Wood Road, where the Gross family has pens available to round up cattle and keep the animals safe.

Checking calves that are born to first-time mother heifers should be top of mind since the heifers have less experience caring for young in sudden winter-like conditions, Llewellyn added.

Winzer noted the financial importance of keeping calves alive, no matter the weather conditions.

"Any calf that dies is $1,400," he added. "If you lose 10 calves, that hurts."

Snowfall takes area by suprise

DAVENPORT - The National Weather Service reported 0.32 inches of snow fell in a sudden blizzard that hit parts of eastern Lincoln County and western Spokane County Sunday, April 2, but some locals reported seeing totals as high as five inches.

The snow melted nearly as quickly as it arrived, negating the need for the county to break out snow plows.

"It's going to melt so quick, so we didn't have anything out," Public Works director Dave Orvis said.

Washington State Patrol responded to two car crashes on Interstate 90 near Sprague, but the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office didn't receive reports of any weather-related crashes elsewhere, undersheriff Jesse Allen said.

Author Bio

Drew Lawson, Editor

Author photo

Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Our Family of Publications Includes:

Cheney Free Press
Ritzville Adams County Journal
Whitman County Gazette
Odessa Record
Franklin Connection
Davenport Times
Spokane Valley News Herald
Colfax Daily Bulletin

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024