Getting Ready for Calving

Calving's only a few weeks away, and if you're anything like us, this is the point where the "I'll get to it" list stops being optional. A few hours spent now walking the yards and checking gear saves a lot of headaches at 2am in a few weeks' time.

Here's what's on our list this month, might be useful for your own run-through.

Walk the calving paddocks first

Before anything else, get eyes on the actual paddocks you're calving in:

• Shelter – Is there enough shelter from wind and rain, especially for the paddocks you'll use for the first wave of calving?
• Water – Troughs working properly, no leaks, good flow rate. A trough that trickles is fine in October, not fine when you've got 40 cows drinking hard.
• Fencing – Walk the boundary, not just the gateways. A newborn calf will find the one gap in the fence you didn't know was there.
• Access – Can you actually get a vehicle in and out in the wet? Worth checking now while the ground's still firm enough to fix a track if needed.

Yards and handling gear

This is where we spend most of our time, so it's the bit we're fussiest about:

• Calving pens – Clean, dry bedding sorted, and easy access for pulling a calf if it comes to that.
• Crush and race – Give it a proper once-over. Check for worn pins, cracked welds, anything that's been "getting a bit loose" all year that you've been putting off.
• Gates and latches – Every gate that sticks or doesn't quite latch is a problem waiting for the worst possible moment to show up.
• Lighting – If you're calving in the dark hours (and you will be), make sure there's decent lighting at the yards and calving pens. A head torch is not a substitute for a light that actually illuminates the whole pen.

If your yards have been on the "next year" list for a while now, calving prep is usually the moment that decision gets made for you, either the gear holds up, or it doesn't, right when you need it most.

Calving kit

Worth pulling together now rather than hunting for it at midnight:

• Calving ropes/chains and a jack, checked and in good order
• Iodine or navel spray, stocked up
• Colostrum supplement on hand, in case
• Calf sled or trailer sorted and accessible
• Basic vet kit - gloves, lube, antiseptic
• Torch with fresh batteries (or three)

Staffing and roster

If you've got more than one person on the property, sort the calving roster now rather than working it out on day one. Decide who's doing the night checks, how often, and what the "call for help" threshold is, especially for anyone newer to calving who might not yet trust their gut on when something's not right.

Truck and transport

Don't forget the practical side, if you're moving cows to calving paddocks, or expect to be shifting calves early on, give the truck and deck a check too. Tyres, lights, deck condition. Not the time to find out about a problem when you're trying to move a cow in labour.

The week-before checklist

In the final week, we're doing one more lap of everything above, plus:

• Confirming vet contact details are current and on hand
• Double checking dates against when the first calves are actually due
• Making sure everyone on the property knows the plan

Calving always throws a curveball or two no matter how ready you are. But most of the stress comes from the stuff that could've been sorted in the weeks before, a gate that finally gives way, a trough that's not keeping up, a crush that jams at the wrong moment. A bit of time now goes a long way.

Good luck with calving this season

Here's to a smooth run.