IS 8 x 16 big enough area for a cow to calve in and spend 4 to 6 weeks in ?
Or is 8 x24 better.

I'm walling off a bull pen section with a round bale being one end

I'd like to make it only 16' long but that depends on what I hear from you'll.

I'll have a heat lamp and heated water tank in the roofed 8 x8 section.on the other end

As long as the cow's easy going that should be plenty big to get you by . Once the weather gets decent and the calf has a little age I'd let them into a bigger area so you don't end up with health problems in the calf

Once the calf is up and sucking good , will you need to keep it penned up? Do the have any wind breaks in the pasture? I have always found they do better in the pasture with the rest of the cows.

No reason to keep them penned up more than a couple days, and only if the calf needs a little help. Certainly not weeks for any reason. Trying to baby cattle does more harm than good.

Usually once everybody is doing fine put them in pasture with cow calf pairs. Wind breaks a bonus.
Put some straw out there for bedding seems to there liking as well.

So 8 x 16 for calving is big enough?

Lenght of cow plus length of kick plus your thickness will determine minimum size lol time 1.5 for your reaction speed add age and then send your kid in to deal with the cow lol

A 8x16 is plenty o calve in. Keep them in the pen a coupler day and turn them out. Leave it so they can get back in if they want. If you put straw out out for them. put it in the sun out of the wind.

Should be, but I’d give her a way to get outside if you keep her there more than a day or so after calving. Most calving pens aren’t much bigger than that, some are smaller. So it should be okay for calving. But as mentioned, anything is possible with heifers. They can be awful stupid.

Scott I'm sure whatever size your garage is will work just fine.

Here's what I'm starting with the 8x8 section th ladder is leaning into, and the boards are laying in will be tar papered and boarded up , boarded roof with tar paper so we'll see how tight or with less wind I can make it tomorrow. Today I got roof stringers up 24" apart.
This spring I'll tin roof that 8x8 in the Bull pen. But for now I'm working behind the game.

A few years back my cow was getting close and the weather went to - freezing. Rain/ snow high wind I put her inside 10 by 10 stall and she calved that night next morning stood a dry calf and a happy cow, two days later the weather broke and out they went. With all that said she is very gentle and broke to lead.

Mine are tame, but not that tame.

We start calving in late Feb and as long as they get dried off fast not a problem. If they are wet and it windy and cool to cold your going to have issues.

Plenty big enough.

My 3 car Garage is too full of Pickin' Treasures

This is where we like to get them Scott, if you can commandeer one of the girls hair dryers it would help.looks like I could sweep a few cobwebs. Lol

Newfox, that's a Nice Calving area....much better than I've got.

Temps are -18 up to 0 today, 28 above Tomorrow so I'm only doing a little on my calving area Today.

I have 2 hairdryers in my shop downstairs .

Far and away the main thing is to be out of the wind. Nothing wrong with taking extra care of calving cows. But thousands and thousands and thousands are born in the middle of nowhere in all kinds of weather. Cattle know where to head to get out of the wind, be it barn, brush, or swale. I used bed the cows real good for winter, deep straw and the like. Had some sick calves and neighbor came to give a couple shots. He said that barn is where they’re getting sick. They all pile in and get warm, steamy and damp, then head back outside. He said knock it off and even save on the straw bill. I haven’t looked back.