calf suck spike?

defadman

I have a bit of a problem, I'm weaning a calf at home and i was wondering what I'm going to do when letting the cow and calf back out to the fields.I have mainly steers on my farm and have 1 cow and calf aswell.There is no space to seperate the cow and calf for long term and i was fearing that the calf will go back sucking again.A man told me however that there is a noose you put on a calf that has spikes and that stops the calf from sucking....was wondering has anyone any experience with these spikes and what should I do

bob charles

sell one or the other I would think, never like the use of those anti-sucking spikes, I would think forage intakes would be reduced but maybe thats just my thinking

kevohmsford

Yes the spikes work very well. We used to seperate the cows and calves but the spikes really work. Just be careful that calves nose does not grow around the spike. Also use cable ties to make sure the spike stays on the calve.

The Real Elmer Fudd

I had a problem a couple of years back with 2 2 year old heifers who started to suck each other. I put one of those anti sucking spikes on each of them for about 8 weeks and it worked a treat. However, i would also be of the opinion that they may inhibit their forage to some extent.

Simplest option as pointed out already is to sell one or the other.

leg wax

sell the calf ,what else is going to happen only the calf will suck is it so hard to fence off the calf on his own or better still the cow.they were not made for this job,but for a lot older stock who like the tit.

snowman707

sell both, it's obvious you are not geared up for suckling

stick with the cattle

defadman

I dont want to sell either because the cow and calf are of show quality

Bizzum

defadman wrote: »

I dont want to sell either because the cow and calf are of show quality

I suppose your options are limited. I have used 2 types of those anti-sucking devices. A plastic one that I found poor and an aluminium type one, that I found excellent.
I've only used them in the short term to break a bad habit, but if you have weaned the calf and don't have much options, try it and see how you get on.
I take it the cow is heavy in calf, 8 mths gone?

leg wax

defadman wrote: »

I dont want to sell either because the cow and calf are of show quality

put a picture up on the photo thread please,what are you going to do with the calf then show him.