Cow wont take to calf

kealar

Hey all.had to section a hefier 2 days ago and she wont take to the calf.vet wouldnt let me put the calf to the cow while he was stitching her and i think thats what happened..but i had to take the calf away today she was fairly heading him..now he is a strong calf and when i stand with them she will let him suck but soon as i go she lets rip...is there anything i can do or is it just a waiting game with her.....thanks..

flatout11

she wont take with the calf because she is sore, let the calf suck the opposite side and keep at it for another few days.......

Bizzum

Similar happened me a few times, but never after a section.
Keep the cow and calf separate but in visual contact, we would put a gate across the corner of the calving pen with the calf in the corner!
Let the calf in and out to suck. I suppose you tried rubbing the cleanings on the calf? I've heard meal on the calf too but never tried it, and I've heard about bringing a dog onto the scene to try and kickstart the mothering instinct in the heifer.
I found with time the penny just dropped in our heifers case.
Come to think of it one was so bad we had to sedate her for three days, to let the calf suck, lowering the dosage each day. Again the penny just dropped on day 3 and she took to reluctantly lick the calf, and on she went from there!
Best of luck with it.

KatyMac

Invest in a kick bar. It stops her being able to lift her leg to kick. Should be able to get one in Connacht Gold or similar.

EGAR

Have you got a sheep/cattledog? Let the dog in with her and the calf and she will soon defend it and take to it. Seen it done a hundred times.

Bizzum

EGAR wrote: »

Have you got a sheep/cattledog? Let the dog in with her and the calf and she will soon defend it and take to it. Seen it done a hundred times.

I'd be very very slow to let a dog into the calving pen in this case. Calf could get hurt and cow could burst stitches or at least hurt herself.
Slowly slowly I'd advise, if you want to try the ol dog trick, try it, but leave the dog outside the pen!

How is she today?

EGAR

We always have the cows in a big shed, not a pen and the dog is on a long leash, obviously that is common sense. Worked every time I seen it done with OH and his farming buddies.

kealar

Out this morning and again she giving him socks,and ive noticed now that she wont let her milk down to him either,i let another hefier and its calf into the pin just to see,and her calf is sucking her now and he was very hungery..dont know what to do,im thinkin she prob still very sore after op..i should have left the calf in front of her so she could clean him instead of listening to the vet,the cow was quite while he was stitching couldnt see the prob....guess its just a matter of paitence..:(

Figerty

Lost a calf last year, bought in a replacement. Obviously she wasn't keen on the new calf.

Only solution was a hand full of nuts in a bucket in calving gate at first and get the calf sucking. Then relase the calf gate over time, but keep the head locked.. after that leave the crush head gate loose.

Eventually the calf gets strong enough to tackle the cow on it's own.

Watched the cow licking the calf this moring,, she has eventuall stopped kicking the S**t out of him after months!

Highland

same thing happened me a few years ago. I tied the heifer to a pole in shed and left the calf with her. had to use a kick bar twice daily to allow the calf to suck - eventually it worked. tried dog too - didnt find dog any use but after a few weeks the heifer gave in and reared calf. Oxytocin injection will get her to let down the milk - talk to you vet re same

pakalasa

Same story as Figerty.....bought in calf to foster under cow that had lost hers. To say she hated the new calf was an understatement. I saw her lift him clean up in the air a few times. I had to put the cow up the chute once a day for a few months. Swore never again. I'll skin the dead calf with my teeth, if I have to.
Then one day, I see the cow standing quiet as a mouse for another calf to drink. Couldn't believe it. The other bull calf was from the same AI bull as her own calf she lost (bull too) , same color too. I thought she had gone dry from the once a day milking, as the bought foster calf wasn't thriving. I seperated both sets of cows and calves. She still wouldn't stand for the bought calf.
Then one day I go out and she's licking the calf. Now they're inseperable. Just goes to show.
Hope yours doesnt take as long.

Joe the Plumber

Just in from trying to put a bought in calf under a cow that lost her 1 month old calf yesterday.

God bless the calf gate is all I can say.

I suppose the proper commercial decission to make is put the price of the replacement calf with the the price of the dried off cow and buy a springing heifer.

Found calf dead in the middle of the field. pluricy??

Figerty

I thinks sometimes lads are too quick to dry off and sell cows.
Buying a replacement heifer isn't without risk, buying a calf isn't either but it can be made to work.

I suppose if you know why the calf lost the calf and that it won't affect future calvings then replaceing the calf is a strong option.

Figerty

Now that is going to be hardship as a month old is a serious bond.

Joe the Plumber wrote: »

Just in from trying to put a bought in calf under a cow that lost her 1 month old calf yesterday.

God bless the calf gate is all I can say.

I suppose the proper commercial decission to make is put the price of the replacement calf with the the price of the dried off cow and buy a springing heifer.

Found calf dead in the middle of the field. pluricy??

bbam

It all depends how much time you have to spare and effort you are willing to put in...
It does happen that a cow will eventually take to a foster calf but that is unusual... It is more likely that she will need to be restrained, cornered or given token meal to keep her quiet twice a day for the calf to feed...

Depending on your set-up and facilities this can be torture and quite a drain on resources..

If you can carry the loss I'd be tending to dry her off and see how next year goes... It's a killer to feed her for a year for nothing, ~€500 to keep her idle

kealar

tryed her again this evening and think she mellowed out a bit, and shes letting a drop of milk down aswell.was goin to get some dairy nuts for her but a lad was tellin me that it could give the calf scour..hopefully by the end of the week i can let them together full time...fingers crossed...

Bizzum

bbam wrote: »

If you can carry the loss I'd be tending to dry her off and see how next year goes... It's a killer to feed her for a year for nothing, ~€500 to keep her idle

Along with cost's I would cull her for two further reasons. Firstly, she had to be sectioned to calve. Secondly, she rejected her calf.

On a more positive note: Keep at it slowly and hopefully it will click in her brain that she's a mammy!

Kovu

kealar wrote: »

Hey all.had to section a hefier 2 days ago and she wont take to the calf.vet wouldnt let me put the calf to the cow while he was stitching her and i think thats what happened..but i had to take the calf away today she was fairly heading him..now he is a strong calf and when i stand with them she will let him suck but soon as i go she lets rip...is there anything i can do or is it just a waiting game with her.....thanks..

Done it myself a couple of years ago. Downer cow & after 9 days she got up, bought a calf in and bottle fed it. Then starved both cow and calf for a day. Fed the cow and let the calf in, it ignored the kicks and sucked on while she ate. Took a bit of time but worked out great in the end after a once a day feed for a week. How are they now?

Figerty

Not going to scour a calf if just give the cow a handful,, keep her licking the bottom of the bucket, and then another handful.,small amount over a uarter of an hour or so won't do any damage.

You will probably need to milk the cow some bit anyway.

kealar wrote: »

tryed her again this evening and think she mellowed out a bit, and shes letting a drop of milk down aswell.was goin to get some dairy nuts for her but a lad was tellin me that it could give the calf scour..hopefully by the end of the week i can let them together full time...fingers crossed...

kealar

Just aswell calf is as lively as he is,only thing is that he dosent stay on any one quater for very long is this not a sign that she hasnt much for him??.now he does get enough after awhile,,but thang god i think he might be getting the better of her..when the calf was finished sucking last nite te done a lap of the shed with the tail up,,love to see that..i think theres such a difference in a calf that came by section and one that came with a good pull on the jack...

Bodacious

[Quote=kealar;74740958
when the calf was finished sucking last nite te done a lap of the shed with the tail up,,love to see that..i think theres such a
difference in a calf that came by section and one that came with a good pull on th
e jack...[/Quote]

the c section calf would be livelier is it? As calf after a hard pull would be sore, stretched limbs muscles etc?

I don't know to be honest as I've never had a c section thank god