Perfect storm - stupid cows

notjustair

Well-known Member
A couple of days ago I had three new calves in the heifer pen. Two had been at the same time and one a little later. When I went to band and tag them I noticed one of the new mothers wasn?t standing over me. I finished and looked up and noticed that she was licking the other one that was born at the same time. Those to cows were standing close enough that when she turned around to start mothering she attached herself to her sisters calf. Sis was not happy with the agreement, of course. I got sis and her well-licked baby out into the alley and got the other mom and her baby into jail. She?s been in and out of the chute every few hours for junior to suck for three days now. I?m sure if he wasn?t such a brute he would have given up from the kicks. Last night for the first time he sucked only a couple of minutes and then bawled at me. I ended up fixing him a bottle. She had been slow dropping milk, but there wasn?t more than a dab last night. She still calls and mourns for that baby she swears someone stole. Now she?s drying up. It?s not like she had a bunch of milk as a heifer, but she?s been fed and watered well. She really isn?t eating. She?s busy mourning.

Can a cow overcome nature and dry up even though there is a baby sucking them? I can?t imagine it?s true since a dairy herd works, but I don?t know Holsteins and they were long gone when I started farming 40 years ago. This one stumps me. She?s in very good flesh. I wish I knew if she was always going to be a nut job - she?d go to the sale today. I think baby is along with weaned steers. I?m not doing a bottle calf! Just did that last calving and got rid of her a couple days ago. My rule has always been it works by sale day or they are gone. Today is sale day...
 
I had one a few years ago that I had to supplement her milk with a bottle for a few weeks until the pasture greened up. Once she was in good pasture,she picked up on her milk alright and the calf was happy,but it would have starved to death for sure if I hadn't given it a bottle for a while.
 
Somewhere I read that you rub something on the calf absorbing it's body odor. Then attach it to the back of the intended calf and the intended mother picks up the scent and accepts the calf. Never executed on that theory as I never had to.
 
I think just leaving them penned together will do it eventually. I had one three years ago,an older cow,abandoned her calf for some unknown reason. I penned them together for a week,bottle fed the calf,they finally paired up. I've even paired up Holstein calves on three different beef cows that lost their calves by just penning them together for as long as it took.
 
Maybe try smearing some molasses on the calf. Cow starts licking the calf enough she might take him. Of course if she's not letting down any milk then might not matter.
 
Well for what you can buy a good brood caw for right now I would ship the headache down the road. My luck is once a knot head always a knot head. Since she is drying up I would bet that she will not have more milk later. Even if she does then it will not be much to raise a good calf.

I have found if you pen cows close then you will have more trouble if they are not alone. Meaning either leave them in large pens with others or pen them alone in smaller ones.
 
I remember whenever we had a cow that didn't want her calf my dad would bring the dog close to the pen. Always seemed to work. Even had a cow almost come over the pen to get the dog.
 
I'm with JDSeller, even if I got her to accept the calf, she wouldn't be around for calving next year.

I used to work for a guy that bought all his cows at a used cow sale. They were all at the sale for a reason.
 
I had two older cows do that one time though and it only happened once. Same deal,they calved side by side at the same time and when they got up,they went to the same calf.
The opposite happened once too,both calves took to one cow and the other cow just tagged along behind them all the time and never got sucked.
 
(quoted from post at 06:34:38 03/11/18) A couple of days ago I had three new calves in the heifer pen. Two had been at the same time and one a little later. When I went to band and tag them I noticed one of the new mothers wasn?t standing over me. I finished and looked up and noticed that she was licking the other one that was born at the same time. Those to cows were standing close enough that when she turned around to start mothering she attached herself to her sisters calf. Sis was not happy with the agreement, of course. I got sis and her well-licked baby out into the alley and got the other mom and her baby into jail. She?s been in and out of the chute every few hours for junior to suck for three days now. I?m sure if he wasn?t such a brute he would have given up from the kicks. Last night for the first time he sucked only a couple of minutes and then bawled at me. I ended up fixing him a bottle. She had been slow dropping milk, but there wasn?t more than a dab last night. She still calls and mourns for that baby she swears someone stole. Now she?s drying up. It?s not like she had a bunch of milk as a heifer, but she?s been fed and watered well. She really isn?t eating. She?s busy mourning.

Can a cow overcome nature and dry up even though there is a baby sucking them? I can?t imagine it?s true since a dairy herd works, but I don?t know Holsteins and they were long gone when I started farming 40 years ago. This one stumps me. She?s in very good flesh. I wish I knew if she was always going to be a nut job - she?d go to the sale today. I think baby is along with weaned steers. I?m not doing a bottle calf! Just did that last calving and got rid of her a couple days ago. My rule has always been it works by sale day or they are gone. Today is sale day...

If she has some milk in her udder but won't let it down try giving several ccs of oxytocin.
 
(quoted from post at 06:34:38 03/11/18) A couple of days ago I had three new calves in the heifer pen. Two had been at the same time and one a little later. When I went to band and tag them I noticed one of the new mothers wasn?t standing over me. I finished and looked up and noticed that she was licking the other one that was born at the same time. Those to cows were standing close enough that when she turned around to start mothering she attached herself to her sisters calf. Sis was not happy with the agreement, of course. I got sis and her well-licked baby out into the alley and got the other mom and her baby into jail. She?s been in and out of the chute every few hours for junior to suck for three days now. I?m sure if he wasn?t such a brute he would have given up from the kicks. Last night for the first time he sucked only a couple of minutes and then bawled at me. I ended up fixing him a bottle. She had been slow dropping milk, but there wasn?t more than a dab last night. She still calls and mourns for that baby she swears someone stole. Now she?s drying up. It?s not like she had a bunch of milk as a heifer, but she?s been fed and watered well. She really isn?t eating. She?s busy mourning.

Can a cow overcome nature and dry up even though there is a baby sucking them? I can?t imagine it?s true since a dairy herd works, but I don?t know Holsteins and they were long gone when I started farming 40 years ago. This one stumps me. She?s in very good flesh. I wish I knew if she was always going to be a nut job - she?d go to the sale today. I think baby is along with weaned steers. I?m not doing a bottle calf! Just did that last calving and got rid of her a couple days ago. My rule has always been it works by sale day or they are gone. Today is sale day...

If she has some milk in her udder but won't let it down try giving several ccs of oxytocin.
 

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