Helping calves learn to nurse?

I have had two calves this week, and it seemed to take them several hours to figure out how nurse. On one, a friend of mine who has a lot of cows, came over and we gave it colostrum replacer with a bag and tube. It is doing fine now. The other one was born last evening, and I could not tell that it had nursed by midnight, so I went to bed very concerned. This morning it was standing in the correct position trying to nurse, so I think he may be doing ok. I just wonder how often you guys with cows try to help out with this. I don't remember from my youth ever really helping any of them, except orphans, and we had a lot of cows.

yea, for the most part the more you try to help the longer it is before they try to nurse. they can go for 6 to 8 hours before they nurse but after that you can worry. best not to rush it, stand back and enjoy the show.

They should try to nurse within a couple of minutes after first standing, one sure way to tell is if the calf pooped it nursed.

In warmer temps I?ll let them go up to 6hrs before worrying, in colder temps, no more than 2 hrs. If it is a quiet cow, as most of mine are, I can usually give the cow a tub of feed and then help the calf latch on the cow. If the cow is tougher to deal with, or I?m in a hurry to get to my day job, I?ll give the calf a bottle of artificial colostrum mix. Then I know they are good to go for 8-10hrs or so. It?s not cheap, $15 a packet, but it?s piece of mind until I can be sure the calf is nursing on its own.

It depends on if it is the cows fault or the calf for how fast I step in.

If the cow will not bond I step in right away.

If the calf is just slow to get up I will wait 4 to 6 hours.
While they should nurse in the first 2 hours a hard birth causing low oxygen levels or cold weather will make the calf slower to nurse the first time.

I wouldn't be using the bag and tube except as a very last resort. Use a bottle and powdered colostrum. Most times they'll gain strength and determination with one bottle full. The other choice is to get the cow in the chute and get a teat in the calf's mouth that way.

When I was milking cows I never had that problem. Might be a difference in dairy and beef. I sure have had the problem with miniature horses. I have had to hand milk and use a bottle for up to three days. I had one I thought had died when I went up to see if she had started to nurse or needed to milk and bottle feed. The foal could hardly so I brought the stocks up to the garage, put the mare in. I went up and brought the foal down and Dixie came out to help. I milked and she put the milk in the foals mouth with a syringe. We kept the foal up against to the foal to keep the mare calm. The mare would only let milk down for one large syringe and it took five minutes before she would let down a little milk. After the second syringe full the foal seemed to have regained its strength. It was close to midnight when we started at the garage and at two Dixie said she could not help any more. I brought the horse trailer up next to the garage and put them both in and went to bed. I went out at six in the morning and thought the foal would be dead or I would start over milking the mare in the stocks. To my surprise the foal was standing up nursing. That was the worse. I have had several I at least thought I needed to help. Only three others I had to milk and bottle for the first day to get the colostrum milk in them.

It seems to be more of an issue this year than normal. I think we are having higher stressed calves due to weather. Also it seems like some of the calves are a little early too. The instinct to nurse is one of the last things to develop in mammals.

As for Randy saying not to bag and tube. In normal weather I would agree. In cold/wet/muddy weather I will strongly disagree. That calf needs energy fast in those conditions. We see this spring. Calves born in the middle of the night we too weak to stand in the morning this year. So if you did not get them fed they would never stand on their own. The calves born in the day time where just enough warmer that they got up easier on average.

I've done it all kinds of ways from letting it go to full intervention. Cold winters more intervention We had some calves several years ago in Feb March. Those had to be washed up with warm water to dry them off and warm them up being dropped in a snow bank with no help from the cow. When we had the milk cows we used to keep some colostrum milk in the freezer for just those times just thaw out and feed. Sort of like fast food for new calves.
If using the drench bag and tube we kept the calf setting up as much as we could by blocking it up against a wall or gate till we were done with the bag. Helped to prevent drowning.

Once or twice I can remember my dad would dip his wet hand into the calf powder box and then shove his hand into the calfs mouth. The taste would wake them up. Funny how their little tails start wagging.

An old cowboy that I know used to say you have to get them started before they get stupid. Any one with much experience with cows/calves knows what he means. They usually will start unassisted, sometimes they need a little help, and sometimes they would rather die than cooperate.

(quoted from post at 10:37:17 03/31/19) An old cowboy that I know used to say you have to get them started before they get stupid. Any one with much experience with cows/calves knows what he means. They usually will start unassisted, sometimes they need a little help, and sometimes they would rather die than cooperate.

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xactly right.

Just a thought, but try having your cows calve when the weather is fit. A calf that is not cold stressed will be more alert, and nature is more likely to prevail with no cold stress on the momma and calf. Calve are not born with a winter coat for a reason, nature did not intend for any animal to give birth in the cold. I calve in May and RARELY have these type issues anymore.
To add some input on your original problem, just leave them alone for a few hours, if the calf still has a cold mouth and is looking lethargic, tube it, get it warm and alert the get home back with his momma asap. Most of the time the calf will figure it out if the cow lets it. I've had more problems with first calf heifers who don't know what to do and won't let the calf nurse and more often than not, I have to bottle feed the calf and the heifer earns a trip to the sale barn or butcher.

Sometimes I see a newborn trying to nurse between the front legs. I just shout to them "go to the udder end".

That being said I never have to help them, and the cold seems to squeeze them out. Son-in-law says they fall out when the momma's shivering. It must depend a lot on the breed, but mine can calve on a 5 degree night and everybody is fine in the morning.

From reading this thread it is obvious everyone has a different experience.