bawling cow

[lonesome dove]

We have 1 cow & she was inseminated last fall. It appears as if she is pregnant. Why does she bawl so much? Is there a pre-natal food supplement she should be receiving? Is she lonely? Or, are some cows just loud and obnoxious? :?:

 

[Beefy]

some cows are loud and obnoxious, especially if theyre hooked on crackrock. i mean feed. could this be the case?

 

[msscamp]

Although some cows can be rather vocal, generally speaking, the only time we had cows - or calves, for that matter - bawling were when they were hungry, or at weaning time. What are you feeding this animal, how much, and how often?

 

[lonesome dove]

She eats a 65lb bale of alfalfa-hay over 2.5 days and grazes on .5acre prarie grass. She has plenty of water and a salt lick.

 

[msscamp]

Ok, she appears to be pregnant. If so, her nutritional requirements went up because of the calf she is carrying. Are you feeding her once a day or twice a day? .5 acres of pasture is not enough to really make much difference one way or the other, so I would discount it entirely and chalk it up to exercise. Increase her hay to a 65lb bale every day and a half, and feed her twice a day. It sounds like she is simply hungry. You might also consider putting out some mineral for her, because it is an essential need for cattle.

 

[dun]

In addition to msscamp's recommendations, she could also be wanting other companionship if she is the only cow you have

dun

 

[lonesome dove]

She is the only cow we have. No room for another one really...especially after she calves. She gets her hay 2x daily. We will up the portion and find mineral. Do you think the baby has been hurt not being fed enough?

 

[dun]

She is the only cow we have. No room for another one really...especially after she calves. She gets her hay 2x daily. We will up the portion and find mineral. Do you think the baby has been hurt not being fed enough?

Calf should be ok, but being herd animals, cattle do much better with companionship.

dun

 

[lonesome dove]

Given the limited pasture, would a small goat help to keep her company?

 

[msscamp]

That is hard to say but, unless the cow is severly under-conditioned (and it doesn't sound like that is the case), probably not. The biggest part of what she is being fed will go to the calf, leaving the cow to make do with what is left. She is the one who will show the effects - i.e. probable loss of weight, sunk in in front of the hip bones, etc. Alfalfa can't make up for lack of mineral, but it is very good feed. You did very well by choosing to feed her that!

 

[sidney411]

She is more then likely lonely, I don't think a goat would be much company but I have no experiece w/ goats. She needs another bovine. Are there any other cattle boardering your pasture? She may just be calling to them.

 

[randiliana]

Ok, she appears to be pregnant. If so, her nutritional requirements went up because of the calf she is carrying. Are you feeding her once a day or twice a day? .5 acres of pasture is not enough to really make much difference one way or the other, so I would discount it entirely and chalk it up to exercise. Increase her hay to a 65lb bale every day and a half, and feed her twice a day. It sounds like she is simply hungry. You might also consider putting out some mineral for her, because it is an essential need for cattle.

WOW, msscamp, our bulls can't hardly eat 65lbs a day!! I personally think that providing the hay is good quality (green and not real coarse) that 65 lbs over 2 days should be enough hay. Our cows average 30 lbs of feed per day.

I agree on the mineral.

 

[Aero]

Given the limited pasture, would a small goat help to keep her company?

it could at least do a little weed eating.

 

[Sir Loin]

Re:

We have 1 cow ---Why does she bawl so much?

Because she is lonely.
Cattle are “herd” animals and not only do they do best in a herd, they are not content without one.

Now that she is pregnant she is simply calling for a herd for their protection for her and her calf.
She is simple exhibiting what is known as “herd instinct”.

Is that scary, or what?
SL

 

[msscamp]

Ok, she appears to be pregnant. If so, her nutritional requirements went up because of the calf she is carrying. Are you feeding her once a day or twice a day? .5 acres of pasture is not enough to really make much difference one way or the other, so I would discount it entirely and chalk it up to exercise. Increase her hay to a 65lb bale every day and a half, and feed her twice a day. It sounds like she is simply hungry. You might also consider putting out some mineral for her, because it is an essential need for cattle.

WOW, msscamp, our bulls can't hardly eat 65lbs a day!! I personally think that providing the hay is good quality (green and not real coarse) that 65 lbs over 2 days should be enough hay. Our cows average 30 lbs of feed per day.

I agree on the mineral.

Randi, if you divide 65 by 3 feedings you'll find it comes out to 21 lbs/feeding. The original poster did not mention the age or weight of this cow, and given that she is pregnant, I don't think that is an unreasonable amount of hay given she has no pasture to speak of.

 

[milkmaid]

Ok, she appears to be pregnant. If so, her nutritional requirements went up because of the calf she is carrying. Are you feeding her once a day or twice a day? .5 acres of pasture is not enough to really make much difference one way or the other, so I would discount it entirely and chalk it up to exercise. Increase her hay to a 65lb bale every day and a half, and feed her twice a day. It sounds like she is simply hungry. You might also consider putting out some mineral for her, because it is an essential need for cattle.

WOW, msscamp, our bulls can't hardly eat 65lbs a day!! I personally think that providing the hay is good quality (green and not real coarse) that 65 lbs over 2 days should be enough hay. Our cows average 30 lbs of feed per day.

I agree on the mineral.

My nurse cows will eat a 60+ pound bale per day and be looking for more.

 

[randiliana]

Randi, if you divide 65 by 3 feedings you'll find it comes out to 21 lbs/feeding. The original poster did not mention the age or weight of this cow, and given that she is pregnant, I don't think that is an unreasonable amount of hay given she has no pasture to speak of.

That is true, but that would also depend on how much time was between feedings. If the were to feed a 65 lb bale over 2 days (doees'nt matter how many feedings) that cow would get 32.5 lbs per day. Unless she is a really big cow, that should be more than enough. That is more than we feed our cows when they are in late pregnancy (and ours don't have any pasture at that time either). Now, this also depends on the quality of the hay and weather conditions(more feed if it is really cold). You are supposed to feed about 2.5%-3% of the animals body weight per day.

 

[Sir Loin]

If she hasn’t eaten every blade of grass from under the fence and 6 in. past the fence and every leaf on every tree, she isn’t hungry.
A hungry cow will only bawl when her food provider is in sight. If you can hear her bawling from inside your house or at night, it’s not food that she wants, it’s company.

If you doubt this, just borrow a cow from a neighbor and put with here and I will almost guarantee you the bawling will stop.
Or, put her on free choice hay and see if she stops bawling. If she does not, then food is not what she is requesting.

And BTW, a pregnant cow will do just fine on 1 or 2 lbs of grain twice per day and free choice hay, when pastures are poor. Plus water, a mineral block and shade.
SL

 

[lonesome dove]

I'm tending to agree with the loneliness theory. There are no other bovines near, a few horses about 4 houses away that I never hear or smell. She just turned 2yrs. I couldn't guess on her weight...enough to scare me and make me feel like play dough when we're both near the fence and I'm not wirey. She is not sunk in at the hips at all but shouldn't she be dropping a calf soon? She was inseminated in July.We've been feeding her approx 13lbs of feed 2x daily so 26lbs total daily. It sounds like we should up that to 30-40lbs total? You all have been very helpful. Thanks.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

She was inseminated in July.We've been feeding her approx 13lbs of feed 2x daily so 26lbs total daily.

When in July was she inseminated? Was she checked at a later date and determined pregnant?

If she was inseminated at the end of July, and was later determined to be pregnant, then she should be having that calf real soon. They can go over their due date by as much as 10 days or more.

26lbs of feed is a whole lot of feed. :shock: Unless you are refering to the hay. If you are talking about the hay, 25 to 30 lbs a day is okay. Salt lick and some loose mineral. The loose mineral is better than a mineral block.

Katherine