Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Breeds Board
Best Beef Breeds for Adding a Second Calf Per Cow?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="farmerjan" data-source="post: 1483852" data-attributes="member: 25884"><p>Bullitt; The idea is hypothetically great. The actual practice is a WHOLE NOTHER BALLGAME.......</p><p></p><p>I do this with dairy nurse cows because I like my dairy cows and in today's climate, having a small dairy is the fastest way to go broke. Milk prices are not good, regulations are something of a nightmare, and the big milk companies don't want small farms anymore.</p><p></p><p>Trying to graft a second calf on a beef cow is looking to get the calf killed in 99% of the cases. It is hard enough to get a calf grafted on a beef cow when hers is born dead or dies shortly thereafter. Yes, the smell is one thing. I do skin the dead calf and put it on a replacement calf and it often takes me several days to get the cow to really "want" her "new baby".... Granted some are really good about taking one when they haven't had their dead one to fuss over. But for the most part, it is not easy. It is not just the smell of the hide, but also of the milk that goes through the calf. You have to get the cows milk into the calf so that when he poops, the manure also smells right to the cow.</p><p></p><p>Some cows are "color-blind", some will not take a calf that is a "different color" or say spotted or something. Been there done that..... </p><p></p><p>Also, to leave the grafted extra calf on until it weighs 300 lbs is a good 4+ months. That cow is going to use up her body reserves in a hurry producing enough milk for 2. For the first 3 months, the cow is "milking the fat off her back" as the saying goes. She is mostly in a negative energy balance. That goes for both beef and dairy although it is often more pronounced in dairy and they are fed "out the wazoo" to get them to come into production and peak. Ask anyone who has a cow that has twins. She might do a bang up job with the twins; but they are USUALLY both smaller due to the milk not being enough for 2. Sure, when we have twins, and the cow has a good deal of milk, and the constant nursing of the calves will stimulate her to produce more.... they have done well, but each will wean at 100 or more pounds less than if there was only one. Sure, you get more total pounds.... a set of char x heifer twin calves weaned at a total of just under 900 lbs. And they were nice but smaller than the heifers off some other cows that were singles. The cow also dropped alot of weight. </p><p></p><p>I also supplement with grain any cow that has twins and takes care of them both. More input. And these are both hers to start with and has taken them from the get go. </p><p></p><p>I have one jer x hol first calf heifer that raised 3 up to about 350 lbs each and they were really starting to pull the weight off her. So, I was bringing her in for some extra grain and she took over 2 of the bottle calves I had. So, now she is raising them as I completely weaned her 3 off. I have another that is 2nd calf, that has raised up 3 to nearly 300 lbs. They are eating hay and grain real good too. Lost a nurse cow that had 3 smaller calves on. So I am now putting the 3 small calves on her and then letting her 3 bigger calves in the pen to "clean her up" and to start the weaning process and then she will raise up these 3 smaller ones. Didn't plan that but since she will take them, It saves me going back to bottle feeding. Have one cow that took me 2 weeks and a good stout stick to give her a crack every time she kicked at the extra calf on her. It still only sucks her from the back. She is a beautiful jersey, who only came in with 2 quarters this time and it is her last time. </p><p></p><p>I had 5 that calved, in the barn at once, til the one died. 4 calved within a month of each other. I cannot IMAGINE trying to deal with 20 or 30. These cows are used to be handled and coming in for grain and being restrained at the feed bunk. </p><p></p><p>You don't switch the calves. You take her own calf away, then at feeding time, you put them both ( or 3) on her at the same time. She is glad to have her own calf and tolerates the other one(s) because of the relief of the pressure on the udder. After a few days, most are pretty good about it. They are also liking the grain they get to bury their nose in too. There are alot of tricks to it, but it takes A LOT OF TIME to get them situated.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="farmerjan, post: 1483852, member: 25884"] Bullitt; The idea is hypothetically great. The actual practice is a WHOLE NOTHER BALLGAME....... I do this with dairy nurse cows because I like my dairy cows and in today's climate, having a small dairy is the fastest way to go broke. Milk prices are not good, regulations are something of a nightmare, and the big milk companies don't want small farms anymore. Trying to graft a second calf on a beef cow is looking to get the calf killed in 99% of the cases. It is hard enough to get a calf grafted on a beef cow when hers is born dead or dies shortly thereafter. Yes, the smell is one thing. I do skin the dead calf and put it on a replacement calf and it often takes me several days to get the cow to really "want" her "new baby".... Granted some are really good about taking one when they haven't had their dead one to fuss over. But for the most part, it is not easy. It is not just the smell of the hide, but also of the milk that goes through the calf. You have to get the cows milk into the calf so that when he poops, the manure also smells right to the cow. Some cows are "color-blind", some will not take a calf that is a "different color" or say spotted or something. Been there done that..... Also, to leave the grafted extra calf on until it weighs 300 lbs is a good 4+ months. That cow is going to use up her body reserves in a hurry producing enough milk for 2. For the first 3 months, the cow is "milking the fat off her back" as the saying goes. She is mostly in a negative energy balance. That goes for both beef and dairy although it is often more pronounced in dairy and they are fed "out the wazoo" to get them to come into production and peak. Ask anyone who has a cow that has twins. She might do a bang up job with the twins; but they are USUALLY both smaller due to the milk not being enough for 2. Sure, when we have twins, and the cow has a good deal of milk, and the constant nursing of the calves will stimulate her to produce more.... they have done well, but each will wean at 100 or more pounds less than if there was only one. Sure, you get more total pounds.... a set of char x heifer twin calves weaned at a total of just under 900 lbs. And they were nice but smaller than the heifers off some other cows that were singles. The cow also dropped alot of weight. I also supplement with grain any cow that has twins and takes care of them both. More input. And these are both hers to start with and has taken them from the get go. I have one jer x hol first calf heifer that raised 3 up to about 350 lbs each and they were really starting to pull the weight off her. So, I was bringing her in for some extra grain and she took over 2 of the bottle calves I had. So, now she is raising them as I completely weaned her 3 off. I have another that is 2nd calf, that has raised up 3 to nearly 300 lbs. They are eating hay and grain real good too. Lost a nurse cow that had 3 smaller calves on. So I am now putting the 3 small calves on her and then letting her 3 bigger calves in the pen to "clean her up" and to start the weaning process and then she will raise up these 3 smaller ones. Didn't plan that but since she will take them, It saves me going back to bottle feeding. Have one cow that took me 2 weeks and a good stout stick to give her a crack every time she kicked at the extra calf on her. It still only sucks her from the back. She is a beautiful jersey, who only came in with 2 quarters this time and it is her last time. I had 5 that calved, in the barn at once, til the one died. 4 calved within a month of each other. I cannot IMAGINE trying to deal with 20 or 30. These cows are used to be handled and coming in for grain and being restrained at the feed bunk. You don't switch the calves. You take her own calf away, then at feeding time, you put them both ( or 3) on her at the same time. She is glad to have her own calf and tolerates the other one(s) because of the relief of the pressure on the udder. After a few days, most are pretty good about it. They are also liking the grain they get to bury their nose in too. There are alot of tricks to it, but it takes A LOT OF TIME to get them situated. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Breeds Board
Best Beef Breeds for Adding a Second Calf Per Cow?
Top