BOTTLE TEATS

[piedmontese]

I have a heifer that is about to wean her first calf and everything is fine except that she has bottle teats.is this going to be a problem n the future? it did not cause her or her calf any trouble but i am just wondering if this will become a problem later on and if i should sale her now.

 

[backhoeboogie]

There's no real absolute answer. I have seen them go a life time with no problems. I had one that concerned me after her first calf. Year after year it gradually declined.

I've got one I am debating on now. I figure she is going to be going for hamburger either way and since I have had grass, she's stuck around.

On a side note, I don't think I can ever accept a bovine being called a "heifer" after she has calved.

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

The bottle teats could become a problem -- and are hereditary so it is a cull factor around here.

that being said - we kept one cow with bottle teats that never got to be an issue because she always raised heavy calves; however, we never registered her calves - we strictly sold them as feeders just in case. Last year she was 11 years old and came up open - so off to hamburger land she went.

 

[pdfangus]

My benchmark has long been.....
Did I have to help a calf nurse.....
If I wanted to milk cows I would have bought a milking machine.
I have had lots of cows that it took a calf several days to make it around to all the teats. But I tried not to worry and usually in a few days every thing was all right. some of these cows might have had too much milk but in a few days things were okay.
Usually if I had to help a calf then that was the last calf for that cow.
last cow I had to help a calf with was a kicker. she loved her calf and would near fight you over him but then she would pop him when he was nursing. had to fool with her for nearly two weeks. she was a heck of a cow and he turned out to be a nice calf but it was her last.

 

[msscamp]

I have a heifer that is about to wean her first calf and everything is fine except that she has bottle teats.is this going to be a problem n the future? it did not cause her or her calf any trouble but i am just wondering if this will become a problem later on and if i should sale her now.

The answer is going to depend on what you call bottle tits. Bottle tits to me is a tit too big for a newborn calf to latch onto and suck, or will soon be too big for a newborn calf to latch onto and suck, and yes, that is going to be a problem in the future. There is also the fact that bad udders tend to be about 25% heritable, and for it to show up in a first time heifer is not a good thing. Are bottle tits, something you really want in your herd? Do you have any history on this heifer? What did her mother's udder look like after a year or so? Considering that this is her first calf and her tits are already apparently enlarged beyond the norm, I believe I would be selling her. However, she is not my heifer so the choice is yours.

 

[piedmontese]

I have a heifer that is about to wean her first calf and everything is fine except that she has bottle teats.is this going to be a problem n the future? it did not cause her or her calf any trouble but i am just wondering if this will become a problem later on and if i should sale her now.

The answer is going to depend on what you call bottle tits. Bottle tits to me is a tit too big for a newborn calf to latch onto and suck, or will soon be too big for a newborn calf to latch onto and suck, and yes, that is going to be a problem in the future. There is also the fact that bad udders tend to be about 25% heritable, and for it to show up in a first time heifer is not a good thing. Are bottle tits, something you really want in your herd? Do you have any history on this heifer? What did her mother's udder look like after a year or so? Considering that this is her first calf and her tits are already apparently enlarged beyond the norm, I believe I would be selling her. However, she is not my heifer so the choice is yours.

her titts are'nt too big for the calf.they r bigger at the top and then they get normal size.her mom has a nice udder and nice titts.i think that i will keep her and let her calve again and if it is not any worse i will continue to keep her.i doubt it can get so bad that she cant at least raise her next calf.