Calf born early yesterday?

[Black and Good]

Had a first calf heifer that was'nt on my radar yet lay down and have a little heifer yesterday at 271 days. Very little calf but seems strong it got up very quick. My questions are; The mom looks like her bag was not ready for the calf, but I watched the calf suck for quite a while will her bag get bigger now? Also if that caf is up and sucking is she out of the woods. BTW shes traveling alot. Is there a shot I should give her to help jump start her? Thanks in advance. B&G

 

[Anonymous]

You've already gotten past the big potential problems. Just let nature do its thing and keep an eye open for all the normal problems that can come up n

 

[dun]

Make sure the calf craps and note the color consistency. If it has and it's a yelloish color and sticky she should b fine unless the cow dries up.

 

[inyati13]

dun, would you explain that deal on their first crap. I was told by a farmer that you want to see the calf get up, start nursing to get some colostrum, and while it is nursing the mom will lick the anus to stimulate the first bowel movement. I have in fact seen mine do this. He said if you don't think the bowels have moved, you should rub the anal area so the calf will crap. Is this true? Is this to clear the bowels of accumulated feces resulting from the in vivo phase?

 

[Anonymous]

The first poo is dark and sticky. It's more of a plug than a poo. After that it should be the yellow stuff the dogs like to eat

 

[Black and Good]

Make sure the calf craps and note the color consistency. If it has and it's a yelloish color and sticky she should b fine unless the cow dries up.

Dun,she was born bout 1:30 pm yesterday. I've yet to see any sign of poop on the calf itself but I'm pretty sure by looking at mom that she has sucked today. I just checked my cows. Calf was up against the barn sleeping. Should I just keep an eye on her for now? So far I've just left them out with rest of the cows, I did'nt see a need to bring them in the barn as weather is great Mid 40's day and mid 30's night all this week. LOL my kids already named her "Groundhog" :tiphat:

 

[Black and Good]

The first poo is dark and sticky. It's more of a plug than a poo. After that it should be the yellow stuff the dogs like to eat

Thanks Hook, I guess I'll just keep watching for now. B&G

 

[kenny thomas]

Quit worrying, if the calf has been born ok, got up and sucked, and is laying naping let mother nature take care of it. Mother nature has been doing cattle lots longer than you and I. It should be fine

 

[Black and Good]

Quit worrying, if the calf has been born ok, got up and sucked, and is laying naping let mother nature take care of it. Mother nature has been doing cattle lots longer than you and I. It should be fine

Thanks Kenny, Thats my way of thinking but, with all the things going on with born early,moms utter and stuff I was second guessing myself. Thanks for reassuring me! B&G :tiphat:

 

[Isomade]

dun, would you explain that deal on their first crap. I was told by a farmer that you want to see the calf get up, start nursing to get some colostrum, and while it is nursing the mom will lick the anus to stimulate the first bowel movement. I have in fact seen mine do this. He said if you don't think the bowels have moved, you should rub the anal area so the calf will crap. Is this true? Is this to clear the bowels of accumulated feces resulting from the in vivo phase?

He got one thing wrong. If you don't see the calf crap do not rub the anus! You should always lick the anus yourself just like its mother does for it to work. Please post pics ASAP so we can verify you are doing it correctly.

 

[ohiosteve]

dun, would you explain that deal on their first crap. I was told by a farmer that you want to see the calf get up, start nursing to get some colostrum, and while it is nursing the mom will lick the anus to stimulate the first bowel movement. I have in fact seen mine do this. He said if you don't think the bowels have moved, you should rub the anal area so the calf will crap. Is this true? Is this to clear the bowels of accumulated feces resulting from the in vivo phase?

He got one thing wrong. If you don't see the calf crap do not rub the anus! You should always lick the anus yourself just like its mother does for it to work. Please post pics ASAP so we can verify you are doing it correctly.

This is solid advice, after all it is on the internet so you know it is true.

 

[Chris H]

Had a first calf heifer that was'nt on my radar yet lay down and have a little heifer yesterday at 271 days. Very little calf but seems strong it got up very quick. My questions are; The mom looks like her bag was not ready for the calf, but I watched the calf suck for quite a while will her bag get bigger now? Also if that caf is up and sucking is she out of the woods. BTW shes traveling alot. Is there a shot I should give her to help jump start her? Thanks in advance. B&G

Got your bull pulled? We had a 2 year old calve that much early in Sep and darned if she didn't turn around and get bred on the date that was her due date.
It's too late now, but when we have one that is slow nursing or we doubt the mothers milk quality/quantity, we'll give a bag of colostrum within 12 hours. You can get small bags that only make 1 quart.

 

[Black and Good]

Had a first calf heifer that was'nt on my radar yet lay down and have a little heifer yesterday at 271 days. Very little calf but seems strong it got up very quick. My questions are; The mom looks like her bag was not ready for the calf, but I watched the calf suck for quite a while will her bag get bigger now? Also if that caf is up and sucking is she out of the woods. BTW shes traveling alot. Is there a shot I should give her to help jump start her? Thanks in advance. B&G

Got your bull pulled? We had a 2 year old calve that much early in Sep and darned if she didn't turn around and get bred on the date that was her due date.
It's too late now, but when we have one that is slow nursing or we doubt the mothers milk quality/quantity, we'll give a bag of colostrum within 12 hours. You can get small bags that only make 1 quart.

Thanks for the input. Nope no Bull in there. I have some Colostrum. But I can't make myself believe that Heifer is not going to have heck of a bag as her mom did. Thanks everyone. I'll keep you all posted on how their doing. B&G

 

[greybeard]

He got one thing wrong. If you don't see the calf crap do not rub the anus! You should always lick the anus yourself just like its mother does for it to work. Please post pics ASAP so we can verify you are doing it correctly.

This is solid advice, after all it is on the internet so you know it is true.

"Uhh--Bon Jour."