I have 8 heifers that I retained last year in a small barn corral. 4 of the heifers have calved, and one looks close. The heifer that is close was bagged up pretty heavy, but then I noticed that she is allowing the other's calfs nurse her. Should I seperate her or is this ok? I was wondering if her new calf won't have any colostrum or maybe the heifer won't claim her calf if she begins to adopt one of the other calfs.
calves stealing milk
- Thread starter Lazy M
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
Lazy M":1n41lkiv said:
I would separate her ASAP.
randiliana
Well-known member
Separate her for sure. They only make so much colostrum.
Tim/South
Well-known member
Since she has allowed the other calves to nurse then she probably will even after she has calved her own. The older calves will steal the milk her calf needs. You will probably have to always keep her separate or her baby will suffer.
randiliana
Well-known member
I don't know if I really agree with that or not. Heifers are dumb, but usually by the second calf they get it all figured out. I know watching a bunch of heifers with young calves on them will drive anyone nuts. It's just a milk bonanza for any calf.....
Where are you located Lazy M?
Nesikep
Well-known member
Yep, separate her, If she's a good producer, later in life she should have enough milk for her own, and the occasional theft... It's not lost milk.. it's just extra weight on a different calf. Gotta make sure her calf gets enough when it's young. Around here there's a lot of milk stealing going arouind when the cows are all at the feed bunk and concentrated on eating... Last year I saw 2 calves both stealing from the other's mother, side by side. As long as it's in moderation, I don't think it's too big a deal... once they're on pasture it's a lot harder for them to steal milk too.
We surely beleive in seperateing those calved out from them that are waiting to calf,especially heifers as they are'nt real great colostrom producers. On older cow's we are'nt as concerned as real range cows will not usually allow much fooling around. I was told that a lot of exotics were not overly concerned whose calf nursed who , do'nt know as we only run the old english breeds.
Lazy M":23qu1a6u said:
Ever been to Greensburg? We bought some really nice Angus heifers in the fall of 2012 from a man named CR Mears.
Lazy M":umg864sn said:
We are very pleased with the bred heifers we bought from him. Of the 15 all but 1 calved within 45 days and the one that slipped her calf in January 2013 delivered a healthy bull calf in early November unassisted. In fact, none of the heifers needed any help.
Mr. Mears is a very interesting man. I enjoy just hearing him talk about raising cattle.
I think I would give her new calf a bottle of colostrum after it is born. You can't be sure how much milk the other calves have taken from her as it takes a long time for a cow or heifer to produce colostrum. If the other calves have nursed her down, it is gone. Just to be on the safe side, I would purchase a good quality brand.
