Cow Rejecting Calf

[M Thomason]

Had a heifer due to calve in about a month. She lowed most of the night . Went out and checked her didn't see anything wrong she looked fine. Next morning found a healthy calf in pasture. Thought it was hers. Heifer came into pasture and called to the calf and it got up and followed her into the woods. Later that morning my dog brought up a dead calf. Looked premature but fully formed just very small. Got to wondering if the heifer's calf had died and she was claiming the other calf. I have one black-baldy cow and this live calf had white on his face. The heifer is solid black and was bred to a black bull. Later both cows came into pasture where calf was in woods lowing for the calf so I thought his real mama is looking after him. Later in the afternoon when my wife came home we found the calf and brought it up but neither cow would let him nurse. Put Black-Baldy cow and calf in catch pen and ran cow up into loading chute and tried to get calf behind her to nurse but she kicked and refused it. Left them in catch pen all night but next morning it was obvious she hadn't let it nurse. Took calf to the barn and fed colostrum and now he's being bottle fed. What could I do to get cow to accept this calf. Thought if I could get her milked and feed this to the calf she might accept him.??

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

You haven't found another cow out there w/ some discharge or something that would tell you who might be in the running? You could put the cow in a chute to see if she'd let the calf nurse, or hobble her -- don't know how gentle the cow is. Whatever, you need to get some colostrum into that baby and get something going. I try to grab the afterbirth here, for hesitant first-timer mamas, and will rub that calf w/ it several times to keep mama licking and fussing.

 

[M Thomason]

I did get the calf to drink about a quart of colostrum and he's had a bottle several times. Think about 5 quarts over 2 days. Got the cow in the head-gate was going to milk her but she had no milk. Her bag is real tight but not a drop would come out. Don't know if shes ok or not doesn't seem to bother her shes staying with the herd and eating good.

 

[Taurus]

Just how many cows you have? Me thinks that the cow might not be the mother of the calf.

 

[M Thomason]

Just 16 total 9 grown cows 2 grown heifers 4 calves and the bull. I'm pretty sure the black-baldy is the calf's mama. Shes the only one with any white on her face and the calf has a white face.

 

[Taurus]

Just because the calf has white face, doesn't mean the black baldy cow is the calf's mother. I would recheck on the other cows/heifers to see if there is any discharge out of them or has any afterbirth in them. The heifer might be the calf's mother. I would suspected that the small dead calf come from the black baldy cow which can be explained why there are no milk.