Im selling a cow tomorrow due to a rear lameness issue. My question is what to do with her 4 month old calf. Should I sell her as well or hang on to the calf? My concern is how much weight will she now gain and how likely will this transition lead to sickness from stress?
Cull question
- Thread starter jallen
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bigbluegrass
Well-known member
How big is the calf? 4 months is a little early for weaning, but if it is a decent sized calf (300 lbs and up) I would wean the calf and get it started on grain to get its rumen going. If you are just going to kick the calf back onto grass, it will struggle some and may not gain for awhile and may end up sick.
Black and Good
Well-known member
That depends on a lot of things do you have the setup to go ahead a wean the calf? Have you treated the cow's lameness? If it were me, I would try and get the cow better. If you still want her gone, take the pair in and let the sale barn decide how is the best way to sell them. I'll bet they will split them up. JMHO B&G
The calf will be on pasture only. I do not have the setup to wean the calf, I only have 23 ares. I have sold to a local farmer thus far and we have taken the calves straight from pasture with the cows direct to his farm. I have been giving asprin to help her out but that is it for treatment. I have had this cow since January and she has always had a subtle limp in the rear end. Less than two weeks ago she was having tons of trouble getting around. I don't know what happened to worsen it but it gor really bad. I have had her vet checked and there is nothing jumping out to the vet--he suspects a bad hip.
chippie
Well-known member
Check the withdrawal time for any meds given to the cow before shipping.
denvermartinfarms
Well-known member
Normally I would say keep the calf, but if all it is going to get all summer is pasture and you don't have a way to feed it anything I would sell it now.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
My question is why not put the cow in a lot and let her raise the calf?
She is going to get sold at canner price's anyway. Is the cow going to go down completely in a restricted movement area?
What am I missing?
This is why I have 3 acres with a stock tank fenced off next to the pen's for just such issue's.
She is going to get sold at canner price's anyway. Is the cow going to go down completely in a restricted movement area?
What am I missing?
This is why I have 3 acres with a stock tank fenced off next to the pen's for just such issue's.
Because I'm of the opinion she was going to get down for good. Got 700 for the cow. The calf is nursing from every cow in my pasture as of now. This was another red flag with this cow. The calf has been stealing milk now for some time. Mama was getting nursed too but not that much and her condition was worsening. She lost a bunch of weight post calving. 945 lbs at the sale. I would guess she was a minimum 1200 a couple months ago.
GMN
Well-known member
have you given the cow dexamethazone or banamine those are 2 drugs i would try before selling her for sure
If I were to decide to hold onto the calf for a while how much should I feed her per day and what?She has been nibbling on some sweet feed and is very easy to work with. I'm considering keeping her for another 3 months if I can make it work. TiA
regolith
Well-known member
If your grass is top quality, 1 - 2 kg/day of an 18 - 20% protein ration.
Less than top quality (or stalky) grass will take more than that.
There's others will be able to give an answer better suited to your location. I find that increasing my calves to 2 kg (about 4.5 lb, up from 2 lb) at weaning time prevents any growth check when the milk is removed. That's for calves at 80 - 100 kg at weaning.
Less than top quality (or stalky) grass will take more than that.
There's others will be able to give an answer better suited to your location. I find that increasing my calves to 2 kg (about 4.5 lb, up from 2 lb) at weaning time prevents any growth check when the milk is removed. That's for calves at 80 - 100 kg at weaning.
