First calf heifer rough deliver

[RICHARDL]

Ok my last heifer calfed sunday morning It seemed a little rough on her i was able to pull it as she seemed to be struggling, She stayed down for about an hour. In the mean time the lil bull calf was alive and well except that his momma wouldn't nurse him because she was still down. I waited for about 30 min. and got him up and fed him with a bottle. when she did get up she went to the far side of the field and stayed there for a couple of hours. I went out and fed him again. Got him up and he walked around. Well when he balled she came running but wouldn't nurse him no matter how much he tried she would not let him. so 2 hours later i'm back feeding him. Put him in the barn last night as we were getting rain. got up early this morning open doors and there he is balling. he got up followed me to the fence line so he would be in the shade. She came running but would not nurse him and ended up knocking him down so i got 1/2 a bottle down him. than he followed her to the middle of the field. I got dressed came to work. i'm planning on going at lunch to feed and check on him. am i doing right? any suggestions. I think this afternoon i'll corral them both so at least i know where to find him and he'll be in the shade till i can feed him morning noon & night. Will this work? he's angus by the way. :cowboy:

 

[randiliana]

Get her into a headgate and chute where you can handle her. Then, tie a hind leg back so she can't kick and let the calf suck her. Might take a few times of doing this but she should learn to let the calf suck.

 

[Kingfisher]

I second what Randi says to do. Then I would breed her and ship the whole bunch. My buddy bought purchased a really
goofy looking Angus cow that was bred earlier this year. She threw a good calf and was no trouble. Cows are a trip for sure.

 

[RICHARDL]

i bought one last year, did same thing very good looking momma cow. don't know if she had a rough time or not. but she did the same dang thing. I was going to ship her out but she dropped a nice lil bull calf last monday. Shes taking very good care of it. This calf seem a little big compared to all the others. out of 4 heifers she the only one to have troubles and or a bigger calf. Ole lady said when she left, she was right there by him so who knows. I'll know at lunch when i go home. And yes than this afternoon they are going to the corral thanks :cowboy:

 

[agmantoo]

RICHARDL

With all this hand feeding you were doing following the immediate calving what were you feeding? Did the calf get colostrum within 12 hours?

 

[RICHARDL]

Yes, mixed up a batch with milk, than when to the feed store and all the had left was a tube that you adminster on the back of the tongue, he got it all. i still have a batch of colostrum wait on me as soon as i get home for lunch. he's alert, gets up on his own. and sucks on his own. I just worry about my time frame now that i'm at work. he'll get fed at 5:30 am than again at 12 and than again at 5:30 pm hopefully she;ll let him nurse. If not how long of a row to how am i looking at???? And Oh he also got some electro lites in there too.

 

[dun]

Rahter then tying a foot back (dangerous for you) try using the rope over her back and cinched up real, real tight just in front of her udder.

 

[Suzie Q]

I agree with above - We have a cattle crush (squeeze chute). I can put her in there, secure her head and open the bottom gate. You can tie the leg back if she keeps kicking but usually they don't. A gruff stop it and a slap is enough.

if you do not have a cattle crush and she won't try to kill you then you put her in a small triangular yard and stand there with a lunging whip. Or whatever you happen to have. You teach here that if she stays still she is left alone. If she tries to move she is in trouble. You can then let the calf in to suck with some control over the cow.

Here in Australia I do that twice a day. With a cow and someone else's calf it usually takes 3 - 5 days for her to accept the calf. With her own calf she should accept it easily. I would say her teats are sore, so you might have to milk her down a bit before you put the calf on.

With going on the cow twice a day I have never given them anything else to drink or any injections and they have been fine. I lock the calf away from the cow in the beginning so as she can not teach it not to suck while I am not there.

 

[RICHARDL]

well, i just go back. he was fine. hard to say if she let him nurse, don't think so. he woofed down about 2-3 pints. from his new momma, ME but he was alert an in the shade. he's moving around alot & he got up on his own no problems. Momma cow came running but same ole thing she just kicks at him. he'll get more at 5:30 its all i can do. Do i need to keep him on the colstrum? or will regular milk and elctro lytes be enough? or whatelse can i give a 2 day old calf??? :cowboy:

 

[Suzie Q]

When he drinks from his Mum he won't drink from you.

Mum is the one I am worried about - are you milking her? He should be getting his colostrum from Mum.
She can get mastitis. If she is not being milked she will start to dry up and won't have milk for him at all. I wrote in a post above what I would be doing with your calf.

 

[dun]

One of the problems with heifers is that frequently their udders are very tender fro being full of milk. Once the calf sucks them down a bit the problem usually goes away. The flank strap (rope over the back and in front of the udder) works great for those kinds of problems. Once you get it on the cow she doesn;t need to be completley restrained so she can nurse the calf and lick it and talk to it.

 

[RICHARDL]

problem is she's not even paying much attention to him at all. THAT I SEE. i got up early this morning. fed him and he was already in the barn. got a whole bottle down him and he went to join the rest. Do i need to keep giving him the colstrum.??? and how much should he be getting milk that is. he got the last of the colostrum this morning. so at lunch i have a batch of dry milk and regular milk mixed up util i can get more colstrum this evening. I gave 2 whole bottles yesterday at 5:30 i'm thinking 4 pints per. he sucked it right up. What else do i need to give him if she not going to feed him??? and for how long. these things i'm not sure of :cowboy:

 

[randiliana]

Well, if you're not going to fight with her to get her to take him, first off, I'd be planning on selling her as soon as possible. No point in paying to feed her if she isn't doing her job.

As far as the calf, you can switch him to regular milk replacer. I like to feed 3 times a day, 2 quarts a feeding, but I know a lot of people just feed 2 quarts 2 times a day and the calves do good enough. Make sure your milk replacer is made from REAL milk, not soy, and is at least 20% protein and 20% fat.

You will also want to get a prepared baby calf ration (grain mix) that is around 20% protein and get him started on that. To get him started eating that, just give him a handful in his mouth after every bottle, and leave a bit in his pen. You will have to have him penned separately to feed him his grain. You need to keep him on milk replacer for at least 8 weeks, or until he is eating about 2 lbs of the calf ration a day. Then, keep slowly increasing how much grain he is getting.

 

[RICHARDL]

THANKS thats what i was need to know. I tried a little yesterday evening , but she comes running when he balls for me. But than i led him towards her she walk walks away from us. and he ends up being by himself.
But like i said i'm not there enough to see whats going on. But judging by what he ate last night she can't be feeding him I'm going to try to get them penned up this afternoon when i get home. if that doesn't work than i'm done with her. And i'll do what it takes to get him going. thanks

 

[hillbillycwo]

Maybe someone else said already and I missed it but here goes: Check her teats if they are clean the calf is sucking. Get her in the chutte and put the calf on her. The rope trick realy works and using it as a flank strap is the safest. Dun don't you tie that rope fairly tight and to something strong as well?

 

[dun]

Maybe someone else said already and I missed it but here goes: Check her teats if they are clean the calf is sucking. Get her in the chutte and put the calf on her. The rope trick realy works and using it as a flank strap is the safest. Dun don't you tie that rope fairly tight and to something strong as well?

No, just wrapped as tight as you can around the cow. The rope on the nerves in the back is what keeps her from kicking. Might have to tie her head so she can't wander away, but I've never had to.

 

[RICHARDL]

clean and smooth??? yea i looked yesterdaty and one looked kinda clean and smooth not wrinkled like the others . Like i said i'm at work so i can't see wahts going on right now. It seems as though sometimes she leds hm away from me like i've seen others do. But would he be that hungry and ball when he sees me coming??? the first night we were getting hard rain so i picked him up and stuck him the barn , fed him in there close the door. when i got home to check on him for lunch he was in the trees. took a whole bottle fast. same thing when i got home. last night at dark he was close to her. this morning i was going to get the 4 wheeler and go look for him, and there he was in the barn .... wait ing on me took a whole bottle walked him outside so he'd be in the shade. i left he was making his way towards the herd. I'll take a better look at lunch but i'm rushed. because of work ya know

 

[dun]

Spray something will color on her teats. If it's washed (sucked) off you will know he's sucked. Have you actually felt of her udder to make sure that there isn;t problem?

 

[RICHARDL]

NO, she won't let but i might beable to spray some color might try that, GOOD ideal. what could i spray???

 

[hillbillycwo]

Use a spray bottle on solid stream and use food coloring blue or green. Do you have a head catch shoot? Catch her in that and put the calf on her and the rope trick Dun said let the calf suck her.