Foster calf from a dairy

[Betty]

A beautiful show angus heifer lost her Sitz Upward bull calf at birth, I was a lousy obstetrician, she's pretty fat. Got her a one hour old dairy bull calf which she accepted as her own.
She wants to go with the other mother cows and the herd. How long would you guys keep this calf and the mother seperate from your other new babies? He seems healthy, he received Scourguard and Bar 99 for E.Coli at birth, and he got his colostrum from our heifer. He is 3 days old. He was clean and still wet from birth when I picked him up.

 

[angie1]

If he has nursed from her and accepted her as she has him ~ let the out now with the herd. Keep an eye, but there is no reason to believe there will be a problem. Obviously she is a heifer so I would be more watchful, but it will be better for them to get out with the others.

Sorry you lost your calf, good save though ~ all is not lost!

 

[hillsdown]

I agree with Angie, you did everything perfect as far as adopting a calf. He should do very well now that you gave him a great head start.. :clap: I wish everyone followed the procedure the way you did..

Sorry about the calf , that is common in big fat show heifers though. Good luck with your pair.

 

[Betty]

My worry is about all those dairy calf diseases -- e coli, cryptosporidia, rotavirus, coronavirus, all those diarrhea agents spreading to my herd.
What do you guys think about that issue?

 

[angie1]

My worry is about all those dairy calf diseases -- e coli, cryptosporidia, rotavirus, coronavirus, all those diarrhea agents spreading to my herd. What do you guys think about that issue?

Ha! I figured that that is what you were asking in your original thread. I think there are others on here who would disagree with what I am going to say, and I hope they speak up ~ but under the conditions you got him from (brand new direct from the farmer), and given the vaccinations and colostrum issues, I would feel safe adding him to my herd. I know of beef herds that struggle with these issues, and they haven't introduced outside calves. Your current animals should be protected with the vaccination program they or their mothers are on. If it were a sale barn calf (NOTHING AGAINST SALE BARN CALVES, I LOVE SALE BARN CALVES) I would be hesitant to suggest you mix it in with the herd quite yet. But, as hd said, you have done all as perfectly as you should and could have.

I considered this factor when I answered your thread the first time. All I can advise you to do is what I would feel comfortable doing. I would feel comfortable integrating the calf into the herd if it were mine under the circumstances you have set up. Your heifer is understandably anxious away from the herd.

If you keep them out of the herd for a couple more weeks Betty, whats the worst that could happen? Probably nothing.
I just don't feel it is necessary.

 

[hillsdown]

You saw the dairy, what did it look like, was it clean ? Were the calf hutches clean were the calves healthy ???

Not all dairies are cesspools of disease, ours wasn't and I am really sick and tired of them being bashed all the time. Maybe things are done differently in the US, as real money is to be made on Dairies in Alberta and Canada. My babes were not given any preventative treatment and my death loss of over 100 home grown calves a year was less than 1% and I had calf raisers fighting for steer contracts with us.

If you got him from a "good" dairy you should be fine I would be more worried about what your cows and calves are going to give to him , as most dairies are closed, once it goes out it does not come back.. ;-)

 

[backhoeboogie]

I agree with Angie.

 

[Betty]

Thank you very much for answering.
He came from a very "good" dairy - I think they milk about 1500. They have full time dairy calf staff and they try hard to do everything "right". I've gotten 3 or 4 newborn baby bulls from there over the years and had good luck. The great thing is that they have so many cows that you can almost always get a "wet" baby, almost any hour of the day or night.

The last few calves I have had to "skin" the dead baby and put the skin on the new one, but this heifer took this baby right away with just a little meconium smeared on his head and tail. I kept her penned with him alone for 24 hrs, but she thinks he's hers and she hates the confinement. I guess my only concern now is that his temperment is SO holstein, he's dopey and somewhat uncoordinated compared to my angus babies. But, he's going out tomorrow, assuming stool is good. THANKS AGAIN THIS FORUM IS GREAT

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Most of you know, I'm on the other spectrum of the issue. And, no, I don't think Dairies are a cesspool of deseases. Facts are facts. MOST of the dairies in the US have Johnes. For this reason alone, I no longer would have a dairy calf on my farm.
But, my main concern has nothing to do with it being a dairy calf or a beef calf. Your herd is healthy, my herd is health, but we all have different "bugs" in our herds that each & every cow is immune to, and passes this immunity on to it's calf. A calf from your herd is "carrying" the bugs that YOUR herd has. This calf is going to stay perfectly healthy in it's new environment, because the new dam passed her herd's bugs immunities on to this "new" calf. But, what about YOUR calves already on your farm? they don't have immunities for the bugs "on" that new calf from the neighbor's herd.
Possibly you are close enough, sharing fencelines, that bugs have been crossing back & forth over the years & both herds have pretty much the same bugs.
I'm just saying that many times doing this brings in problems to your existing herd. I, personnally, would follow a recommended incubation period. Treating calves is no fun - and costly!

 

[Betty]

I made a compromise and let the heifer in with 2 other mothers and their week-2week olds in a small pasture.
As of last night things were going well, though I am not sure that my dairy heifer is going to have adequate volume of milk for this enormous holstein. My worry was the calf diarrhea/septicemia agents--my herd is only protected against E.Coli with Bar 99 at birth, not rota or corona.
The holstein is a week old today. The pasture they are in has limited shade, will have to move them soon.
I'm sick to have lost her baby -- was hoping this year I wouldn't have any lost/replacements -- didn't work that way.
As I get older find I am less effective at managment. Rather depressing.

 

[rockridgecattle]

Sorry, I am with Jeanne on this one. Dairies and beef carry the same diseases, but different strains. And then there are the diseases they are more prone to have that we do not and visa versa. During calving, no matter what the great deal is, we never bring a new animal on the farm. It causes much stress on us and on the herd. It is costly in medication, time and lost weight gain.
Your hiefer would, and i know to late now, but she could gain for next year or make great freezer bait.

The risk in introducing a new animal even after quaranteen is just to great....and that is experience talking.
But then we are a bit neurotic when it comes to biosecurity. If we visit another farmer, or go and help another farmer, our farm clothes are clean and so are our boots. When we come back the boots get disinfected and the clothes washed before we go back into the herd.
Even the vet comes on farm with clean coverals and clean boots especially if she is making rounds. The risk is just to great

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Sorry, I am with Jeanne on this one. Dairies and beef carry the same diseases, but different strains. And then there are the diseases they are more prone to have that we do not and visa versa. During calving, no matter what the great deal is, we never bring a new animal on the farm. It causes much stress on us and on the herd. It is costly in medication, time and lost weight gain.
Your hiefer would, and i know to late now, but she could gain for next year or make great freezer bait.

The risk in introducing a new animal even after quaranteen is just to great....and that is experience talking.
But then we are a bit neurotic when it comes to biosecurity. If we visit another farmer, or go and help another farmer, our farm clothes are clean and so are our boots. When we come back the boots get disinfected and the clothes washed before we go back into the herd.
Even the vet comes on farm with clean coverals and clean boots especially if she is making rounds. The risk is just to great

:clap: :nod: