grafting a calf on a cow

[Chris H]

We have an orphan, 7 weeks old on Sunday. Got a cow, calved 2 weeks ago on Sunday. Her calf died at 3 days, no known reason. So, I got the cow in the headgate in the calving pen that evening and turned the orphan loose on her. She had a lot of edema so I made sure her milk looked good and teats not blocked. She let the calf nurse without a problem so I turned her loose. She kicked the calf a good one, he still has a lump on his jaw. They're in separate, adjoining pens. Twice a day I walk her into the calving pen. She puts her head in the headgate but won't push to close it. I walk up beside her and close it. I turn the calf loose and he milks her out.
She's been 'talking' to him for several days across the fence. If she's loose and I turn the calf loose she'll butt, push, & kick him. I catch her in the headgate and she might kick once or twice then stand just fine. I've tried getting the calf started nursing, then turn her loose; she starts shoving & kicking again.
It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I've been doing this. I'm not sure what else I can do to convince her this is her calf. If I can't get her to take him, I'm going to turn her loose in a couple weeks and wean the calf. I'd just rather she feed him a couple more months.

 

[bcarty]

We always skinned the dead calf and tied the hide on the back of the orphan calf. This always seemed to work for us. There is also some sort of powder I have heard of people using that you put on the calf and when the cow smells it she seems to accept that it is her calf, but I am not sure about how that product works or how you are supposed to use it. I have never used it. The problem is when you turn the calf with the cow she can smell him and she knows thats not her calf. You have to get her to take the calf by smell if you want her to own it.
BC

 

[Chris H]

We always skinned the dead calf and tied the hide on the back of the orphan calf. This always seemed to work for us. There is also some sort of powder I have heard of people using that you put on the calf and when the cow smells it she seems to accept that it is her calf, but I am not sure about how that product works or how you are supposed to use it. I have never used it. The problem is when you turn the calf with the cow she can smell him and she knows thats not her calf. You have to get her to take the calf by smell if you want her to own it.
BC

Haven't been able to find the powder locally, always forget to order it when I'm ordering meds.
What is so weird is they have fence line contact through wood & pipe. She talks to him through the fence. As soon as the gate is opened she'll butt him away.

 

[Katpau]

Don't give up yet. I had one pretty similar year before last. In my case the calf that died was one month and the grafted calf a few days younger. It took me a few weeks, but she finally accepted it. It sounds to me like you are getting close to getting acceptance. I have a good friend who told me he has done this many times over the last 40 years and never had one not accept eventually. The longest took him a month. I was ready to give up at about a week but he encouraged me to keep trying, and I was really glad I did. If you get her to take the calf, that calf will do much better than if you wean him at only 7 weeks.

I might try putting them together in a pen where he has room to get away, but she can't walk off too far and leave him. That worked for me, but in my case the cow would not hunt him down to hurt him. She only kicked when he approached her. I checked on them several times each day. The calf associated my arrival with dinner time and would go over and try to eat. If the cow kicked at him, I caught her and let him eat. Finally one day I went down and the calf went to the cow and she let him eat without a problem. From then on she loved that calf like her on.

 

[Chris H]

Thanks Katpau, I'll hang in there a couple more weeks. One thing I've learned from this cow, I'm not cut out to have a nurse cow! I don't mind keeping a spare calf on a bottle in case we have a cow lose a calf but I want that cow to take the calf and get on with the business of raising it on her own.

 

[randiliana]

Hobble her back legs together so she can't kick him or run away from him. Won't take too many days and they should be good to go.

 

[Chris H]

Hobble her back legs together so she can't kick him or run away from him. Won't take too many days and they should be good to go.

I thought about that but I've never hobbled a cow. Every night I've been trying to get her to let the calf nurse without being in the headgate, every night I fail. I had a little success tonight; after kicking him away she looked around, walked into the calving pen and put her head in the headgate. I didn't bother to close it on her tonight. She stood there the whole time and let him nurse. When he was done I pretended to release the headgate. She backed out and gave the calf an easy neck push. I've left the calf in the pen with her for a couple hours now and that's the worst she's done.

 

[ranchmom77]

Keep trying it can be extremely frustrating but worth it in the end. I've grafted 3 this year. I had the same problem with her kicking the calf off of her but she eventually came around.
http://books.google.com/books?id=c2...a=X&ei=nYaXUaa6BqS2iwKYgYHIDA&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg
Here is a link on how to make a basic set of twine hobbles. They're very easy and they hold great. Once she's decided to like the calf you can cut them off. Put in the head catch and give her something good to eat like grain or cake.. That will keep her distracted and content while you get them on.
I gave my cows cake every time I let the calf in to nurse.. That way they associate it with being a "good" thing. A happy cow is easier to work with than a cranky one. I'd give them their cake in the head catch first for a day or two and then they expect it when they see you. After a few days leave them out of the head catch and cake them in a rubber pan in their pen. Once they're eating let the calf in. She might move around some but can't kick him with the hobbles on and the cake should distract her enough to leave him be.
Another thing I did was milk her out a bit and then bathe the calf in her milk, especially the areas where she sniffs him. After his milk bath I sprinkled a lot of salt all over him to encourage her to lick him. I did this every time he nursed till she took him.
With him smelling like her milk and his poop smelling like her milk she eventually gave in and now she takes really good care of him.

 

[Chris H]

Tried all that, except the hobbles. Night before last I decided to let the calf stay in the same lot with the cow. They started to interact a little more like a momma & baby. She still wouldn't let him nurse outside the calving pen. This morning I walked them to the calving pen but didn't open the headgate. She only kicked once and the calf nursed with her just standing in the calving pen. I even left the gate open so she could leave if she wanted, but she stayed. It seems we're making progress this week.

 

[raykour]

I just grafted a calf on to a first calf heifer. She is raising him and her own calf. I don't know how successfully, but no one is dead yet, LOL.
I put hobbles on her and left them on for 10 days. She would try to beat the poop out of the calf at first so I had to tie her up and feed her grain and then hobble her up so he could eat. She got wise to my hobbling act and tried kicking MY head in, so I finally applied a pair of cotton hobbles and just left them on her. Now, she lets him nurse if she is otherwise distracted and he has gotten wise and nurses from the back. I make sure she lets him suck a couple of times a day, but I am pretty sure he is getting in there on his own also at this point. Just leaving her hobbled really got her to give in.

 

[Chris H]

I just grafted a calf on to a first calf heifer. She is raising him and her own calf. I don't know how successfully, but no one is dead yet, LOL.
I put hobbles on her and left them on for 10 days. She would try to beat the poop out of the calf at first so I had to tie her up and feed her grain and then hobble her up so he could eat. She got wise to my hobbling act and tried kicking MY head in, so I finally applied a pair of cotton hobbles and just left them on her. Now, she lets him nurse if she is otherwise distracted and he has gotten wise and nurses from the back. I make sure she lets him suck a couple of times a day, but I am pretty sure he is getting in there on his own also at this point. Just leaving her hobbled really got her to give in.

Our calf tried sneaking in from behind and our cow fired straight back and nailed him! I had to walk them to the calving pen again this morning before she'd let him nurse, but I didn't catch her in the headgate or close the gate. She acts like a milk cow heading to the milking machine.

 

[Chris H]

We're about 99% there! :banana: I've turned them loose in a grass lot during the day the last few days then bring them into the smaller pen overnight. This morning my husband caught the cow licking the calf's face shortly after I'd gotten the calf to nurse. Tonight they were apart when I went out to 'feed' the calf. She called to him, he called back and finally came running. Of course she thought something was wrong and started to run to him. He thought she was going to kill him and kept running until he got behind me. When everyone calmed down I got him to go to her. He tentatively reached for a teat and she kicked him :bang: . I walked up to them and started scratching her on the rump, he started nursing, and then I could walk away. Later I saw them 'necking', and they were fine.
I'll know we're 100% there when I go out and see she's been nursed. That can't come too soon!

 

[raykour]

That is funny. This calf is pretty hesitant too. I am pretty sure he doesn't see this nurse cow as "momma" just as the milk barn. If she every showwed him any affection he would be in shock. Whenever she comes at him (just walking) he trucks it out of town. Like I said those hobbles were a god send for me. Hobbles are off now and the calf is nursing and the cow is over it.

 

[Chris H]

Some of them are just harder than others, aren't they? Today is day 20 of getting this pair to join up. This morning I went out to 'feed' the calf and found him with the prettiest milk face I've ever seen! He was standing close to the cow's neck and looked at me like "I don't need you, go away". It's the first time he hasn't come running to me since he lost his real mother. I'll probably turn them out to pasture with the rest tomorrow, once I really believe they're a pair.

At some point I'll probably have to learn to use hobbles, but not now. :banana:

 

[Katpau]

Congratulations! I am glad you stuck with it. It is a wonderful feeling when the cow finally decides to accept the calf. Even when it takes a month to get acceptance, it is still better for the calf than bottle feeding and early weaning.