How long is too long to be able to put a calf on a cow that lost hers? I have a cow that lost hers 5 days ago, and an orphan from last night. Is that too long for the cow to still have milk? Thank yall in advance!!
Grafting a calf
- Thread starter texoman
- Start date
mwj
Well-known member
Bring her in and try the calf, it may or may not work. If you already have the calf to deal with I would try it on the cow. Remember to give colostrum to the calf first. All you are out is some time.
If it does not work, sell both. Cull cows and baby calves are bringing a premium price. Good luck!
If it does not work, sell both. Cull cows and baby calves are bringing a premium price. Good luck!
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
I've grafted one on as late as 10 days. Took the cow a few days to come back into milk but she did.
farmerjan
Well-known member
Using a little oxytocin, can help with the let down, which will have the calf butting/wanting more... and that will stimulate some more production.... 1-2 cc at most... if you give it in the milk vein then 1/4 to 1/2 cc only.... works fastest in the milk vein... minute or so.... few minutes if IM.....
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Nope. Not too long ordinarily...
Git er dun!
Git er dun!
Katpau
Well-known member
In 2020 we had a cow give birth to a stillborn calf on February 16. On March 2nd we had a set of twins. We were able to successfully graft that calf onto that cow. It did take about a week before she had enough milk and was willing to mother the calf. She had very little milk initially, so we would give the calf a partial bottle after each feeding. After the first week the milk had improved considerably and the calf no longer needed the help. I don't believe she ever had as much milk as she would have had under normal circumstances, so the heifer was quite a bit lighter than the bull twin raised by the birth cow. She still weighed as much as most bottle calves I've ever raised with a fraction of the labor.
I have grafted a number of calves in those first 5 days, so I have no doubt that with persistence you can graft that calf. You will likely need to constrain her while she feeds the calf until she accepts it as hers. That can take anywhere from hours to more than a week, but I have never had one not eventually give in. That is assuming the cow is normally a willing mother. In rare cases I have had heifers reject their own calf. When that happens they get a trip to town. I won't tolerate that. I can understand a cow not wanting to take a calf she knows is not hers, but I have no patience for convincing a cow she needs to accept her own calf. I have made that mistake before, and I won't make it again.
I have grafted a number of calves in those first 5 days, so I have no doubt that with persistence you can graft that calf. You will likely need to constrain her while she feeds the calf until she accepts it as hers. That can take anywhere from hours to more than a week, but I have never had one not eventually give in. That is assuming the cow is normally a willing mother. In rare cases I have had heifers reject their own calf. When that happens they get a trip to town. I won't tolerate that. I can understand a cow not wanting to take a calf she knows is not hers, but I have no patience for convincing a cow she needs to accept her own calf. I have made that mistake before, and I won't make it again.
Thank you all very much for the replies. I gave the calf colostrum the first night. I didn’t have oxy, but the cow let down milk this morning. I did bottle the calf. I had a half bottle of o-no-mo so used it. Kept em penned up together, and she figured it out. A quarter was sucked this morning.
The cow is a good one. Her calf just decided to skate across the ice on the pond. Small brained things do stupid stuff.
The cow is a good one. Her calf just decided to skate across the ice on the pond. Small brained things do stupid stuff.
How old was the calf when you lost it?
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Four days old
Ouachita
Well-known member
I resemble that remark
As do I
cattletalk
Active member
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- Oct 8, 2022
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Just seeing this and glad you had a good result. FWIW, I’ve seen a cow have milk 3 weeks after losing a calf. I think it would be tough to put one on at that point because most cows wouldn’t be so motherly anymore, but I’ve definitely seen one have milk that long!
Thank you. That is good stuff too know!
