Heifer and milk production...

[randiliana]

If it is only one heifer, and all the rest look good, then it is a problem with her. If you fed her more she might do a better job, or not. Generally heifers will do better with their second calf. But, if she did terribly with the first calf, she's probably not going to do THAT much better on her second calf.

If her calf is really suffering the best bet could be to either supplement the calf with a bottle or simply pull the calf off the cow and either raise it on the bottle or sell it to someone else who needs a calf for a cow or wants to bottle feed one. And then I'd sell the heifer.

She wouldn't be the first heifer to starve a calf....

 

[skeeter swatter]

Randiliana pretty much covered it.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

We usually give our 2 year old first calf dams a little bit of wet DDG's, about 4 pounds dry (weighs a bunch more when wet!) for about 2 weeks. I just feel like it helps the dam get production going, and it makes me happy to get the new cow and calf up so I can look them over closely. After two weeks, she is on her own. Yes, she should produce more her next year, and we try not to be to hard on them the first time. If they raise a calf and wean it at a decent weight, then we let her try again and almost always she does a better job as a 3 year old.

 

[Stocker Steve]

If it is only one heifer, and all the rest look good, then it is a problem with her. If you fed her more she might do a better job, or not. Generally heifers will do better with their second calf. But, if she did terribly with the first calf, she's probably not going to do THAT much better on her second calf.
If her calf is really suffering the best bet could be to either supplement the calf with a bottle or simply pull the calf off the cow and either raise it on the bottle or sell it to someone else who needs a calf for a cow or wants to bottle feed one. And then I'd sell the heifer.

Calves that don't get much milk are much more prone to health issues. Early weaning would be an approach.
I have never been thrilled with the second calf from a poor milker. Cull her.

 

[dun]

If she raises a sub standard calf as a heifer she'll usually always raise a sub standard calf. Breeding her to a bull with a real high weaning weight will just give you a calf that alwasy looks half starved and is still sub standard