I pulled a calf from a heifer 4 days ago and had the heifer and calf penned with another pair, the heifer seemed to like to chase the other calf and headbutt it so I separated the pairs. Now I have more to calve so I kicked her and her calf out and she's still head butting and chasing but not near as bad. Also she still has her tail out like she is going to calve with some a small string of blood from her vulva. Is this normal in heifers? I haven't seen it before so maybe I've been lucky.
heifer temperament
- Thread starter nobull82
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Sometimes heifers can be a little nutty. She should figure things out in a few days. Sounds like maybe she didn't "clean", or pass her afterbirth. At least not all the way. A little bloody string shouldn't be a problem. In some cases, a retained placenta (un-passed afterbirth) can cause them to go toxic, usually they will lay around and act depressed and quit eating when this happens. Antibiotics can work wonders when that happens.
Nesikep
Well-known member
Keep a close eye on her should she start to feel down.
wbvs58
Well-known member
If you didn't check at the time you pulled the calf I would get her back in and just check for a second one.
Ken
Ken
shortybreeder
Well-known member
If she didnt clean all the way then a few cc's of lutalyse will be better than waiting for things to go toxic. Get her in, check her for another one, and if there's nothing there then give her the shot of lut. If something is still in there then call your vet for his/her advice on how much lut and dex to use to get it out.
In my experience they very rarely go toxic in cases where there was a live calf. If there was a dead one in there for any length of time and they don't clean, then it's a good idea to put them on antibiotics. I guess the vet answer is to give them lut and dex now. I remember when you used to have to go in and manually detach the cotyledons from the uterine wall. Then the trick was to tie a brick to it, or let it provide it's own traction, until it fell out. Others would cut it off flush and give them 1 ridiculously low dose of antibiotics. Seems like to me the more you leave them alone the better they do.
retro
Well-known member
I totally agree with Andyva. if she calved a few days ago she should be showing signs if there is a problem, Heifers are like teenage mothers some are nature mothers others you have to teach , and some just should have babies, I calved some heifer that do that they usually get tired and give up head butting the calves
