Heifer's Actions

[MudHog]

Last weekend I had an unexpected calf delivered. The heifer that calved had miscarried May of last year. She didn't have a big belly, but she had a big bag as of lately. Bull stays in our pasture, but I was suspecting false pregnancy. This means she would have bred back in June or a month after she miscarried. She had her calf fine, but after watching him for a 2-3 hours, he couldn't get himself up. I walked over and picked him up on his feet and felt him take on his own weight. Felt like a power switch was turned on. From there, he tried to nurse, but the heifer kept moving and putting her head to his head and would walk backwards a couple steps. Was she doing this to try and get him to move. It just looked as if she was trying to do that.

He is nursing and doing good, but the head butting and walking backwards is baffling me.

 

[Supa Dexta]

She's just trying to figure out what fell out of her, and is nervous of it. She hasn't had to deal with that yet, since she aborted last time. She'll figure it out soon enough.

 

[Nesikep]

Yep, some it just takes a little longer to figure out how to be a momma, as long as the calf has gotten his belly full once she'll settle into it.. I have some that took a week to lick their calf, but were very attentive and good in other ways.

 

[backhoeboogie]

4 years ago I calved out a bunch. One had to go into a head gate several times before she finally got used to the idea. I wound up keeping her. Turned out a good choice. No problems since and she calves on 10 1/2 to 11 month intervals.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Dang little alien baby's!

 

[MudHog]

Good deal. Learn something everyday.

I take it that her coming back into heat the following month for breeding is good? Granted it put her out of sync with the rest, but at least she rebreed and birth a calf in my mind.


Here is new momma and new calf that was taken last Saturday. She is the first calf that my grandfather gave me to start building my herd. She was poor, but I wormed her and got her in good shape. The miscarry worried me that she wouldn't be in the pasture much longer. My daughter named her Tee Chien (Little Dog in French) when she became ours because she will come to the fence and let her scratch her head and ears.

 

[backhoeboogie]

If you're referring to her getting bred back as "learning" let me add something. A first calved usually doesn't breed back that quick. Maybe 30% of mine will. Good mineral and healthy cows make a difference. She's likely to calve quick for the next 8 or so years. You might get her into the calving window of your others, over time.

 

[ANAZAZI]

You can have her calve with the others next year by keeping her from getteing bred before them.

 

[MudHog]

If you're referring to her getting bred back as "learning" let me add something. A first calved usually doesn't breed back that quick. Maybe 30% of mine will. Good mineral and healthy cows make a difference. She's likely to calve quick for the next 8 or so years. You might get her into the calving window of your others, over time.

No. The learning was the whole alien baby thing of her trying to figure out what came out of her. I was thinking she was just trying to get it to walk, but she could have just been trying to figure out what it was.



On the breeding back, I didn't think she was pregnant. Last year, you could tell she was pregnant (big belly). She was what appeared to be full term in May of last year and she passed her calf at the time with all the other cows. I found skeleton where she had the calf. Our cow's cycles have had them birthing between May and June. That put her breeding August of the 2013. With her birthing a calf last Saturday, that put her breeding in June 2014 which would have been the following month of her passing her calf.

 

[nobull82]

All heifers are different. Some are great at the time of calving and others don't know what's going on but eventually they come around to be good mommas from what I've seen anyway.