Here we go again...

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farmerjan said:
She'll settle as the calf is persistent enough it seems. That's the biggest hurdle. Might take a week or so.... but it is better than losing a whole lactation.....
AIN'T FARMING FUN???!!!!
Click to expand...

O yes. I enjoy it tremendously. The cow/calf stuff especially.
What mama doesnt realize is, I'm pretty dang persistent. Maybe just stubborn. I will win!! Lol
The calf dont give up. She just dont. I'm really thankful for that. At least I dont have to chute her anymore. She hates that chute! First cow/heifer I've had that wants to try and jump over it. Rearing up toward the sky like a horse.

Good news.
Placenta is cleared!
Calf is eating while mamas eating this morning.
A bit of fly spray today too. Pen is a mess. Flies are terrible. Thatll make for more work later.
We just keep on for a while I reckon.
 
A lil more of the same this morning.
Feed mama, baby comes to nurse. Mama shoves baby around a bit.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Then she finally settles some....
Get it any way ya can! Lol



Baby appears to be getting just enough. Plenty vigorous. And after mama settles all seems right.
Dangdest thing, she will snifffff that calf and love it occasionally. Then does that crap with her head and kick at the calf. We ain't quite there yet
 
This evening SEEMED better.
I grew a pair and stood in the pen with em. Shes never shown any aggressive behavior toward people, but you can bet I was on high alert.
She wasnt necessarily kicking tonight, but she was constantly raising a rear leg. One side or another. Like blocking the calf. Lol
She only shoved the calf once. I had her attention in the pen for sure. I was sure ready to whack her if she tried that crap.
Anyway.... we will get er done one way or the other.

O! We did have a lil conversation.
Basically shes gonna get her poop in a group and raise this calf, or shes going to work for mcds and I'll raise her replacement.
She seemed understanding
 
Threw for a curve this morning. I was up every couple hours checking heifers that apparently weren't laboring. Lol
So I slept too long!!
They were both up already this morning. Mama still ain't having it without feed in her face tho. Small shoves. Heifer dance. Feed in bucket. And here we are. Shes very calm with her breakfast and baby nursing.

 
Pretty happy this evening. They were dancing around while mama was looking for her supper. She wasnt gonna let that baby eat until she had food too!
This is progress tho. Baby finished b4 mama again. When mama was done. Baby went back to check and see of there was any more. And she actually let her!!!
Nice. Very nice. When I was leaving, I actually caught mama licking that baby! I can hardly contain my excitement. That means they can come home soon.
Been about a week now. Twice a day working with them. We will see what tomorrow brings...


No feed for mama and baby is double checking.
 
Dangdest thing. If I'm in the pen with em, she will let her nurse. Real antsy about it tho. Probly knows I got feed somewhere.

We ain't there yet but I'm moving them home to my pen tomorrow. I dont need the chute at my buddies place so she may as well be out of his hair.
 
Well. They are home at my open pen. I didnt feed the cow this morning. Just loaded em up. Baby nursed her down in the trailer.

Shes got a fresh bale of decent Bermuda hay here.
Gave her some feed when I unloaded.
Baby didnt seem interested. I think she got her fill on the trailer.
 
I have a young Jersey that was acting the same way as your cow. It was her first adopted calf. The cow was real gentle but didn't want the calf at all and would do the kick and head butt thing. I had them in the barn and there was a small offset where I would push her and the calf and make her stand there until the calf would nurse. I had a big stick and would whack her when she tried to get by me. She figured it out pretty quick after that and was released into the herd in about a week. She still didn't care for the calf but gave in as the calf was persistent. Now it has been five months and the calf will wean next month. She has done a great job with the calf. It is easily a five weight.
I had paid $210 for the big three day old Angus heifer calf. The calfs mom was a real head hunter that the sale barn sent to the packers. Luckily the calf wasn't old enough to pick up mom's bad attitude. Sometimes things work out as hoped for and the calf will sell in December after going through my precondition program with the rest.
 
I think tomorrow morning that's what's gonna happen.
I'll push her in the sorting wing and stand there with my stick while that baby nurses.
I think I'm gonna have to stop feeding her to get the baby fed. If/when she starts accepting that baby, I'll feed her again.

Guess itll either work or it wont! Lol
 
I was just about to post a rather negative report saying something about will she ever accept it and call her all sorts of names but........



I caught them being family!!
No feed in mamas face. And she was totally not distracted. Just letting her be a baby calf.
Didnt last terrible long, but it's a start.
Sure makes me feel better anyway!
 
Something cool happened yesterday. I dont know for sure what it was, but mama ain't being a royal beach.
Still antsy this morning. But she may have been just anxious about getting her feed. Baby is latched on and they both are settled in. We are not there yet but I'm sure glad to see her not treating the baby like a misfit.

Perhaps all the cows here at home gathering around the pen shes in helped her. I dont know.
I have a couple other mamas nursing babies here too.
Whatever it is, I'm excited to not have to make burger outta this heifer!
 
A bit more kicking and shoving this evening.
Mama got to eat again and baby got her fill b4 mama was done.
I'm only gonna deal with this heifer another week or so, then I'll buy a bag of milk and raise it myself.
I'll just raise her replacement. Lmao

I wonder if me moving her to the home pen messed things up...
 
More stubborn than a mule!
It's like shes waiting for feed now.
Nope! I'm not gonna let that baby nurse til u feed me!
Twat!!
She may get to skip a meal or 2 this weekend. We will see.

I say that, one quarter was definitely nursed. But who knows how long. Baby was for sure hungry.
 
Are you sure she isn't feeding it when you are not looking? Some of my cattle don't like the calf to nurse when I'm standing there. I assume they want to be ready to respond right away if I am feeding, rotating pastures or interacting with them in some way. Even some old experienced cows will push their calves off, if they come up to nurse with me standing nearby. I have only had one take as long as your cow to accept a grafted calf, but I don't remember ever grafting one on a heifer, so maybe that is different. She's never been a mother before and doesn't have the hormones that I think are present right at birth.

If you have a way to spy on them, try separating the calf for a few hours, then put it in with her and go somewhere she can't see you, but where you can watch her. Use binoculars if you need to. I have had quite a few foster mothers that would not let the calf nurse while I was standing there, but if I watched from a distance I could see them nursing.
 
Katpau said:
Are you sure she isn't feeding it when you are not looking? Some of my cattle don't like the calf to nurse when I'm standing there. I assume they want to be ready to respond right away if I am feeding, rotating pastures or interacting with them in some way. Even some old experienced cows will push their calves off, if they come up to nurse with me standing nearby. I have only had one take as long as your cow to accept a grafted calf, but I don't remember ever grafting one on a heifer, so maybe that is different. She's never been a mother before and doesn't have the hormones that I think are present right at birth.

If you have a way to spy on them, try separating the calf for a few hours, then put it in with her and go somewhere she can't see you, but where you can watch her. Use binoculars if you need to. I have had quite a few foster mothers that would not let the calf nurse while I was standing there, but if I watched from a distance I could see them nursing.
Click to expand...

She doesn't appear nursed when I feed her. 6 am. 6pm.
She always seems to have a full udder at those times. I'm gonna try n skip feeding her tonight. And keep an eye on em from afar. I have caught her nursing once without feed. Didnt last too long. Just until mama figured out what was going on. Lol
 

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