How long can calf be grafted?

Help Support CattleToday:

A

Anonymous

We lost a calf in the blizzard a few nights ago. The cow has good milk, but the temperatures have been so low we didn't want to stress a calf by buying/grafting it on her. It's supposed to get a little better by the first of next week. Has anyone had success waiting that long? Does it work after a week or so? We've never tried it past a couple of days from the time the original calf was lost.

[email protected]
 
> We lost a calf in the blizzard a
> few nights ago. The cow has good
> milk, but the temperatures have
> been so low we didn't want to
> stress a calf by buying/grafting
> it on her. It's supposed to get a
> little better by the first of next
> week. Has anyone had success
> waiting that long? Does it work
> after a week or so? We've never
> tried it past a couple of days
> from the time the original calf
> was lost.

I've never been successful after 48 hours if you want to "fool" the cow into thinking its hers. The cow loses her ability to milk before a week unless you milk her out daily. If you force her to stand for the calf twice a day you have a fair chance she will take it in a week or so. Confine her to a small pen with the calf between forced nursings.
 
Grafting a calf on this cow will help her repro tract repair itself and get ready for a new pregnancy,

As soon as possible would be the best to get a calf on her, the longer you wait the great chance her system will dry up. We did this with a three year old and her 2nd calf, calf died, was not able to procure a replacement for 5 days, grafted calf by keeping them in small confined area, hunger of calf and his persistance helped. You will notice the cow being very nasty to the calf at first, she will be trying to asert her authority over the calf to establish her chain of comand over the calf, let her do her job.

Good luck

[email protected]
 

Latest posts

Top