How long to give a cow that won't take her calf?

[Lawson Farms]

We have a cow who calved on Monday. This is her second calf. She left her calf, and then tried to steal another cow's calf that was already a week old. She would knock her calf around with her head, and kick it off when it wanted to suck, then would chase the week old calf's mama away when it's calf came to suck. We separated her and her calf from the herd. She attacked it in the pen. So now we have them in neighboring pens. We tail her up in the chute to let the calf suck 2x per day. We turned her out in another pasture last night to let her be social while keeping her away from the calf she's tried to steal. I've said we'd give her until sale day next tuesday to get her act together. Is that long enough? We could bottle the calf for a few days until one of our holsteins calved.

 

[J&D Cattle]

Might be more of an individual situation due to pen space and time but if she were mine she would get time up until the next sale at which she and the calf would go. I just don't have time to bottle feed anything nor do I have any nurse cows. I'm commercial only though, if that was a registered calf, AI, or ET, I would expend some more effort. Good luck.

 

[Ryder]

If she kicks, kick harder. :hide:

 

[backhoeboogie]

On graft calves, it usually takes 3 days nursing before the calves have the cow's scent. But this one wants to take another's calf. Don't make sense.

I've got a nursing crate since I use nurse cows. #14 rejected her calf. She got crated twice daily for four days. It worked. She made the cull list when the drought hit.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

I had one that I finagled with for almost 2 weeks with no success. I sold them both to 2 separate people.

Where I used to work, they were given 5 days to get their act together, after that, mom and baby went their separate ways. Momma went on cull list and baby sold for a bottle calf.

The successfuls usually took 3 days. When I had a nurse cow, it would usually take me 2 to 3 days for a successful graft.

If yours still haven't gotten it worked out by Tuesday, I'd send her down the road and bottle the calf til one of you Holstiens calve as you had mentioned.

Katherine

 

[Limomike]

Kinda odd she dont want anything to do with her own calf. But its all a matter of how much time you want to invest. I generally dont take more than two weeks with any of my problems calves, then I sell em if they arent going to cooperate and get right.

 

[dun]

Untyil next tuesday is more then enough time. We had a cow that did the same thing with her second calf, perfect with her first. That's where Lil Orphan Annie came from. Anniw turned out to be a great cow, her mothr went to burger. It only took 3 days since that was when the next sale day was.

 

[MO_cows]

She's got some wires crossed in her little pea brain, that's for sure. She already raised a calf, and she seems like she wants to raise another calf by trying to steal the week old one, which would make me inclined to try and straighten her out more than if she just dropped her first calf but didn't want it. But it's a lot of time and work and life is short. I would try putting some of her milk on the calf, or that scent masking stuff they sell at the feed store, and if she doesn't come around by sale day, bye bye.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Is it possible a calf was sneaking a bit of a nurse during her last week of pregnancy? Perhaps that calf wasn't getting quite enough from its natural dam? That might explain the short circuit in her brain. We've all seen plenty of calves try it. Maybe one had a touch of success.

 

[Lawson Farms]

I didn't think of that boogie. I'll watch that calf and see. She stood in the headlock last night w/o being tailed up. We'll see how she does this am.

BL

 

[Sir Loin]

IMO, the problem is with the calf and not the momma.

If as a first time heifer she raised a good calf and now as a 2nd time heifer she is rejecting her calf, she has detected a problem with her calf while cleaning it through either taste or smell.

It is my experience that calves that are rejected by their momma and bottle fed have a mortality rate of around 50 % before they reach 300 lbs. for no apparent reason.

If you have the time, bottle feed the calf or sell it and give momma another chance .
SL

 

[Chris H]

We've had cow/calf confusion twice.
1st time, 2 cows were calving in the field. Cow A had dropped a calf, Cow B was at the 'up & down' stage, she'd lay down, push, then get up and sniff around. Cow B was too close to Cow A and sniffed her calf and claimed it. Cow A had started cleaning her calf, but then layed down and gave birth to a twin. Cow B still claimed Cow A's first calf. Cow A didn't know what to do with 2. Cow B finally layed down and had her calf, but she still wanted Cow A's first calf. We finally took Cow A's first calf and put it in the barn. We took Cow B & her calf and penned them separate for a week. She still went looking for that first calf when we turned her loose, but she didn't reject her calf so it was OK.

2nd time, 2 cows penned in the barn. Cow A calved a week before Cow B. Both cows claimed the calf. When Cow B calved, she rejected her calf. We penned her separate and worked for a couple weeks to get her to take that calf. Cow B was a former show girl, or we wouldn't have worked so hard on keeping the pair together. I'm not sure it was worth the work. Cow B had raised calves before this, and after this. But that time we should have just put a bottle in front of the calf and called it a day. We've grafted calves easier than convincing that cow to take her calf that time.

 

[stocky]

I have only had 1 calf that the cow never did take and I have grafted on many, many, calves as well as had an occasional one that wouldn't take hers. After 2 months, I gave up, turned the calf out to the creep feeder, turned the cow out to rebreed, never had another problem with her.
A trick that works well for me is to put the cow and calf in the front compartment of the trailer late in the day. Put a dog in the other compartment, or back compartment if it has 3 compartments. Leave them that way overnight and usually by the next morning, the cow is very protective of the calf. When I put the cow and calf in the compartment, I walk the dog around and around the trailer and even have the dog stick it's nose toward the calf. You might give this a try. Do not put hay or feed or water in the trailer with them. This will cause a mess and problems. If she doesn't take it by morning, put her in the stall for the calf to nurse, and feed and water the cow, then back in the trailer.
I, too, believe the cow had reason to think the other calf was hers---it was nursing her, or it got with her during birth or shortly after birth, or something.
Best of luck