Is this odd to you?

[tripleS]

I just wanted to ask if any of you have ever had this happen. I thought it was pretty odd.

I'll give tag #'s to keep from getting mixed up.

#135 (first calf hiefer) had a bull calf last monday. She seemed to be a good momma. Milked good, watched every move the calf made.

#137 (first calf hiefer) had a hiefer calf a week later. She is a good momma to her calf too. The problem is though that she must be real greedy because she now has both calves. She watches both, protects both, and even milks both.

#135 will still let her own calf milk, but only if they happen to cross paths in the pasture and this really pisses off #137

I've had cow's that didn't let calves milk but not one that milked for a week and then just passed her calf on to another cow.

The other problem is that #137 isn't making enough milk for both. The bull calf should wean out pretty heavy milking form both, while the hiefer calf only gets enough to survive.

I'm going to seperate them, so that should solve it. I Just wanted to know what ya'll thought.

 

[tripleS]

sorry i must have said a bad word,

this really be nice off #137 should be:
this really makes her mad

 

[MikeC]

I think that they are like women. You.....just......can't........figure........them........out. ;-)

They always keep you guessing.

 

[msscamp]

We've had that happen a few times. We've also had two heifers that 'buddied up' so to speak and would let each other's calves nurse both of them, but no other calves. We also had a cow that, when she was close to calving, would steal another cows calf. We just seperated them and everything was ok after a few days.

 

[semen demon]

I've seeen cows share calves, milk multiple calves, and be protective of others calves. But i can't that i have ever seen a cow just up and leave her calf with a permanent babysitter. Makes me wonder how much milk she has iand if it is any good. My bet is that you may want to think about culling this cow, she probably won't ever be much of a mother.

 

[sidney411]

I don't agree with the last post. They are first time mothers - they can easily get confusedand not know exactly what it is they are supposed to do. I would seperate them with their calf for a couple of weeks if possible and then turn them back out. Should fix the problem. If one weans off a poor calf or if the same thing happens on the next calf then I would think about culling, not now.

 

[stocky]

First calf heifers are always a pain in the rear. They will walk off and leave a calf or take another calf or anything in between. It is good if you can keep a heifer and her calf seperate for awhile, but with a group, that isnt always possible. Seperating them will solve your problem, like you said, the key is to be prepared and available when heifers are freshening. When first calf heifers were worth 400 dollars, it was important. Now that they are worth 1200-1500, it is that much more important---good luck