Lost Calf Need Advice Please

[kucala5]

So this morning went to check the cows and one was standing at the fence hollering into the woods. She looks like she's had her calf and been sucked. She would have calved yesterday or last night so we're talking at best a 1 day old. We haven't been able to find any sign of the calf on the place or up in the woods where she's indicating she wants to go. The winds blowing such that if her calf got through the fence during the night (we had storms) the calf wouldn't be able to hear her hollering. I just got back from looking for another 2 hours. Should I let her out to go try to find the calf? There's no fencing but there's also not anything of real interest except possibly her baby. I'm afraid this isn't going to end well.

 

[callmefence]

If you know you can get her back . Your not just turning out on some one else's property. I would say let her go find her calf. Just understand she might not behave like she normally would. Second option would be to open the fence up down low and hope the calf comes to her. If it's nursed you would be surprised at what it can do.

 

[kucala5]

We decided not to let her out and gave it some more time with little hope. Just got back from checking and low and behold the little guy was trying to get BACK through the fence where Mama was telling us he escaped! Where he was the last 10 hours and our 5 hours of searching and searching again (me in tears) in that area we'll never know. The reunion was sweet. Thank you St. Anthony. (patron Saint of lost things)

 

[True Grit Farms]

Great news.

 

[gizmom]

Glad it worked out. We have an old cow 525 we never can find her dang calf unless we watch the calf hit the ground. She trains them fast! I don't know how many hours we have spent over the years looking for her calves. We have finally just given up and wait until mamma will allow him/her to be seen.

Gizmom

 

[farmerjan]

Glad it worked out. Calf probably got scared by storm and like you said didn't hear momma. Amazing how they can find their way back most times.

 

[greybeard]

They'll lay down next to fence sometimes and wake up on the other side...storms always add another dimension to newborns.and even (imo) when the momma calves.

Good to hear it worked out.

 

[wbvs58]

Surprising how they sort things out if left alone.

Ken

 

[nocows]

Glad it worked out. We have an old cow 525 we never can find her dang calf unless we watch the calf hit the ground. She trains them fast! I don't know how many hours we have spent over the years looking for her calves. We have finally just given up and wait until mamma will allow him/her to be seen.

Gizmom

I had to laugh when I read this, we just went through our first calving season. I spent every bit of an hour searching for a new born calf in a 12 acre field one day. It's got one ditch that had some brush in it but other than that it was pretty much open, I finally gave up and just figured the coyotes got it because there was no way I missed it.

I went back to the gate to leave and decided to watch the mama as she was headed back that way from the pen where I just fed them, kept watching she walked right to the calf and it sprung up and just appeared. I drove/walked by that part of the ditch 3 or 4 times I never seen the little thing.

In hindsight I was a little dramatic but it was our first calving season and I was just trying to make sure I kept a good eye on everything.

 

[Air gator]

This is a similar vein...you have to have Angus cattle or some other dark-colored animals to understand this.
It is REALLY hard to find black cows at night. It always seems like the one that is due to calve is hiding in plain sight.
I have walked and walked looking for cows and they hide. And it would be one thing if they actually had calved but I find them and they are laying down where I had been 30 minutes before. And it does seem to be particular calves that have a knack for hiding. There are some calves you have to walk around all the time.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Glad it worked out. We had something like that happen, newborn calf was missing for 2 days. Then I spotted it walking down in the ditch, heading for home. :lol:

 

[M.Magis]

I had one last month that spent the first week going through an old four wire fence and hiding in the woods, and walking through it like it was nothing to get a bite to eat from mom. It would take off like a deer when it saw me.

 

[TCRanch]

Bout a week ago one of my cows calved about 50 yards from a fence along the county road that leads to the ranch. Calf was prob about 6 hours old, I walked up to see what it was & it jumped up & bolted through the fence, across the road, through the fence into our bull pasture & down into a draw. Mama cow had no clue, she was interested in the cubes. Drove to the other pasture, I walked towards the calf & once again it shot up & bolted back through the pasture, through the fence, crossed the road, through the fence back into the central pasture & kept freakin' going until she was half a mile away. Mama still had no clue. WTH?! Tried to walk mama to her calf & got about .25 mile but heading south was not the last place she saw it & high-tailed it back to where she thought her calf was bedded down. Okay then! Got the calf catch & a rope but was able to come up behind/catch the calf without. Went ahead & tagged/worked the calf, put her in the Polaris & drove her back to mama, who by this time was freaking out wondering where her calf went. Oh, and the calf pooped all over me - you know that first poop that's the equivalent of Gorilla Glue? Yeah, good times!