Lost Calf should I and can I graft a calf ?

[nobody]

One of our brangus momma's had a calf on 06-25. She has always been a good momma so we were not totally concerned when the rains set in a gain and we could not get back into the pastures for 5 days. On the 30th we get in and no calf. Large place lot's of thicket no idea where the calf could be but momma is not even looking around for her calf. Today is the 3rd so 8days later. Should we try to graft a calf to her ? Where would I find one ? and how would we go about it ?

Thank you in advance. I was reading that calfing was like Christmas and had agreed, ours was cancelled.

 

[CattleAnnie]

I'd definately graft a calf on her if I could find one. If you're going to feed that animal all year, she may as well raise a calf for you, and as long as the replacement calf doesn't cost you too much you should be able to make a few bucks off of it in the fall. Another reason to put a calf on her is that sometimes dry cows will become 'overfat' and have trouble re-breeding - and then you're just losing more money all over again.

Maybe ask some of the neighbours if they've got an orphan calf or an extra twin that needs a mother. Could also try the sale barn, but be ready to give a calf from the sale barn some antibiotics in case it's contracted a virus or such from the auction market or the farm it came from.

Good luck and let us know how it goes....

Take care.

 

[WORANCH]

One of our brangus momma's had a calf on 06-25. She has always been a good momma so we were not totally concerned when the rains set in a gain and we could not get back into the pastures for 5 days. On the 30th we get in and no calf. Large place lot's of thicket no idea where the calf could be but momma is not even looking around for her calf. Today is the 3rd so 8days later. Should we try to graft a calf to her ? Where would I find one ? and how would we go about it ?

Thank you in advance. I was reading that calfing was like Christmas and had agreed, ours was cancelled.

are you sure the calf is dead ? i have cows that will hide calves for a week .

 

[nobody]

One of our brangus momma's had a calf on 06-25. She has always been a good momma so we were not totally concerned when the rains set in a gain and we could not get back into the pastures for 5 days. On the 30th we get in and no calf. Large place lot's of thicket no idea where the calf could be but momma is not even looking around for her calf. Today is the 3rd so 8days later. Should we try to graft a calf to her ? Where would I find one ? and how would we go about it ?

Thank you in advance. I was reading that calfing was like Christmas and had agreed, ours was cancelled.

are you sure the calf is dead ? i have cows that will hide calves for a week .

No we have not been able to ind the calf. On the 26th we saw the calf and it looked very healthy, but solid white. Came right up to the pens when we honked the horn. Momma even took him in the pens and we made a few jokes about the poor little one being pushed about by all the other cattle in the pens due to his color. They hung out for a couple of hours and he was nursing well. Then came the rains (every day) and we have not seen him since. I hope you are right ! There is no way to cover the entire property though and we have coyotes and the mexican eagles. Guess I don't know.

 

[nobody]

is her bag full can you tell if its been sucked on she may just be hiding it ive had cows hide there calves to up to a month but if your right and its dead witch i hope your wrong for your sake it shouldnt be to hard to find a calf to put on her down here the farmers will some times give you orphand or twin calf but she may not take, if she doesnt take the calf catch her urine and pour it on the calf i learned it from my grandpa it works every time for me it gets her sent on the calf well good luck

Good points, I have noticed that her bag is full but not as full as it was the day before she calved. I will look closely to see if I can tell if she has been nursing. Thank you for the support. When would it be to late to graft one ? If I graft one and our calf is out there somewhere then what ?

 

[Kelly]

Grafting a calf does not always work. I would think you would need to have them in a separate small area together to get them to bond if you want a better chance for it to work. I have tried to graft within a 1/2 day of calving and it did not work! It depends on the cow - some will take a calf , some won't!

 

[clifflem]

If you can catch the cow, shut her up overnight. Turn her out the next morning. If her calf is in the pasture, she should go to him. This will also give you a chance to see if she bags up some. If she is being nursed, she should bag up over night.

 

[la4angus]

If you can catch the cow, shut her up overnight. Turn her out the next morning. If her calf is in the pasture, she should go to him. This will also give you a chance to see if she bags up some. If she is being nursed, she should bag up over night.

If not it is getting pretty late to graft a calf on her. Going on 8 to 10 days now.

 

[Arancher]

The calf may not be dead. I had a Charolais cow that calved and didn,t know it for several days. She would hide the calf alone side a canal and he would come out to nurse and then back to his hiding place.
You should be able to tell if she's been nursing the calf. The nipples should be longer and more narrow than before she had the calf.
Usually when a cow has a calf that dies , she'll keep going back to it and lot's of crying. Don't be surprised one day that she'll come out with it.
Good luck!!!!!!!!

 

[nobody]

Guess who showed up tonight ????


I really appreciate all of the support I recieved here on the board! The overwhelming majority told me to hang in there. You guys were right. He looks terrific!

Thank you for being there and sharing your experiences. This is this best forum in the world.

Christmas came back !!!!!!!!!111 ;-)

 

[dun]

Guess who showed up tonight ????


I really appreciate all of the support I recieved here on the board! The overwhelming majority told me to hang in there. You guys were right. He looks terrific!

Thank you for being there and sharing your experiences. This is this best forum in the world.

Christmas came back !!!!!!!!!111 ;-)

Last spring we had a calf vanish for 18 hours. Her mother kept standing in the same place and bellering for her. The next day she showed up from another pasture, no where near the one that the cow was looking.

dun

 

[Beefy]

i thought one of our cows lost a calf a few weeks ago. i noticed one night when they all herded up that she was hollering more than usual, i figured he was just following a cow around (he is pretty old) or bringign up the back of the herd. anyway, the next day she had a full bag and was bellering all day long so i looked and looked and looked and searched every nook and cranny for a dead calf. turns out he was stuck in the corner of the neighbors lot in a bunch of overgrown weeds. he was fine but a little dehydrated. as a result the lady mowed her stuff.

 

[TexasCountryWoman]

If you do ever end up having to "graft" a calf, I have done it a number of times when i had my full-blood Holstein, and do it occasionally with my Holstein/Herford cross. In the first few days after calving, I would buy a baby calf at the sale barn, take it right to the vet for shots, antibiotics and a health checkup. My cows never really cared about the extra calf after the first nursing or two. My Holstein would regularly raise three calves easily. Her own, and two orphans and they would do well and it was quite profitable. The Hereford/Holstein can easily fatten two. I would separate Momma cow from the little ones till she really needed to have them nurse, then it was a free for all and she did not care if they were her calves or not by that point. After only a week, she could be turned out of the lot and the three calves would follow her like a litter and she treated them all the same. I would always buy beef calves to put on these cows. I would rub "poop" and urine from the original calf on the new calves and this seemed to do the trick as far as fooling the Mommas cows.

 

[MULDOON]

I just LOVE, HAPPY endings.I guess it's natural for the cow to keep her baby hid at first. With our first batch , I was so nervous every time I heard the coyotes, I would run out and check on the calves.
I finally told myself that , the old cow had , had a lot more calves then I had. That was after I put her in a one acre lot. Because I just knew that she was gonna have that baby any time!
Turned out she all ready had it , The next morning the calf was at the fence crying to her momma :lol: :lol:

Really enjoyed TCW'S last post, (Buying sale barn calves , grafting)
Lot's of good info..
I'm not there ... yet.
But at some time , I would like to get a older gentle milk cow , Probably Jersey, And put sale barn calves on her.
Right now I'm seeing 2-3 day old calves going for over $250, I think I'll wait and see if the prices come down, Not that I'm asking for prices to come down
Speaking of prices coming down ?? Are ya looking at the gas prices??

OH I'm sorry that's another topic :lol: :lol:

 

[la4angus]

I just LOVE, HAPPY endings.I guess it's natural for the cow to keep her baby hid at first. With our first batch , I was so nervous every time I heard the coyotes, I would run out and check on the calves.
I finally told myself that , the old cow had , had a lot more calves then I had. That was after I put her in a one acre lot. Because I just knew that she was gonna have that baby any time!
Turned out she all ready had it , The next morning the calf was at the fence crying to her momma :lol: :lol:

Really enjoyed TCW'S last post, (Buying sale barn calves , grafting)
Lot's of good info..
I'm not there ... yet.
But at some time , I would like to get a older gentle milk cow , Probably Jersey, And put sale barn calves on her.
Right now I'm seeing 2-3 day old calves going for over $250, I think I'll wait and see if the prices come down, Not that I'm asking for prices to come down
Speaking of prices coming down ?? Are ya looking at the gas prices??

OH I'm sorry that's another topic :lol: :lol:

Since the gas prices made the top no one is paying any attention to them!!
People only get excited about rising prices!!! Not falling prices!!!!!!!!
There is another topic in the Coffee Shop on rising gas prices.

 

[plbcattle]

I am glad you found the calf. i had that happen to 2 cows last year. they hid the calf so well I thought either coyotes got the calf or they died. after a couple of days they appeared with mom and were healthy. I guess momma always knows best.

 

[hillbilly]

A few years ago an older cow had a weak calf, she would push it through the back fence onto a 400 ac brush pile that is full of coyotes.
I was worried sick, I thought the old girl had lost her marbles.
One day I was out cutting thistles the old cow called her calf outta that thickett. She came out and nursed and a three month old bull calf came over and started jumpin the calf, the old cow quickly got rid of the little bull then stuffed her calf back through the fence.
Didn't worry after that, them older cows do a pretty good job if we don't bother them too much.

Hillbilly