maternal inctincts

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certherfbeef

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I was talking with a feller today that just weaned his calves. He was returning a handful if the calves to the pasture and their mammas. He weaned according to the almanac on the 19th. The calves he put back on the cows were decient calves and had grown pretty well. He said the calves weaned were all in the 170 to 190 day range.

Because I'm nosey, I couldn't supress the urge to ask why those calves were put back in the field after near a week in the weaning pen.

His answer intrigued me. He said he weans by the almanac but if a cow doesn't bawl for their calves for atleast a day they are sold with calves at side. His reasoning was that if they aren't worried about their calves than they either didn't have enough milk to feed them to 180 days and hence not enough maternal, be it instincts or milk, to raise the calf properly.

Anyone have any thoughts on this theory?
 
Interesting theory, but if the calves he's turning back out are good calves the cows must have enough milk and instinct to raise them well. I'd go more by the size of the calf and what sort of mother she was at calving time, than by how long she bawled at weaning time. He must have a lot of time on his hands if he knows which cows are NOT bawling :D
 
certherfbeef":20frfzgp said:
I was talking with a feller today that just weaned his calves. He was returning a handful if the calves to the pasture and their mammas. He weaned according to the almanac on the 19th. The calves he put back on the cows were decient calves and had grown pretty well. He said the calves weaned were all in the 170 to 190 day range.

Because I'm nosey, I couldn't supress the urge to ask why those calves were put back in the field after near a week in the weaning pen.

His answer intrigued me. He said he weans by the almanac but if a cow doesn't bawl for their calves for atleast a day they are sold with calves at side. His reasoning was that if they aren't worried about their calves than they either didn't have enough milk to feed them to 180 days and hence not enough maternal, be it instincts or milk, to raise the calf properly.

Anyone have any thoughts on this theory?

Sounds to me like he either has way too much time on his hands, or his theory has major flaws.
 
Myself..I would much rather be aware of the cows calving ability and her milking and mothering ability. I don't go by whether or not she stood bawling so many hours at the fence.

I could give this some merit IF there had been a noticeable difference in the calves.
 
Well if thats the case then I've got a cow right now with a very strong :eek: maternal instinct because its been 2 weeks and she still at it.(Well at least in the mornings when I'm getting ready for work she stands at the fence and bawls) The calf on the other hand could care less.

Any thoughts on that one?
 
J":3az7zif8 said:
Well if thats the case then I've got a cow right now with a very strong :eek: maternal instinct because its been 2 weeks and she still at it.(Well at least in the mornings when I'm getting ready for work she stands at the fence and bawls) The calf on the other hand could care less.

Any thoughts on that one?

Based on the bawling theory, obviously the calf doesn;t have any maternal instincts!

dun
 
I'm no expert but I agree with the other posters here. That guy has too much time on his hands, or too much money to be trading cows like that. Does he have any numerical data to back up his claims? Like ADG for both sets of calves? I would need more info then just a theory.
 
dun":2fx5ge1g said:
J":2fx5ge1g said:
Well if thats the case then I've got a cow right now with a very strong :eek: maternal instinct because its been 2 weeks and she still at it.(Well at least in the mornings when I'm getting ready for work she stands at the fence and bawls) The calf on the other hand could care less.

Any thoughts on that one?

Based on the bawling theory, obviously the calf doesn;t have any maternal instincts!

dun

;-) My thoughts too!
 
The Almanac gives dates for the best days to.... wean, plant above/below ground crops, cut hay etc.
 
sidney411":3ep0eloi said:
I'm no expert but I agree with the other posters here. That guy has too much time on his hands, or too much money to be trading cows like that. Does he have any numerical data to back up his claims? Like ADG for both sets of calves? I would need more info then just a theory.

Sid, he is an old cantankerous commercial breeder. He does not weigh anything. However, I may tramp thru his pastures with my weigh tape this spring while I'm helping him check his cattle. Might be interesting to get a few BW and weaning weights to follow this through.

There was no blatently obvious difference in the weights or health of the calves.
 
It sounds to me like one of those nasty "wives tales" that get started. I personally can't see any benefit or logic behind it.
 
i think that guy is whack. whack meaning nutty in this case.

i have one cow that can't bawl. she tries but nothing comes out. either its too high pitched for me to hear or shes mute.
 
I'm with the others, by that theory our first calvers would have a stronger maternal instinct (on average) than our older cows. When in reality the older cows have just been there done that.
 
I just weaned 2 heifers today, using the trailer method. The mamas a balling up a storm.... I guess they are keepers! :D

Alan
 
Our weaning is going smoothly bawling stopped...no alminac jsut penned the calves...all mamas were good milkers. Calves good feeders and all had sticky faces.
Probably it's the way his daddy and grand daddy weaned their calves...could be a way to pick up a good pair every so often.
just my two bits worth DMc
 
Susie David":3d8lbx2i said:
Probably it's the way his daddy and grand daddy weaned their calves...could be a way to pick up a good pair every so often.
just my two bits worth DMc

My thoughts exactly Dave. ;-)
 
I'm a big believer in fenceline weaning. At my place it seems to keep the bawling to a minimum. But that's at my place, what works for others is something else.
 

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