New Calf

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Tripple C

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At what age can I put a calf, that had her mother die, back in the pasture with other cows ? I have been feeding her twice a day with a bottle bucket and keeping her in a barn stall. I could continue to feed her with the bottle bucket, but have concern that she will try and nurse from the other cows and be butted away and possibly hurt. None of the other heifers have calfs at their side at this time but will be calfing in the next couple of months.
 
you will have to have her weaned and eating grass, hay/supplement (no bucket). before then, you are asking for trouble.
 
Has she only been on her own for 2 weeks? If so I would give her some more time. I know they are a pain in the butt, but you need to get her surviving on her own before she goes back out. You need to get some value back out of her so take care of her and then put her out with the cows.
 
If you have an older cow with lots of milk that will let her drink then bring her in. You might be able to get the calf a new mother. Even if the cow won't let her drink have her there. An older cow who is gentle is good for a calf. She can teach the calf cow things that you can't that are necessary for the calf to learn.
Cows are herd animals, a calf will have better gain and less stress if they are not kept alone. We have never had an orphan alone for more than one day. We have a cow we know will take care of them and the calf goes in with her for a bit (with or without her calf depending on when she is due) and then after a few weeks another cow and calf is added to the pen.
 
Give her about a month. When they're on a bottle, I've had them actually forget how to nurse (off a cow) fairly quickly, esp if they've never nursed before. For example... just try grafting a month-old calf onto a cow! some do learn fast, but most don't.
 
milkmaid":327iv1kn said:
Give her about a month. When they're on a bottle, I've had them actually forget how to nurse (off a cow) fairly quickly, esp if they've never nursed before. For example... just try grafting a month-old calf onto a cow! some do learn fast, but most don't.

Milkmaid sounds like she needs to use some calf psychology on the calf. If you don't want the calf to nurse mama, get them together and try to make the calf nurse. Then chances are good that she most surely won't ever. :)
 
Tripple C":2azeo9nu said:
At what age can I put a calf, that had her mother die, back in the pasture with other cows ? I have been feeding her twice a day with a bottle bucket and keeping her in a barn stall. I could continue to feed her with the bottle bucket, but have concern that she will try and nurse from the other cows and be butted away and possibly hurt. None of the other heifers have calfs at their side at this time but will be calfing in the next couple of months.

Decide that you have some extra work ahead of you...bottle feed that calf until it's eating AT LEAST 2 pounds of dry calf starter feed a day. Then continue bottle feeding the calf another 2 weeks...after which you decrease the bottle feeding to 1 bottle a day for 2 weeks. Weaning one too soon sets up all kinds of trouble, the biggest one being respiratory/pneumonia trouble...at least that's what I've found.

Alice
 
Jeanne - Simme Valley":10hqxehl said:
I would never put a calf with cows getting ready to calve. It only takes a few minutes for that calf to wipe out the cows colostrum for her newborn.

I just re-read my post and realized it sounded like I was advocating putting in a cow with no calf. I am not doing that, I would put in a cow with an older calf. Unless he has a cow like the one we use. She will not let the other calf drink until her own calf is a couple days old. No one steals her colostrum. Most of our cows don't let another calf drink.
 

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