New Calf

[twabscs]

Hi All,

New calf hit the ground Thursday afternoon. Momma had the calf in a draw and it rolled into a ravine and was chilled to the bone when I found her (the high was 6 that day). Brought her inside and warmed her up and everything is now fine.

The question I have is she is from a black Brangus and the guy I bought the momma from said she was bred to a black bull. As you can see from the picts, she is solid chocolate brown. Any ideas on her heritage? Momma is black with lots of ear and a bit of white on her udder.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[novatech]

Bull or cow have some red genes somewhere. Red angus? Are they regestered?
Often times the brahman can be red. Many grey brahmans have red mixed in. They do this on purpose to add pigment to the bull.

 

[john250]

Brangus are bred to tolerate heat, not so much cold.
Consider giving that calf an injectable vitamin at a minimum. Looks healthy now, but that can go sour pretty quick.
Nice looking calf. $$$$$

 

[MikeC]

Looks like a Charolais sire to me. Nice calf.

 

[mitchwi]

That is one CUTE calf!

 

[twabscs]

Thanks for the help. Below is a picture of mom. Agree that Brangus really aren't bred for this cold weather up here, but it's been unseasonably cold here too. She is the only brangus I have and she was one of 36 bred cows I purchased from a guy locally. He lost his lease and ask me to buy them all and not "pick and choose", thus I have one brangus cow out of 49 right now.

No registered cows here, as I'm still learning the ropes.

 

[Alice]

Well, she may be your only one, but she certainly gave you a beautiful calf.

Oh, and what John 250 said!

Alice

 

[TheBullLady]

Nice looking calf. It looks like the cow is pretty light on milking capability however. May just be the picture, but she doesn't look like she has much milk.

 

[twabscs]

Nice looking calf. It looks like the cow is pretty light on milking capability however. May just be the picture, but she doesn't look like she has much milk.

Yeah, I was thinking that myself. So, if I have a cow that doesn't have much milk, should I supplement the calf with additional milk replacer? I know I should cull the cow but what about the calf?

The standard way of judging amount of milk is by watching the growth / gain of the calf, right? Seems just looking at udder size wouldn't do much. Could it take a few days for her milk to "come in" possibly?

 

[Beefy]

you never can tell but she doesnt appear to be milking well and looks like an older cow. i would at least offer the calf a bottle of milk and see what happens. if possible it would nice to separate the pair so that you can feed them a little extra and provide a warm spot for the calf.

 

[randiliana]

Udder size doesn't necessarily mean much. I've seen cows with tiny neat little udders raise exceptional calves, and cows with big huge udders raise teeny little rats. Watch the calf, especially when he is sucking. If he switches teats quickly after he starts sucking, and then goes quickly from one to the next, odds are that she doesn't have much milk. He should look "full" in the flank when he is finished. Also, if he acts lethargic instead of bouncing around like a normal calf it could mean she doesn't have enough, that could mean he is sick too.

 

[mnmtranching]

That's a nice calf, but it looks to me like it needs some help.

I would give it some good supplement once a day.

 

[twabscs]

Thanks all for the replies. I will do more "research" on the milk issue tomorrow and let you know. The 34-day-straight cold spell in NW MO has finally broken and it will be in the 40-50s for the next week. My little chocolate Brangus should be fine with the temps at least.

 

[Alice]

If you are even a little bit concerned about the calf not getting enough milk, then please, supplement the little guy.

Alice

 

[vs_cattle]

Nice Looking Calf

 

[donnaIL]

ditto...nice calf

 

[KNERSIE]

If it were mine I'd offer the cow some grain or alfalfa supplements to see if her milk kicks in. You'll be surprized how soon the calf will start eating the supplements too. Then I would rather creep feed the calf than supplementing him with extra milk. Cull the cow as soon as the calf is weaned and she is back in good condition.

 

[Joy in Texas]

Nice little calf. I agree with the rest . Give him milk replacer and sell the cow as soon as she is better.

 

[cattleluvr18]

ive heard of cull cows but i dont kno what one is. could somebody explain please!

 

[KNERSIE]

a cull is any animal you don't feel can still make a positive contribution to your herd and that you would basically be better off without.

In other words, sell her and replace her with a better animal that would make a positive contribution