Newborn Calf

[opensky]

Hi All,
I'm new to cattle so I have a few questions about our first calf that was born almost 48 hours ago. How often should he be laying down?
It seems like he's always sleeping but most of the time, when I go over to him he will get up and run off. Although there have been a few times that he hasn't gotten up and just laid there. This afternoon he was completely alone, not a single cow in sight. The herd was over the hill (about a hundred yards away). I'm not sure how long he had been that way but at least fifteen minutes. Is that normal?
Since I see him laying all the time, I was worried that he's not getting enough milk. But we saw him poop yesterday morning and it was yellow and seedy. Although today he looked like he was trying to poop and nothing was coming out. Also, when he was alone, I picked him up and took him to mom and he peed on me while I was carrying him. It sounds like those are good signs, based on what I've read from other posts. Is that the case? And what else should I look for?
Thanks,
Jon

 

[dun]

Bull calves seem to spend a lot of time the first 2-5 days laying around sleeping. Heifers are usually up and going a lot quicker.

 

[Suzie Q]

Mothers 'hide' their calves and go off and leave them. When they are older they will be left with an "Aunty" in a playgroup.

An anecdote about a calf that was put onto a mare as the cow died. Horses keep their foals with them all the time and drink over a hundred times a day. Calves stay where they are and can get away with drinking twice a day.

The mare was worried about the calf not coming with her. She kept worrying it and getting it up to come with her. It sounds like you are doing the same as she did.

 

[Suzie Q]

I will also put a warning in here as you say you are new to cattle. People have been killed for going near new borns. It is best not to interefere if you don't need to. It only takes one mother to go for you, and it is usually the quietest one of the herd to do so.

 

[Betty]

If the baby seems not to be afraid, you can stroke it a bit while it is resting. You won't believe how this early interaction with humans will change his attitude, sometimes for a lifetime. Keep your eye on mom, though. And also since you are new, don't go out there with a dog. Even a gentle cow will run right over you to get rid of a dog.

 

[opensky]

Thanks All for the responses, we greatly appreciate it! After hearing from all of you, we relaxed a bit and the calf is doing fine. Hopefully, we have 12 more calves on the way and I'm sure we will have more questions.