boondocks
Well-known member
Glad to hear she is doing better! Sounds like a fighter. Keep us posted.
Not sure what to do here...
- Thread starter Fire Sweep Ranch
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CKC1586
Well-known member
Great! :tiphat: :wave:Fire Sweep Ranch":1m75dr05 said:Boondocks, I agree. But that was the confusing part, this calf was full term. But everything about her; her size, her lack of ability to feed herself, says she was a preemie.
But an update: she was let out of the barn yesterday after church, and by nightfall her and her dam were at the back of the pasture. I worried (needlessly, I know) that something would happen last night to her since she is so small she will slip under the poly wire and not get shocked, but be in another section of pasture without protection. But all was well this morning, and she got up while I was checking cows and ran right to her dam and started nursing. Gave me joy
I think she will be OK.
Nesikep
Well-known member
I've had so many that gave me problems like that!... always good to hear when they do get it figured out though!
OP
OP
Fire Sweep Ranch
Well-known member
I agree Nesikep. She got a respiratory infection this week. She was panting like she ran a marathon, and running a fever of 105.3, our vet said it was not surprising with her size and not sure of her colostrum intake. We treated her with Advocin and Prevail, and she has bounced back and is galloping around the field. She is so small, she slips right under the hot polywire we have up and never touches it. Silly girl goes and lays down under the cedars with the rest of the herd, and her dam just sits there and moo's at her to come back!
But she is a little fire cracker!
But she is a little fire cracker!
Nesikep
Well-known member
we had a heifer bred at 7 months that we kept as a replacement (not knowing)... suddenly in august she had a teeny calf... did fine though with no help... I think she was about 50 lbs or so at birth... For us that's like an ant... We're quite used to 120-140 lb'ers from the big cows
OP
OP
Fire Sweep Ranch
Well-known member
OK, thought I would update this thread. The little heifer grew up to be a fantastic show heifer, and wins a bunch for my son! I have pictured her on here a few times before...
Anyway, back to the cow. She calved today, a year later (actually pretty early!).... same story. She was only 266 days bred, AI'd to Chopper. She does not handle the heat well, but bred back on her first cycle last year and raised a heck of a calf so she stayed. The last two weeks have been horrific for us, very high temps and no moisture so our pastures are brown and crunchy. As said previously in this thread, this cow grows a bunch of hair and is always hot and puffing. So I suspect that is why she calved early. I went out for my noon check on the girls and found the cow in the middle of the pack with a tiny little leg sticking out of her. As I got closer, the single leg sticking out was past the knee.... not good. I reached up and found the second hoof, and gave it a tug. Got both legs out, but they were really far apart, versus most deliveries have the front legs close together. I then see ears!!! NO NOSE, NO HEAD! I put my hand in the cow, and the head is flipped down, and I can only find the ears and top of the poll. I tried to shove the calf back in, so I can flip the head up over the pelvis, but the cow kept pushing against me. I made a judgement call and decided that the calf was small, so I would just pull and try to get it past the pelvic region. No chains, just my hands on the slimy legs! SUCCESS! The head pops out and the rest of the calf just flies out! The calf is non responsive and very flimsy, so I roll it to the chest, on the sternum, and give a few light pushes on the sternum. He takes a breath! But is just barely there, so I keep working, putting grass and sicks inside his nose to get him to sneeze and breath. I drag him to the front of the cow (who is still down), and go back to check for a number two since he is so small and she is so early! She is really hot inside, but not other calf can be felt. Hubby then arrives with my chariot (the 4 wheeler) and we throw the little calf on the bike and the cow follows. He was so small, I wanted him up in the barn to make sure he nurses and check the cow when she is up for a second calf again. The calf weighs 51 pounds, another itty bitty calf. He is not real responsive, but breathing so we leave the two while we have lunch. We decided to go back down to check on both, and put the cow in the chute to check again for a second calf and milk her out to feed the calf since he was a bit slow. He was up and trying to nurse (big improvement from calf last year), so I decide to help. Once again, I discover that this cow has thick, red colostrum. Dark red, and thicker than molasses! We allow him to suck, but I doubt he is getting anything. So we put the cow in the chute, check her one last time for a second calf (nothing again) and milk her out. Got about 16 ounces, but it was next to impossible to tube it into the calf because it was so thick! So we went back up to the house to finish some chores and give them a few hours. Back down at 4:30, and the little guy is trying to suck on his own! So I work with him for about 15 minutes, allowing him to suck as long as he desires. When he is done, I went ahead and tubed him with some frozen colostrum to make sure he got enough.
So, I guess this cow just runs hot, and has little calves! She is much better this year at claiming the calf and caring for it, and I think she just has ugly colostrum for her babies. Oh, we temped her, since we both thought she was hot, and she was 105!
Just happy to get a live calf, and one that stands and sucks for such a young age!!!
Here is a pic of her colostrum after we milked it out and poured it in the bottle for feeding:
So all is well that ends well. I hope she does as good of a job with this guy as she did with her first, and I just have to get over her ugly first milk, and that she has little calves!
Anyway, back to the cow. She calved today, a year later (actually pretty early!).... same story. She was only 266 days bred, AI'd to Chopper. She does not handle the heat well, but bred back on her first cycle last year and raised a heck of a calf so she stayed. The last two weeks have been horrific for us, very high temps and no moisture so our pastures are brown and crunchy. As said previously in this thread, this cow grows a bunch of hair and is always hot and puffing. So I suspect that is why she calved early. I went out for my noon check on the girls and found the cow in the middle of the pack with a tiny little leg sticking out of her. As I got closer, the single leg sticking out was past the knee.... not good. I reached up and found the second hoof, and gave it a tug. Got both legs out, but they were really far apart, versus most deliveries have the front legs close together. I then see ears!!! NO NOSE, NO HEAD! I put my hand in the cow, and the head is flipped down, and I can only find the ears and top of the poll. I tried to shove the calf back in, so I can flip the head up over the pelvis, but the cow kept pushing against me. I made a judgement call and decided that the calf was small, so I would just pull and try to get it past the pelvic region. No chains, just my hands on the slimy legs! SUCCESS! The head pops out and the rest of the calf just flies out! The calf is non responsive and very flimsy, so I roll it to the chest, on the sternum, and give a few light pushes on the sternum. He takes a breath! But is just barely there, so I keep working, putting grass and sicks inside his nose to get him to sneeze and breath. I drag him to the front of the cow (who is still down), and go back to check for a number two since he is so small and she is so early! She is really hot inside, but not other calf can be felt. Hubby then arrives with my chariot (the 4 wheeler) and we throw the little calf on the bike and the cow follows. He was so small, I wanted him up in the barn to make sure he nurses and check the cow when she is up for a second calf again. The calf weighs 51 pounds, another itty bitty calf. He is not real responsive, but breathing so we leave the two while we have lunch. We decided to go back down to check on both, and put the cow in the chute to check again for a second calf and milk her out to feed the calf since he was a bit slow. He was up and trying to nurse (big improvement from calf last year), so I decide to help. Once again, I discover that this cow has thick, red colostrum. Dark red, and thicker than molasses! We allow him to suck, but I doubt he is getting anything. So we put the cow in the chute, check her one last time for a second calf (nothing again) and milk her out. Got about 16 ounces, but it was next to impossible to tube it into the calf because it was so thick! So we went back up to the house to finish some chores and give them a few hours. Back down at 4:30, and the little guy is trying to suck on his own! So I work with him for about 15 minutes, allowing him to suck as long as he desires. When he is done, I went ahead and tubed him with some frozen colostrum to make sure he got enough.
So, I guess this cow just runs hot, and has little calves! She is much better this year at claiming the calf and caring for it, and I think she just has ugly colostrum for her babies. Oh, we temped her, since we both thought she was hot, and she was 105!
Just happy to get a live calf, and one that stands and sucks for such a young age!!!
Here is a pic of her colostrum after we milked it out and poured it in the bottle for feeding:
So all is well that ends well. I hope she does as good of a job with this guy as she did with her first, and I just have to get over her ugly first milk, and that she has little calves!
Workinonit Farm
Well-known member
I'm very happy to hear that this guy is doing better than last year's, at this stage. Also happy to hear that last year's grew off really well!
As for that 1st milk -----yikes! That is some scary looking stuff. :|
As for that 1st milk -----yikes! That is some scary looking stuff. :|
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Wow! I have never seen colostrum like that either. :shock:
Best wishes with the calf. Sounds like he is on his way......
Best wishes with the calf. Sounds like he is on his way......
Lucky_P
Well-known member
Kris,
Had a similar one several years ago; first-calf heifer bred to an extreme calving ease bull - they usually fall out if they sneeze hard - but she needed help; colostrum was thick, bloody, and not much of it. Thawed and gave him some that we had in the freezer. She was a good mama and did a good job with him. Did not have a repeat performance the next year - bred her to another calving ease sire and she calved uneventfully, so I don't know what her colostrum looked like the second time around. She's gone on to have and raise calves from sires with decent BW, and no problems.
Some calves are just slower-starting. Have had a few - usually after a difficult or prolonged delivery that need some assistance - sometimes for 3-4 days, to get the hang of it. Suspect they probably had some cerebral hypoxia - do OK walking around grazing, but might not be the smartest kid in their class.
Had a similar one several years ago; first-calf heifer bred to an extreme calving ease bull - they usually fall out if they sneeze hard - but she needed help; colostrum was thick, bloody, and not much of it. Thawed and gave him some that we had in the freezer. She was a good mama and did a good job with him. Did not have a repeat performance the next year - bred her to another calving ease sire and she calved uneventfully, so I don't know what her colostrum looked like the second time around. She's gone on to have and raise calves from sires with decent BW, and no problems.
Some calves are just slower-starting. Have had a few - usually after a difficult or prolonged delivery that need some assistance - sometimes for 3-4 days, to get the hang of it. Suspect they probably had some cerebral hypoxia - do OK walking around grazing, but might not be the smartest kid in their class.
inyati13
Well-known member
Lucky_P":395xqzcq said:
Lucky, I have wondered about that and this is the first time anyone has mentioned it on CT that I have ever seen. I have observed that some calves move slow, seem to be less curious, less active and dare I say it - less intelligent. I can't support that but I believe it occurs. I have a couple cows that are 4 years old that do well but seem to be "duller" than the other cows. I had wondered if it was hypoxia or genetic.
Nesikep
Well-known member
About the thick colostrum, I have often noticed it on heifers where the bag only develops late in gestation, and it's a very sudden increase in size, which may be rupturing blood vessels. Also, with the small amount you're able to get, some of them just will not let down the milk for you, though they would be if it was the calf sucking... If I have doubts, I usually give them a little oxytocin which lets down the milk whether they want to or not.
I'm glad this guy got the hang of it a little quicker, though I don't know if I'd really want to keep this cow a lot longer... I've found that some cows just get ALL the bad luck and it sticks with them the rest of their life.
As for 'special needs' calves, I think there's some genetics in there, as well as some hypoxia.... Calves from some cows are just ALWAYS lively, and some are always slow... Some I know are hypoxia based, but others I saw were plopped out in minutes, so I know thats not the cause.
glad to hear you got this guy going though!
I'm glad this guy got the hang of it a little quicker, though I don't know if I'd really want to keep this cow a lot longer... I've found that some cows just get ALL the bad luck and it sticks with them the rest of their life.
As for 'special needs' calves, I think there's some genetics in there, as well as some hypoxia.... Calves from some cows are just ALWAYS lively, and some are always slow... Some I know are hypoxia based, but others I saw were plopped out in minutes, so I know thats not the cause.
glad to hear you got this guy going though!
OP
OP
Fire Sweep Ranch
Well-known member
Thanks Lucky. We would not have messed with her either other than that itty bitty calf with a very tough start! I got him up this morning (he was laying down), and he kind of staggered around for a few minutes, then went to the cow. I did not see him nurse, and had to do chores so I would not be late for Church. Went and checked on the rest of the group of cows, came back about 15 minutes later, and he was under her udder with his tail a wagging, so I let them be. Just got home from church, haltered the dam so I could check her udder. Her milk today is almost white, with a little brown tinge to it in the front quarters and more bloodish in the rear quarters, so I suspect he is nursing from the front more and cleaning them out. While I had her tied, I got him up (which is quiet a feat to do since he is like rubber and does not want to stand but plops back down on which ever end I get up!) and made him walk to her udder. He mooed just a little, sniffed, then went to another spot and plopped back down. I ran my finger across his lips, and no response (calves will usually try to suckle or search for a nipple) so I hope that means he has a full tummy.
I bet he is a bit slow, because he did have a slow start with his head being bent down... and being two plus weeks early!
Nesie, I agree. Last year I said the same thing, she was out of here. But she raised a heck of a calf, and is only 1000 pounds herself (she is a small Angus, Pioneer sired). I bet she does it again this year, and if she sticks to the first AI attempt like last year she will stay. I just wonder what the likelihood is that she will always have little calves? I do not mind, but it makes one worry if she was in a pasture setting right now if her calf would follow her with the herd, or be able to keep up? By Monday I plan to kick them out to pasture, if it is going as well as now and he better be able to keep up because I have no more grass near the house so the cows are in the farthest pasture to graze!
Oh, here is a pic of her heifer from last year, who happens to be in heat this morning (she has been cycling since she was about 7 months old)! She is just a year old.
I bet he is a bit slow, because he did have a slow start with his head being bent down... and being two plus weeks early!
Nesie, I agree. Last year I said the same thing, she was out of here. But she raised a heck of a calf, and is only 1000 pounds herself (she is a small Angus, Pioneer sired). I bet she does it again this year, and if she sticks to the first AI attempt like last year she will stay. I just wonder what the likelihood is that she will always have little calves? I do not mind, but it makes one worry if she was in a pasture setting right now if her calf would follow her with the herd, or be able to keep up? By Monday I plan to kick them out to pasture, if it is going as well as now and he better be able to keep up because I have no more grass near the house so the cows are in the farthest pasture to graze!
Oh, here is a pic of her heifer from last year, who happens to be in heat this morning (she has been cycling since she was about 7 months old)! She is just a year old.
Nesikep
Well-known member
She does look very nice!.. I know how it is with culling when you have other animals more worthy of growing wheels... I have a couple that have hung around for 5 years just because I've always had murphy around and other had to go.
