nurse cow?

[Castleman Creek]

Hello folks, :wave:
I bought an angus/jersey calf. my question is, will this make a good nurse cow some day, or should I get something that is not crossed with anything else, like full jersey, holstien, swiss etc?
My other question is, does it take a lot of work to get them to take other calves?

Thank you
Billy ;-)

 

[Williamsv]

I have not tried to put calves with another cow,but my dad did many years ago and it was very difficult. I would not want to try it. I have seen a couple of my cows letting other calves nurse them. One cow lost her calf last summer the same day that another cow had a calf. The one that lost hers was helping the other one fight off Mexican vultures that were attacking her calf. I believe that upset her and made her go into labor two months early. Anyway this cow let the other cow's calf nurse her and she looked after it along with its mother. They stayed together and this went on until I sold the cow that lost her calf,as she was getting old. You never know about cows!

 

[LauraleesFarm]

Training a nurse cow takes a little bit of work and some luck. If your heifer is laid back and easy going, she can probably be trained to take on foster calves. Halter breaking her is a great start. For her first calf she will be most likely to accept other calves since first-calf heifers are not as overwhelmingly opposed to getting nursed by any and every body.

Some have the personality for it and some don't. Jersey-Angus is a great cross. Jerseys tend to be easy to deal with as nurse cows in my experience.

 

[kenny thomas]

In the past we have made more money from nurse cows than we ever did with any of the others. In those days I could find a baby calf with a phone call. At one time we had 5 nurse cows with 2 or 3 calves on each. After the first group got to going good, around 400lb, we would wean them and replace them with 2 more. Normally after the second group of calves we would turn them out with 2 sucking them. Some days it was hard to tell who was suppose to be the mommy. 4 would be sucking and 2 waiting.

 

[Tim/South]

If the cow is gentle then she is more likely to make a good nurse cow. Hope her milk production takes after the Jersey side of her genes.

We kept Jersey cows as nurse cows a few years ago. I built a pair of stocks so I could tie the hind legs until they accepted the calves. Jerseys have always been easy to work with like that. We bought cull cows from a dairy and they had to get toughened up on the faucets. That area had been pampered all their life.
Raised 7 beef calves on 2 cows one summer. Good money back when you could buy a calf at the sale for $75.

 

[Nesikep]

Some cows will take on another calf easily, others will not no matter what you do...
something I'd be willing to try, is when they have their first calf, take the calf away immediately, and hand milk her a while, then give her two calves once she's used to that and see if that helps..
I had one cow that lost hers (and got to lick it) adopt a calf who's mother had no milk.. She was tame and docile, and milkable, but really didn't want that calf.. After about 10 days she got used to it and let the calf suck, but it was never really *hers*.
The same year I had anothe rcow that had a breech birth, and she went down the chute for me to straighten the legs out and pull the calf, it was dead, and I tossed it under the chute, and let the cow into the corral.. then disposed of the calf. Over the next couple days I brought her into the chute to milk her out and keep her milking. A few days later on the most miserable night, a very stupid cow had twins, so the second twin was rejected, and I was in no mood to mess around, so I brought her into the shop, fed her some colostrum, and put her to bed. In the morning, I put the wet cow in the crowding pen, then brought up the little heifer up the chute. *LOVE* at first sight.. Cow said "Moo" and the calf was hers...

 

[Castleman Creek]

Thanks a bunch this is all great info. I still have a while before she can have a calve, for she is only 6-8 weeks old.
She does seem to be very gentle. I guess I need to start halter breaking her? I'm sure the sooner I start the better.

Thank you
Billy :wave:

 

[cowgirl8]

we dont have a nurse cow, but when i get a calf in need of a mother, i graft them onto a cow who's lost her calf. Our cows are commercial cows, not pets. So it takes some work to make it work. I'd say 75% of the time it works 100%..lol..I hobble the cow. Most times it takes about a week. It helps to start out with an older calf who wants to nurse everything. Newborns are more timid and can be frightened away from a cow who doesnt want nursed. Take a calf a couple weeks old who will nurse a fence post, he'll nurse a hobbled cow who doesnt want nursed. After a week, she usually gives up and the hobbles can come off.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I've messed with a lot of nurse cows. Have some now. Am developing some now.

If your cross produces the milk, she is a prospect. She can be meaner than a one eyed snake, but if she takes care of calves, she has value. Will likely live longer and produce longer than straight dairy.

You can crate the cow or put her in a head lock. Keep her calf with the graft calves. It generally takes 3 days for graft calves to fully have her scent. Then she won't be able to tell the calves apart. Readily.

A dairy cow that readily lets everything nurse is no good either. All graft calves will un to her. Then others will go to the correct nurse cow and the other calves are slighted. You then have to separate them from the herd. Which is why I actually prefer the less docile cow. If I was just running one cow separate from a herd, it might be different.

The graft calves need to be hungry when you try to graft. I crowd them to the cow in the crate. She is sort of blind to the calves. Her natural calf will be nursing. Let the grafts get in there and grab a teat. Then pull the natural calf back. Hold it back for a bit.

Young calves often don't have enough appetite to strip the cow out completely. You may have to finish milking her for a couple of weeks. I never put more than 4 calves on a cow at a time. Usually hold it to three if I am going to just turn them all out to pasture.

You can cycle another group onto the cow when you wean the grafts. It is best to keep one nursing so that they can strip the cow for you. Let them in last. Once the new group gets an appetite you can wean the older calf.

I buy beef splits. Try to hold my cost to $1 per day. Any feed the cow gets is pro-rated across the calves. I do feed the cow. Especially while she is crated etc.

You can try to milk the cow a little then sponge her milk all over the graft calf. Sometimes that works.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I have pictures of my crate. Also my head gate set-up which essentially just runs them into the chute backwards.

I agree with Kenny Thomas. More money in nurse cows than anything else. You have to be capable of getting calves tho. 1 week old beef splits are around $400 now. You're going to put another $250 in them. Then sell them for around $1300.

A widow lady here locally runs nurse cows. She's been doing it for years. Vets know her. She gets a lot of calls about orphan calves and such. She's considered an expert by many. My methods often differ from hers but my methods work for me.

 

[djinwa]

Many people think that extra milk is free. Well it isn't made from air. The cow will need extra groceries to keep up.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Many people think that extra milk is free. Well it isn't made from air. The cow will need extra groceries to keep up.

Exactly. That's why I pro-rate the cows feed into the calf's cost it's really hard to stay under $1 per day per calf.