Pulled a calf from first calf heifer yesterday. Everything went fine, I thought. As soon as the calf was on ground, Mom walked away. Had to chase her down and finally got her and baby in barn. Now, 36 hrs later, she continues to look "shell shocked"... Give LA200 to Mom, Colostrum to baby, it gets up, makes half hearted attempt to nurse, Mom just stands or lays around... any ideas?
Pulled calf, now mom is shell shocked
- Thread starter Okie403
- Start date
I would put the momma in the gate, and try to get the calf to suck. If not, milk her out and bottle feed the calf until it gets some of mommas milk. but keep trying to get the baby to get on momma, while you have her penned up.
same thing happened to me, read my post confused heifer . she will let him nurse without restraint but she won't have anything to do with him otherwise. i had a heifer loss her calf and she took him and mothers him. he goes from one to the other.
put her up and make her let him nurse, until she comes to herself and see if she will take him or at least tolerate him.
if he is not a slow/dummy calf he will figure out who to go to and persist until she lets him nurse.
put her up and make her let him nurse, until she comes to herself and see if she will take him or at least tolerate him.
if he is not a slow/dummy calf he will figure out who to go to and persist until she lets him nurse.
bigbull338
Well-known member
just because you pulled the calf.an the cow walked away doesnt mean it was a hard pull.just means that she cares nothing about that calf.i had that happen when i was raising herefords.pulled a heifers calf.she got up an took off.i ended up raising the calf.didnt force the calf on her.she calved a yr later an took her calf no prob.so you may not get the heifer to bond with her calf this year.
rkm
Well-known member
Not saying you did, but you might pulled to soon. One of the hardest parts of calving is knowing when and if help is needed. I'm sorry for your loss.
KMacGinley
Well-known member
Don't think we are hearing the whole story here.
I may have RKM... I have wondered that too and really am beating myself up.. when i found her, sack was broke and calf had head and feet out but were cold to touch. Cleaned nose and mouth and pinched tongue...watched for a bit and there wasn't any progress.
A full time rancher buddy said that the artery may have been nicked by the hooves when calf came out and she bled out into herself instead of out and thats why no blood.
And Mac...That is the whole story...why wouldn't it be.. guess we do things differently here in Okla...
A full time rancher buddy said that the artery may have been nicked by the hooves when calf came out and she bled out into herself instead of out and thats why no blood.
And Mac...That is the whole story...why wouldn't it be.. guess we do things differently here in Okla...
Ok..before you get upset (and rightfully so)...Mac, I'm sorry for the end of that last post. Uncalled for..just beat down with bad luck...between drought, lack of hay, ice storm in Jan and a few bad breaks calving, I'm thinking a Spring to Fall stocker operation!!!!
Susie David
Well-known member
Bull calf...?
Seems like the big bulls just don't take to the nursing for awhile.
When you see clean teats you'll know.
DMc
Seems like the big bulls just don't take to the nursing for awhile.
When you see clean teats you'll know.
DMc
rkm
Well-known member
No need to beat your self up. I was just trying to point out possibilities. We all lose cattle. Heck, I have been at a national show and seen a very expensive cow die after a seemingly normal caving. The vet and some of the best cow men in the country were standing there helpless.
TNfamilyfarm
Well-known member
OKie sorry for your loss. what did you see from mama cow that last day? just wondering for all our sakes.
It was regional livestock show day so son and I were up at 4am to leave at 5am ...mama was lethargic but got up and came to door of stall to see what we were up to and picked at food/water. Made me think she was coming back and at least would be ok til we got back that afternoon and I would take her on over to see vet if not better. Needless to say, I was a few hours late.
PS Calf is fine so far. Takes a bottle and one of our old show cows will let him nurse with her calf...if I feed her in the show run stall! She's a pretty good negotiator!
PS Calf is fine so far. Takes a bottle and one of our old show cows will let him nurse with her calf...if I feed her in the show run stall! She's a pretty good negotiator!
TxSimbrahShower
Well-known member
This is from past experience over the years. Some will laugh at this.
One instance: Pulled calf off a cow to wean. Put in one of the pens. Stupid horse had pawed(sp) gate, hole in wire on gate, just big enough for calf to crawl out two nights later. (This was back when our cattle ran on about 4000 acres and they didn't come in to the house but about once a week). The next afternoon, this cow brought her calf back to the pen so that we could catch it again, (it was only this cow and her calf, no others were with them). Three or four days later, we found the cow dead, had been dead for 2 or 3 days, about a mile down in the pasture from the house. No visible signs of anything that had happened. It was like she knew and brought the calf back so that it would be taken care of.
Second instance: Cow had calf. She had it in one of the catch pens, left calf in pen, apparently told calf to stay there, she would go off with the herd and when they came back in the evening the calf would come out of the pen, nurse, then go back into the pen and lay down. For 2 weeks that calf stayed in that pen, then mom laid down and died. Went got calf to bottle feed, calf took right to bottle and sucked. Again, it was like the cow knew that she was going to pass and made sure that the calf stayed there where she knew that we would take care of it.
Ok. Now some of you can go ahead and laugh. But, sometimes, I believe that things happen for a reason.
One instance: Pulled calf off a cow to wean. Put in one of the pens. Stupid horse had pawed(sp) gate, hole in wire on gate, just big enough for calf to crawl out two nights later. (This was back when our cattle ran on about 4000 acres and they didn't come in to the house but about once a week). The next afternoon, this cow brought her calf back to the pen so that we could catch it again, (it was only this cow and her calf, no others were with them). Three or four days later, we found the cow dead, had been dead for 2 or 3 days, about a mile down in the pasture from the house. No visible signs of anything that had happened. It was like she knew and brought the calf back so that it would be taken care of.
Second instance: Cow had calf. She had it in one of the catch pens, left calf in pen, apparently told calf to stay there, she would go off with the herd and when they came back in the evening the calf would come out of the pen, nurse, then go back into the pen and lay down. For 2 weeks that calf stayed in that pen, then mom laid down and died. Went got calf to bottle feed, calf took right to bottle and sucked. Again, it was like the cow knew that she was going to pass and made sure that the calf stayed there where she knew that we would take care of it.
Ok. Now some of you can go ahead and laugh. But, sometimes, I believe that things happen for a reason.
