pulled my first calf by myself, now i dont think the mom....

[hersh]

is nursing.

little background on the mom. she is 3 year old heifer, she just wouldnt get pregnant. Now she did, and i had to pull the calf. she has 2 extra small tits but the main 4 are huge. after she gave birth and laying down I squeezed her tit to make sure no mastitus and it seemed ok, but she didnt like it. the calf is a little bull and healthy and atleast 100lb. did I say these are charolais? Anyways I pulled him at 7:30 yesterday and havnt seen it nursing. They are up in the barn and he butts her neck and sucks every where but the few times I seen him around the utters she lifts her leg to push him away. not sure if he has sucked yet or not but today I went and got some colostrum and fed him a quart and half with my wife. I had to hold him but he sucked it all down. her tits are pink but just cant tell. I will watch but got some milk replacer so I am ready. Please give advise on things to watch, the calf is healthy and mom licks him and is not happy when I fool with him.

 

[angie1]

Wow, hate to advise you to mess with that calf if mom is taking care of him. I would have to guess he is nursing, even if you aren't seeing it. Would it be possible for you to put food coloring on her tits so that you can tell if they have been nursed? Often times they nurse when you are not watching. Mom does not want him to nurse if she see's you watching as it is a more vulnerable position for both of them, and you are a potential predator ~ especially now that you have handled him.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

It was really good that you got the colostrum & gave it to him - but - after 24 hours it really didn't do any good, other than act as a laxative. After about 12 hours, the calf only has about 75% ability to utilize the antibodies in the colostrum.
Food coloring is a good idea. I used to use a teat dip solution which was already blue & very thick. I would add a bunch of blue food coloring & I used a teat dip cup to put it on the teats, although I have heard others use a spray bottle.
I would have guess the calf sucked except for the fact that you said it sucked a bottle for you. They normally won't touch a bottle after having a teat to suck.

 

[AngusLimoX]

Stop reading this board and leave them alone for 6 months.

 

[angie1]

Stop reading this board.

You do not think he got good advice ALX?

 

[jcarkie]

look if the heifer is that slow to breed she better raise a good calf, and not need help, to pay for the extra time. heifer are alittle slow sometimes to let a calf nurse and punch around on them, if you leave them alone and he seems enegetic and moving then just keep an eye on them,and your distance from them. let her do her job if something is going in something will be coming out,

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

If it was mine i would put the calf on the tit and see if it wants to suck.

 

[stockman12]

You have to find out if he is nursing. Hold him up to the teat and get him started. She might be kicking at him because her udder is tight and sore. By the time you post on here and get an answer you should have already had this taken care of.
Heres what you could do.
Seperate the two for a few hours so the calf is hungry. Milk the cow out some so she is not tight. Turn em together and with a calf that is a little hungry you will find out if he nurses.

If he has sucked before now you can probably tell if it is easy to start the milk if you nilk her

 

[dun]

This is where the flank rope comes in so handy. If her udder is sore she may not want the calf messing with it. Once the calf nurses and reduces some of the pressure she will usually let the nurse ok. Udder ould be sore from milk, edema or mastitis, you need to know which you;'re dealing with

 

[Cowdirt]

Hersh, Stockman and Dun gave you some good info. Pay attention.

 

[hersh]

Thanks all. Her tits are now blue with food coloring and tonight I fed him a 2 quart bottle that he drank in no time flat. Tomorrow morn I will feed him but when I get home she is going in my brand new squeeze chute and I'm going to borrow one of the amish neighbors kids to milk her dry. After I fed him he was all riled up and put him on her tit and she raised her leg. so he has not been feeding. How much should a 100# calf drink a day?

 

[hersh]

Hersh, Stockman and Dun gave you some good info. Pay attention.

yes they did.

 

[hersh]

Hersh, Stockman and Dun gave you some good info. Pay attention.

And trust me, when I read you guys and girls I am all eyes and ears! I couldnt afford the crap I've learned here.

 

[ga. prime]

Here's another piece of advice for ya. Take the r of of hersh and you'll be hesh like the guy on the Sopranos.

 

[stockman12]

So whats the status now. wish I was there. I sure hope he is doing good.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

You may need to use the flank rope like Dun said. Put a rope over her back, just in front of her hip bones, down under her bellie, just in front of the udder. Sinch it up TIGHT (use a loop at one end & tie it off with a slip knot so you can release it quickly if you need to - it sorta paralizes the hind legs & if they really fight it, they can fall down - but they can't pick up their leg to kick! )
Calf should get a bottle AM & PM. Some will feed a bottle 3 X a day, but you want it to suck mom.
When you get MOM sinched up so she can't kick, get the calf sucking on a bottle for a few minutes (seconds) till he's really wanting it, then lead him with the bottle or your finger to the teat. Once he gets a teat in his mouth, that's usually the end of the problem. If the cow seems to relax, slightly loosen up the rope, but be ready to sinch her up if she kicks.
The Amish neighbor may know how to sinch her up.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[hersh]

Ok update
last nite me and a neighbor got her up in the squeeze chute and I milked her out. Dumb me fed him a bottle when I got home so he wasn't going to suck her. She was hard at fist toget started but milked good. She was acting like she was tender or sore. Just now got finished with her in the chute and dint feed him so he milked all 4.
Udder was softer tonite. Before I let her out I put baby lotion on her udder.
The food colloring was a good ideal but now all our hands are blue as well as the calfs head and it looks like a paInt can exploded on her hind quarters.

 

[hersh]

I fed a bottle to him this morning and tonite. after I fed him he went and sucked on mom for the first time. sucked one tit dry and the way I know its the first time is all the blue came off her tit. she kicked at him but he was like a mosquitoe. I put a pic of him under the link to my farm pics. i took it with my iphone so its not the greatest, his face is so blue but it hard to tell in that pic. thanks all.

 

[dburkhart]

Just had this same situation. We milked the cow for a couple of days, and bottle fed the calf until he had enough strength to take on his mama. Went out this morning and he drank 1 pint, looked at his mama and took her one. Now he is nursing great and the new mama is much calmer. Sometimes, it just takes some patience.

 

[hersh]

Well she is a full lowness nurser, he is hitting all tits and she just stands there. Now she's a good mom. Tho I put them out today with some heifers and mom got into a long drawn out fight with the oldest one and I had to get Jr up cause he thought it was a game and was getting right under them. All is good and quiet for now. Thanks all.