should she stay or should she go?

[lilfarmgirl]

I have a cow that did not take her calf this year. This is her second calf, she was fine with her first calf last year. She is three years old. I have been told to keep her, and by others to get rid of her. I need some advice from experienced cattle farmers.

 

[jcarkie]

if it was her first it would be a little more understandable, hard pull confused. i just sold one that did that, she let hers nurse but never mothered him. second calf i would ship her quick.

 

[hillsdown]

I think it depends on a lot of circumstances and in the end it is your decision to make alone.I have a beautiful PB red angus cow that did not accept her first calf.Chalked that up to not being hers as she was a recip.Her second calf was her own and she wouldn't take him until I cleaned him and dried him off for her.Her third calf she took him right away and is a great mom.Her steer last year and this year have the highest gains of all steers.Also she is very fertile and breeds back first breeding and is a very gentle and easy to handle animal.

So like I said there are many factors to consider.

 

[dun]

Had a cow that rejected her second calf after raising the first with no problem. Easy quick delivery, just didn;t like that calf. She'ld hunt it down in the pasture to knock and kick the crap out of her. I put up with 5 days of that foolishness, putting her in the chute, etc. She brought $87 cwt. The calf is due to calf in September with an Angus embryo. She's 3.4 Red Angus and 1/4 Polled Hereford

 

[hillsdown]

Had a cow that rejected her second calf after raising the first with no problem. Easy quick delivery, just didn;t like that calf. She'ld hunt it down in the pasture to knock and kick the crap out of her. I put up with 5 days of that foolishness, putting her in the chute, etc. She brought $87 cwt. The calf is due to calf in September with an Angus embryo. She's 3.4 Red Angus and 1/4 Polled Hereford[/quote ]

Dun, some people here would say you were crazy to even keep offspring from that nut job.That's why I don't ask other people if I should or shouldn't keep an animal only I know the complete story ;-) .

 

[3waycross]

My buddy had the same thing with a second calf, problem was the first one was not ever weaned,and no one realized it because the first calf was kept witht the herd for replacement.

They were apart for 2 months and we just didn't ever see her suck her mother antil the second calf was born.

The cow dropped the calf and wouldn't even look at it, even tried to kill it. We sent the yearling down the road to be bred to another bull(besides her father) If she is still trying to nurse when she comes back she's going to the sale.

I've heard this kind of cow will steal milk her whole life if she can. Anybody else have that experience.

 

[Double A]

We have always shipped when a cow will not claim a calf. Cows that don't raise a calf, don't make money. Although I will add, we have never had one claim the first, but not the 2nd. We have gotten much better at getting the cow to bond with the calf and work really hard to get this to work so we don't have to ship or end up with an orphan. It can also depend on your situation (cow numbers, how much is the cow worth, disposition, etc) and if you have time to monitor and mess with her in the future. An especially hard call with slaughter prices up!

That's an odd one, about the unweaned calf; the longer we've been in cattle, the more unusual things we seem to encounter...but that's a new one for me.

 

[dun]

Dun, some people here would say you were crazy to even keep offspring from that nut job.That's why I don't ask other people if I should or shouldn't keep an animal only I know the complete story ;-) .

I didn;t keep her. The vet bought her (Lil Orphan Annie) for his daughter as a bucket calf. The fair has a class for little kids to show their bucket calfs. Get's the kids started with livestock at an early age. Since he knows the cow family he planned from the beginning to use her as a recip in his ET program. All of the other females from that cow family have been excellent cows, I see no reason Annie won;t be the same.

 

[CWT Angus]

Had a 3yo cow do the same thing this year w/ her 2nd calf. She was great with the 1st one. I wonder if I created that problem by leaving her in with cows that had already calved.

It was cold & rainy & I could tell she was in labor, off by herself in the small field near the barn, didn't eat dinner, swishing her tail etc. All the cows had the habit of cramming themselves into the shelter during the night. She went in there too for one reason or another, pushed her calf out right at the gate & went to licking another heifer ( few days old) which is where I found her.
I kicked everyone else out & tried to get them together. She was trying to ram the poor little guy into the walls. I tried everything for 2 weeks with her & she never would take him. This is a very gentle, halter broke cow that has never shown any signs of agression to anyone. She was just adimate that that calf did not belong to her.
She's still here, bred back. I may be kicking myself next Feb for it, but I just wonder if she was really confused & if I had separated her this might not have happened??????. her mom & sister are great mothers.

 

[msscamp]

Anybody else have that experience.

Yep, but it wasn't often. Our weanling replacement heifers did not rejoin the herd until they were due to calve as two year olds, though. The mother in question generally took a very quick, inpromptu ride on the first trailer headed for the sale barn.

 

[J. T.]

I have a cow that did not take her calf this year. This is her second calf, she was fine with her first calf last year. She is three years old. I have been told to keep her, and by others to get rid of her. I need some advice from experienced cattle farmers.

She's an employee that refused to do what she was hired to do. Fire her.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Had two different cows not claim their calves. (Different years) and both went down the road. No need to put up with that nonsense.

 

[Victoria]

The rule here is that if the cow does not accept the calf at birth she goes. That is how it goes. We don't want cows that don't do their job. It's hard enough fighting the weather here to keep them alive, much less fighting a cow, besides I hate orphans.

That said we shipped one cow that was a perfect mother as a first calver. She had her second calf and would not take it. I had a bottle baby named Angel, very healthy calf. Two years later I had a vet out to see Angel because she just wasn't doing well. She had a heart problem and had to be put down. I always wondered if the cow somehow knew that her calf wasn't healthy and so was going to let her die. Still ship them if they don't take their calves though. I guess what it comes to is a personal choice for you, how much time and energy do you want to spend on this cow next year?

 

[lilfarmgirl]

sorry about not getting a response back sooner, just got back from the fair. We did not do well this year, which is sad because this is my sons last year. I am looking at replacment heifer or cow. I am not sure what breed to go with though, need to give it some more thought. Thanks for all the replies, it has helped.

 

[karlie45]

We ship if they dont take the first calf- under "normal" circumstances.

Sayin that- We do have a cow that would not take her second calf. The first calf was born large (110lbs) and a couple weeks early(yes, we know she was early because we ai'd that one, no bull) So anyway. This calf could barely breathe (lungs not fully devoloped acroding to the vet) let alone stand. She was lifting it under it's belly. (we think she was trying to help it up.) and was in the way of the vet. So as much as she wanted to be near it, we had to put her in a separated pen so that the vet could do his business. The calf died later that night. We should have shipped her then, I know. But she was a very nice show female, that we were hoping could produce great show calves. The second calf came around, she would have nothin to do with it. We watched after it for a week and she took it back. We decided to give the cow one last chance. 3rd calving year, she calved and took care her calf wonderfully. We havent had a problem since. We chalk that one up to "traumatic events". If that is possible..

 

[karlie45]

Guess I was a little late with my reply..hehe.
Sorry to hear about the fair. Some years just dont go as well as others.