Spunky little 6 day old calf! charging! HELP!

[kckattle]

Ok, I am new at this and have a question about my baby calf when she finishes drinking her bottle she charges at us when the bottle goes empty. It took her two days to get the hang of what a bottle was and now she wants to chase us for more. I laughed so hard last night when my husband fed her I could have wet my pants. It seems cute at the moment, but we can not let here keep this up... I need some suggestions here please.

We feed her just as instructed 2quarts of fine milk replacer in the morning and again in the evening. She is 6 days old. We do have fresh water out for her. My husband gave her some water last night after she finished her milk in the bottle to help satisfy her a bit longer.

She has not drank from the bucket yet, but we are trying to teach her by letting her now what water is by tasting and try and lead her over to the bucket.

She is also now interesting belive it or not in grass. She is smelling around her pen and licking and nibbling off a few grass blades.

I will be getting her some calf starter this weekend to begin more soild food and might try that in the afternoons to help hold her over.

BUT, my main question here is how do we get her to stop chasing us, charging us after finishing her bottle.. HELP!

(note: her mother had a medical problem with her udders and was unable to nurse her, so a neighbor friend of ours that could not take care of the calf gave her to us, we were happy to take her, but are newbies and need lots of good advice from you experience bottle feeders) Thanks!

 

[Alice]

As far as her charging you is concerned, feed her thru or over the fence. Don't go into the pen with her while you are feeding her and don't rub or pat her head.

Get her started on the dry calf feed ASAP and give her some hay to munch on...coastal type hay.

Alice :)

 

[cattleluvr18]

is she just like, butting you in the butt or legs?? if she is, shes just doin the motion she would to her momma's udder for more milk. and to me she sounds like a normal bucket calf. and eatin the grass is good. i believe it. no matter what you give her to "hold her over" shes still gonna do it. hand feed her some of that calf starter, she'll start takin to it faster. i dont think theres anything you can do about it. shes just bein a calf. be happy shes healthy. :)

and do what alice said too.

 

[kckattle]

thanks for you replies..

We won't let her get us meaning we move from side to side so she doesn't acutaly butt us yet. She basicly prances straight for us, Its kind of like a dance she is doing but we know if we where to stand still she would run in to us. But we know she is mad because her bottle is empty. So we were wondering what we could do to prevent her from getting violent when the bottle goes dry.

One more question for you. The day we got her she was 2 days old and the nipple I had the hole in it was way to small and she was getting nothing out of it but a drop. I have since made the nipple wider (not a lot) but she is downing her 2 quart milk with in a min.. Should the hole be smaller now that she has gotten a hang of it so she would nurse longer? Or just leave it alone? She likes it the way it is, but if it was any smaller it might be harder for me to feed her. Any thoughts?

 

[danl]

She's not getting violent, it's just how a calf gets a cow to let more milk down.
When a calf gets bigger it seems like they're gonna lift the poor old cow off the ground.
I don't believe you're going to change that behavior, so do like Alice said and stay out of the pen.
Dan

I just looked at cattleluvr18 post and I sort of just repeated it...Sorry

 

[Alice]

New nipples are notorious for being hard for the calf to get anything out of. Large hole nipples are notorious for causing a calf to get too much at once and making it cough...and when a calf starts to cough I get really, really nervous.

Don't ever enlarge a nipple too much. The calf needs to work for the milk...not to a point it gets discouraged, but it needs to take a little while for it to finish the bottle. It's good for the calf.

Alice

 

[Bez>]

Ok, I am new at this and have a question about my baby calf when she finishes drinking her bottle she charges at us when the bottle goes empty.

When the bottle is empty she is not charging - she is trying to find a way to get more from you - best you just push her away and get out of the pen. If you are truly worried just kick her in the head - you are not truly strong enough to damage her.

It took her two days to get the hang of what a bottle was and now she wants to chase us for more. I laughed so hard last night when my husband fed her I could have wet my pants. It seems cute at the moment, but we can not let here keep this up... I need some suggestions here please.

Put her ass in a corner - put a bucket of milk in front of her. Straddle her back and hold her in the corner. Wet your fingers with milk - as the calf sucks, FORCE her head into the bucket. Work your fingers so she keeps sucking - when she gets the hang of it pull your hand away. You might miss one feed before you do this. That way she will be real hungry - makes training easier. Do not drown her - just put her mouth in the milk replacer - DO NOT allow her pull her head out

When the calf has the hang of it - it will drive its head into the bucket up to its eyes. Do not worry it will not drown itself.

We feed her just as instructed 2 quarts of fine milk replacer in the morning and again in the evening. She is 6 days old.

Give her more - one in the afternoon. All the women who raise calves on this board feed theirs more than you do.

We do have fresh water out for her.

She will not touch it on her own yet - stop wasting your time.

My husband gave her some water last night after she finished her milk in the bottle to help satisfy her a bit longer.

She has not drank from the bucket yet, but we are trying to teach her by letting her now what water is by tasting and try and lead her over to the bucket.

See above.

She is also now interesting belive it or not in grass. She is smelling around her pen and licking and nibbling off a few grass blades.

Yeah she will nibble - bvut they cannot survive on it. So it is not a biggie.

I will be getting her some calf starter this weekend to begin more soild food and might try that in the afternoons to help hold her over.

Perhaps - some will eat it and some will not.

BUT, my main question here is how do we get her to stop chasing us, charging us after finishing her bottle.. HELP!

Told you - kick her in the head and / or get out of the pen. She is not a pet - do not treat her like one or you will live to regret it. Trust me on this. Cute now, but dangerous when they have learned all the bad habits and disrespect - and weigh in at 1000 pounds

(note: her mother had a medical problem with her udders and was unable to nurse her, so a neighbor friend of ours that could not take care of the calf gave her to us, we were happy to take her, but are newbies and need lots of good advice from you experience bottle feeders)

Happens - cows get old - no big deal and no pity for her - she was born to die. Do a search on the boards - tons of bottle baby stuff - use the search button at the top of the page.

Thanks!

Do not fall in love with her - she is going to make good steaks and burger.

Do your searches immediately - you need to get smart fast - like yesterday.

Bez>

 

[Alice]

A few things, Bez.

--You are right. I hadn't noticed the amount being fed. Yes, the women do feed more than that. :)

--It is not a waste of time to provide drinking water...it is an absolute necessity. They will discover it, and they will drink it.

--The other stuff like kicking it in the head...well, that can be avoided if the calf is fed thru or over the fence. I got mad at a calf once and tried to kick it...wound up on my butt and limped around for a few days. There is no need to get into a pen with a calf to feed it unless it needs to be tubed. It's safer for ALL concerned.

Alice :)

 

[novatech]

A few things, Bez.

--You are right. I hadn't noticed the amount being fed. Yes, the women do feed more than that. :)

--It is not a waste of time to provide drinking water...it is an absolute necessity. They will discover it, and they will drink it.

--The other stuff like kicking it in the head...well, that can be avoided if the calf is fed thru or over the fence. I got mad at a calf once and tried to kick it...wound up on my butt and limped around for a few days. There is no need to get into a pen with a calf to feed it unless it needs to be tubed. It's safer for ALL concerned.

Alice :)

I totaly agree with Alice.
Their is one other big factor. By feeding over the fence you are keeping that calf from bonding with you. This is important for your safty later on. Calves that become to close to humanes become dangerous when they start growing up. I have had bull calves actually try and mount me, and heifers that can hurt you as well, They may not intentionaly try and hurt you but they do not know their own strength. You are not their momma and they need to know it.

 

[Victoria]

She's charging you because she is still hungry. What breed of calf is this? How big she is depends on how much she should be fed. But you should add at least one more 4 Pint feeding in the day. We will often do four feedings a day when they are that young.

Does this calf live alone? Lonely calves will be more of a problem. Get her a friend. Even another cow with a calf helps. Calves need more than just food to do well, especially if you plan on keeping this calf. You are taking over the role of her mother and for her to do the best she can you need to do this fully. This means food, love (I'm not talking feelings, I'm talking actions) and discipline. When the calf is done eating stay with her and stroke her with your hand or a brush much as a cow would to groom her calf. She should settle down. If she doesn't then give her a hard push or kick like a cow would butting her calf when it is being bad.

You can keep her alive on what you are doing and just stick the bottle through the fence to feed her. Just make sure if you do that you eat her because if you keep a calf like that you are asking for trouble. The only bottle babies that can stay are ones that have learnt to respect you. You HAVE to be the boss and if you are not you can not keep her.

Up her milk intake and see if that helps. Watch an older cow with her calf for awhile and see how she treats it. You need to learn more about cow pyschology.

 

[Beefy]

when i feel them tensing up to butt for more milk i will actually butt them with the bottle first. i'm not sure if it helps but the confusion on their face is entertaining. i feed mine while sitting on the fourwheeler out in the pasture with the other cows. the fourwheeler looks more like a cow and less like a human so they dont get used to chasing humans that are on foot. i just park and make a sucking noise and they come running. of course i still talk to them but the two i'm raising dont even recognize me on foot. besides, a calf that age doesnt need a credit card!

 

[kckattle]

http://cattletoday.com/photos/showphoto ... mit=recent

 

[kckattle]

I am trying to post a pic but don't understand or see what they call the bbc code? I uploaded three pics.. but can't seem to figure out yet how to post em here?

 

[dun]

Feed through the fence, hand feed starter leave water available and get her a buddy. The only catch is to seperate her and the buddy for a while after they finish their bottles.

 

[HAY MAKER]

I am trying to post a pic but don't understand or see what they call the bbc code? I uploaded three pics.. but can't seem to figure out yet how to post em here ?

good luck

 

[Earl Thigpen]

I am trying to post a pic but don't understand or see what they call the bbc code? I uploaded three pics.. but can't seem to figure out yet how to post em here?

After you've got all through uploading your picture right click in the picture and you will get "properties". You will see a URL in the properties dialog window, copy the URL.

Come back to the forum you wish to post the pictures to and at the top, just to the right of the "Message body:" statement you should see 9 little rectangular, orange colored boxes, the next to the last one will say "Img" for image. Click "Img" paste your URL and click "Img" again. Your photo should appear and not the link message.

Good luck.

 

[cattleluvr18]

such a cute little guy. looks like a do gooder. keep up the good work.

 

[msscamp]

BUT, my main question here is how do we get her to stop chasing us, charging us after finishing her bottle.. HELP!

Feed her through the fence.

 

[msscamp]

We feed her just as instructed 2 quarts of fine milk replacer in the morning and again in the evening. She is 6 days old.

Give her more - one in the afternoon. All the women who raise calves on this board feed theirs more than you do.

Yep! ;-)

Bez>

 

[kckattle]