Weaning a pet calf -HELP

[Riona]

I have a 2 1/2 month old miniature Zebu calf. He's strictly a pet, so I want to manage him for his well-being and not for my stomach. The owner of his mother is also a newbie, so I can't help but be leery of her opinion. Anyways, she wants to bred the mother back to her bull, so she wants to wean my calf cold-turkey from his mother by the end of the month. I have seen the calf nibble on hay and he'll eat treats from my hand, but I haven't seen him drink water at all. He only nurses from Mom. What would anyone here recommend on how to wean this calf properly?

Should I put him on calf replacer (bucket or bottle) for a few days before weaning him and then continue with that for a few days afterwards? Or should I just put him on calf manna? At his age is his rumen fully developed? Lastly, the cow's owner feeds her herd alfalfa in the morning and 3-way (wheat, oat, & barley) hay in the evening, and her cattle are very fat and bloated. So when my calf is separated from his mother what roughage (hay) would you all recommend?

Thank you in advance for your opinion and advice

 

[dun]

Rumen isn;t ready for much yet at this point. Getting it to take a bottle may be difficult because the rubber feels/tastes different then mom.
What is the illogic in weaning the calf in order to breed the cow?

 

[raykour]

Dun, unrelated but sort of related to the original question....if rumen isn't good for much yet what should I be doing with a 185 lb. heifer calf I bought last week that had been taken from momma (off to slaughter) and said no way on the bottle (she is a little wild too)

She is fending for herself in the pasture at the moment.

 

[Isomade]

No need to wean the calf to breed the cow. Calf can stay on mama for another 4-5 months while she is bred.

 

[dun]

Dun, unrelated but sort of related to the original question....if rumen isn't good for much yet what should I be doing with a 185 lb. heifer calf I bought last week that had been taken from momma (off to slaughter) and said no way on the bottle (she is a little wild too)

She is fending for herself in the pasture at the moment.

Probably supplementing her with calf manna is about as good as it gets then gradually switch her over to a good calf starter grain then a regular 16% grain.

 

[Riona]

What is the illogic in weaning the calf in order to breed the cow?

My thought exactly. This logic is coming from the cow's owner. She thinks her cow won't come into season or get pregnant if she's nursing my calf. Mares can be bred with a foal at their side, why couldn't a cow? Right?

 

[Riona]

No need to wean the calf to breed the cow. Calf can stay on mama for another 4-5 months while she is bred.

Thank you. Now that I'm getting cattle expert opinion that you "can" breed a cow with a calf still at her side, maybe I can talk sense into the owner and she'll allow my little guy to continue nursing.

 

[Riona]

Thank you everyone for your advice and expert opinion. I've been around horses for along time and feel pretty confident in their care, but cattle are a whole new ball game. I've learned now that cows can be bred while nursing a calf, so there's no need to rush and wean my calf. Also, I can skip the calf milk replacer and jump right into calf manna as a supplement. Thanks Dun.

What is the opinion on hay? The mini-horses at my boarding stable get timothy and grass hay to keep them from bloating into blimps, would that be true for mini-cows?

One last thing, if I understand correctly, the cow's owner wants to bring the bull into the cow pen for breeding. Her concern (and her other reason to wean) is the calf will get hurt by the bull. The pen is small (12 x 24), I thinking maybe a bigger pen will give the calf a fighting chance to stay out of Daddy's way. Excuse my ignorance, but this is just a thought...during breeding could the bull be aggressive enough to injury his own calf. Right now, he's in a pen about three feet from the cow pen, so he can see and smell my calf, so I'm assuming he "knowns" him and is use to him. Hopefully, he wouldn't hurt him. :???:

THANKS!

 

[dun]

Thank you everyone for your advice and expert opinion. I've been around horses for along time and feel pretty confident in their care, but cattle are a whole new ball game. I've learned now that cows can be bred while nursing a calf, so there's no need to rush and wean my calf. Also, I can skip the calf milk replacer and jump right into calf manna as a supplement. Thanks Dun.

What is the opinion on hay? The mini-horses at my boarding stable get timothy and grass hay to keep them from bloating into blimps, would that be true for mini-cows?

One last thing, if I understand correctly, the cow's owner wants to bring the bull into the cow pen for breeding. Her concern (and her other reason to wean) is the calf will get hurt by the bull. The pen is small (12 x 24), I thinking maybe a bigger pen will give the calf a fighting chance to stay out of Daddy's way. Excuse my ignorance, but this is just a thought...during breeding could the bull be aggressive enough to injury his own calf. Right now, he's in a pen about three feet from the cow pen, so he can see and smell my calf, so I'm assuming he "knowns" him and is use to him. Hopefully, he wouldn't hurt him. :???:

THANKS!

Most cows are bred while nursing a calf. Some producers do pull the calf for 24 hours to help induce the cow to come into heat. Normally the bull won;t mess around with a calf. The only time one would get hurt is if he gets his head clunked or he gets knocked around when the bull is mounting the cow and the calf is nursing. If she plans on introducing he bull to the cow and they are currently close to each other, the cow ill demonstarte that she's in heat (so will the bull usually) and she could then put the bull in for a day or until he loses interest.

 

[CKC1586]

Why purchase feed when his mom has the best nutrition he can get? My calves don't get weaned until they are 6 months old.

 

[snickers]

thats a pretty small pen for the breeding pen. i wouldnt want my calf in that small of a pen with the bull hot and heavy trying to breed the cow.

 

[dun]

thats a pretty small pen for the breeding pen. i wouldnt want my calf in that small of a pen with the bull hot and heavy trying to breed the cow.

She's talking miniatures, think of it as a 20 X 48 for full size cattle