I have a 2 and a half week heifer, she is a holstein, Jersey mix. She is a small one. She has been chewing on the cattle panels, to the point that it makes your ears hurt. She chews on them all the time. Is she lacking a mineral? She doesn't seem to have any other issues. I have been offering her sweet feed, but she doesn't seem interested in it at all. How can I get her to quit this?
WHY is she doing this?
- Thread starter Elaina
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TheBullLady
Well-known member
With the sweet feed you'll probably have to take a couple of handfulls and put it in her mouth before she figures it out. We do that will all our calves at 2 weeks or so. It may be that she's bored.. does she have a lot or pasture to roam?
Yeah, I've been doing the putting it in her mouth, I've had to do that to all of them. Hmm. I just don't know. No, we haven't been letting her roam around yet, we are in the middle of a horrible heat wave, and I didn't want her out in the middle of it.
Depending on the szier of the pen she may just be bored. I see it a lot with single calves with no interaction with others. Even interaction at a distance seems to settle them down. Now it's probably a habit that may be very hard to break
dun
dun
holly heifer
Well-known member
My bottle calves( past and present) all have had suckingand chewing issues. It stems from not being able to nurse when
they want. They will suck- chew on everything! ( gates, the wall, each other, twine, dropcords::: had to move those! :roll: , any bodypart they can reach, ect. They will outgrow it as they begin to eat more calf starter and hay. ;-)
bgm
Well-known member
Like has been said, they will suck on almost anything. The only thing I've not seen them suck on more than once is the end of the 2" electric tape I have in one section. That nice white end sticking out there seems inviting..... once.
Bez?
Well-known member
Elaina":1avtar5j said:
You can sell her.
Bez?
Bez?
Well-known member
Pen size?
Companions?
Sweet feed? A waste in my opinion but have at.
Health?
Appetite?
Amount fed?
Competition?
Others beating her up?
List goes on.
Bez?
Companions?
Sweet feed? A waste in my opinion but have at.
Health?
Appetite?
Amount fed?
Competition?
Others beating her up?
List goes on.
Bez?
sidney411
Well-known member
probably same thing as a horse cribbing, they start it out of boredom and is a very hard habit to break. Try moving her to a differnent pen/location. Let her out on pasture for some time during the morning or evening when it's a little cooler.
How much milk is she getting at a feeding? Sounds like it may still be hungry. All bottle calves will nibble and knaw around for a couple of minutes after they finish the bottle. I went to feeding them from a pan or bucket for that reason. They don't suck on each others ears and such as bad when they drink from a bucket.
ctlbaron":7nv58eae said:
She's up to a bottle and a half at each feeding, twice a day, with water in a pan. She also has grain in front of her at all times, and hay. Thank you for those of you trying to be helpful. I am not a calf expert, and admit it. I have just never had a calf to chew like that. Now, I have always had them suck on things, and maybe chew for a few seconds, a couple of days after they are first born, but have never seen one do this all the time like she does. My concern was that she could injure her mouth, or that she was doing it for some reason that I was unaware of. I was looking for genuine help, and I appreciate it.
I am going to do some more searching, and see what else I can find on this, if anything.
