Will a heifer milk better the second year?

[Ky hills]

I think I already know the answer or at lest what I've always thought. We have a heifer that calved around 3 weeks ago. She milks some but not a lot evidently the calf was often nursing her or trying to steal milk from the other heifers in the field. We pulled her off and are bottling her now. Normally I would cull for that but my thinking is she won't bring much at the yards. If she would do better another year it might be worth keeping her and trying again I just don't know.

 

[kentuckyguy]

I haven't had a lot of experience with this but the two times I have had it happen it didn't turn out good.

Both heifers didn't milk enough with the second calf either. I never had to bottle feed a calf. The calves were just poor growing. Both would go from teat to test trying to get milk.

 

[Bigfoot]

My experience is, they usually stay that way. Got one now is a shameful milker. Probably send her down the road when the calf is 4 months old.

 

[Hardnosecattleco]

Ive worked on a dairy for past 13 years and usually if there scrubs the first lactation they'll come around next. But then again u always have those duds. Give it a shot worse case scenario u gotta feed another calf next year and then cut ur losses and can her

 

[Brute 23]

Did the calf actually look bad? Some calves just like making the the rounds.

I have some cows that you hardly ever see a big bag on but the still raise a good calf.

I've never had a heifer not make enough milk to support a calf on her own.

 

[Ky hills]

Did the calf actually look bad? Some calves just like making the the rounds.

I have some cows that you hardly ever see a big bag on but the still raise a good calf.

I've never had a heifer not make enough milk to support a calf on her own.

The calf was thin and moving slower every day that it was on the cow. The heifer looked like she had a little bit of an udder. Like you said I have seen them raise a decent calf without having a lot of udder development, but then we had a Santa Gertrudis that didn't have much of one and as long as you poured the feed to her the calf was decent but as soon as it dropped off the calf was looking pretty rough. We sold her cause it wasn't practical to special feed her when the others were doing good without extra. Last year we had a longhorn cross heifer didn't seem to have much milk yet sold a 10 month old Angus cross steer off of her that weighed 560 and I doubt the cow would weigh 900. I think he was probably over 450 when weaned.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Yes.
But,
you will still be disappointed.

 

[regolith]

In the dairy situation it's about half and half.
Half the duds are still duds if they're given another chance.
Half mature into great cows. Milk production increases yearly till they're fully grown.

Your heifer could have a treatable ailment that is pulling back her production. I know what I'd do, but some consider illness a good excuse for a second chance.

 

[Buck Randall]

How old is she? If she's only 21 or 22 months she still has some room to develop and become a decent cow. If she's well over two years old and can't cut it, I'd feed her heavy for a couple months and sell her when she's fat.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I'm in the same situation. I have 1 heifer that raised a calf for about 2 months. She fell Ill. Pinkeye bad!
Her production dropped way off. I pulled the calf and sold it. Mama is better now. Shes in the pen to be sold next week. Yall are making me think about keeping her for one more shot...

 

[lithuanian farmer]

Had a couple cases. They all have improved abit, but some turned out very well. One wasn't able to raise her first calf well, but with her 3rd calving she raised nice twin heifers.

 

[Dsth]

I have never had a heifer milk that poorly that I had to pull the calf and bottle feed. I have had calves from first calf heifers that did perform less that calves from older cows but that is expected. Cull or keep would depend on what you have for replacing her, feed availability, sentimental value, and time to feed calf next year if needed.

 

[Caustic Burno]

It is hard enough to turn a profit with a good cow much less a cull.
Again at my place if the cow can't have and raise the calf unassisted she's fired. I'm getting a better cow.
That cow has a daily cost to maintain and hers is higher than her peer group.
She is a welfare cow!

 

[MurraysMutts]

It is hard enough to turn a profit with a good cow much less a cull.
Again at my place if the cow can't have and raise the calf unassisted she's fired. I'm getting a better cow.
That cow has a daily cost to maintain and hers is higher than her peer group.
She is a welfare cow!

You sir have made up my mind.
Thank you!
I'm trying to simplify a few things, and that's one less to worry about!

 

[Ky hills]

It is hard enough to turn a profit with a good cow much less a cull.
Again at my place if the cow can't have and raise the calf unassisted she's fired. I'm getting a better cow.
That cow has a daily cost to maintain and hers is higher than her peer group.
She is a welfare cow!

You sir have made up my mind.
Thank you!
I'm trying to simplify a few things, and that's one less to worry about!

Me too.

 

[Nesikep]

If it's a starvation diet for the calf, cull the cow, if she milks a little less than average and the calf turns out small, there is hope.. Some of them do start off a little slow. I'd never pull the calf off them, perhaps give them a supplemental bottle, but even that is more work than I want to do for them.. let them steal milk and get good at it!, if you have a cow lose her calf, maybe she'll adopt it.

One of my best cows had a below average heifer calf the first year, average the next, and since then has consistently had the biggest calves of the herd

Some heifers I find overmilk the first time and fall flat on their face for the 2nd calf, then get in the swing of it for subsequent calves and do well