Nurse cow tips

[Cowgirl71]

Have they said why they're selling them?

 

[Farm Girl 1]

The farmer just said said that he doesn't want to milk cows everyday and has no other purpose for them the dairy owner hasn't given a reason but I'm not too concerned.

 

[Farm Girl 1]

Is there any more need- to- knows? I need as much info as I can get!

 

[Cowgirl71]

The farmer just said said that he doesn't want to milk cows everyday and has no other purpose for them the dairy owner hasn't given a reason but I'm not too concerned.

That makes sense for the white one, the other animals in the pic all appear to be beef, not dairy.

I wouldn't be too concerned with the black one either. The most likely reason they're selling her is that her mom's production is below herd average, which is fine for you, you're probably not wanting an 8+ gallon a day Holstein anyway.

Is there any more need- to- knows? I need as much info as I can get!

I can't think of anything else. If you think of any specific questions feel free to ask, I love talking cows!

Just FYI, we actually just got 2 Angus bull calves Wednesday to put on two different cows. One cow, an 18 year old Saler, lost her calf Monday because when it was born the head was under the body, and he couldn't physically get his body off his head and so couldn't breathe. The other cow, "Jenny," is a 10 year old Jersey cross who is currently semi-retired. She loves calves, and so we put a calf on her in March. He's huge now, and so when our neighbor said he had two calves I thought one could be for the Saler and one could be for Jenny.

The Saler, "White Udder," (she's black with a big white udder, LOL) seems to have broken our 3 day record. We first put the calf on her in the head-catch Wednesday at 2:00. We kept them separate Wednesday and yesterday because he was a real persistant bugger, he didn't know when to quit, and she'd kick at him, and so we were concerned that he'd get himself killed. But this morning we tried putting them together, supervised, to see what would happen. He went right over to her, and she would half-heartedly kick him away sometimes, but mostly would just stand there. Not mothering, but tolerating. Over the next 10 minutes, she was standing still for him better and better. When I checked them again this afternoon, she let him nurse just fine, only walking away a few feet a few times. And then tonight, as I was bringing in Kylie for milking, past White Udder and her new calf, she seemed to moo to him twice, the way a momma moos to her calf when a human's coming. So that seems to have been fast!!!! Just 54 hours! I'm guessing that several factors contributed to it. 1) She wanted a calf to raise. She wasn't on board right away, but the first time she saw him she paid a lot of attention to him. She didn't ignore or almost ignore him like many cows in her situation do. 2) He was persistant. Most calves after getting kicked once or twice usually give up until the next feeding time. He was determined. 3) She's old. She doesn't kick as hard or as fast as a younger cow (but she definitely still kicks, we had to tie up her foot in addition to the Kow Kant Kick the first feeding), and she'd rather stand still than kick or move away. So this is pretty exciting, I really didn't want to have to sell her! Despite her age she always raises one of the biggest thickest calves and hasn't needed any special anything until now.

Jenny and her calf are doing fine but they're likely going to take several more days. She lets him nurse all he wants so long as she has alalfa pellets in front of her, otherwise she'll gently shave him off her udder with her leg. He's kinda dozy, not near as persistant as the other calf, and Jenny is still missing her prior big calf who is now on the opposite side of the fence. I've seen her though several times intently watching this little calf wander around the pen, checking out this and that, so I think it's just a matter of time (days) before they're a pair. I'm also kinda wondering if she's smart and is just working the system. If maybe she remembers how 6 months ago as soon as she started letting the calf nurse I quite giving her alfalfa pellets, LOL.

(Edited some typos)

 

[Farm Girl 1]

Thanks cowgirl! I will definitely message you you if I have any questions ( which I'm sure I will)! I really liked how you described what's going on right now with your cows it helped me understand nurse cows a bit better. thanks! If you think of any thing else to add please do!

 

[Cowgirl71]

You're very welcome. Please do feel free to ask any questions.

Just wanted to add that the thing I've been calling a Kow Kant Kick is actually this: http://www.jefferspet.com/products/jeffers-kick-stop Apparently there is a thing called a Kow Kant Kick, but it is something different than what we use. Jeffer's Kick Stop works very well for how cheap it is. The one thing with the Kick Stop though is you do need to be careful. There's been a few times that it worked too well, to the point where the cow seemed to have no control of her hind end and all of a sudden starts falling over. So you need to be ready to get yourself and the calf out of the way and/or push on her rump to keep her upright so that she doesn't fall all the way. We usually have a person manning the Kick Stop, making sure it stays on, and paying close attention for if she starts to fall. There's a sweet spot on the Kick Stop's adjustment for each cow. Too loose, she can still kick. Too tight, she can fall over. For some cows though there is no sweet spot, she either kicks or falls over. With White Udder for example we had it on as tight as we dared the first feeding but she still kicked some (much less than she otherwise would have, but she still kicked), so we had to tie her foot back anyway. But subsequential times she was calmer and so the Kick Stop worked well, we didn't need to tie back her foot.

Speaking of White Udder, she's definitely mothering that calf! She's mooing to it, licking on it, and was even acting semi-agressive towards us today when we tried to go near it. But we're going to keep them together away from the herd for a few more days though. Not because she needs to be a better mother, but because that calf needs to learn she's his mom! If we let them out now I have no doubt in my mind that he'll attempt to nurse every cow he comes across and will rob milk or colostrum from other calves who need it and/or get kicked badly trying. That little bugger is persistant and doesn't know when to quit. This will also quarantine him from the other calves for a few more days. Better safe than sorry.

Typically we like to keep the cow and calf together in a small pen, but White Udder is currently occupying that pen. So Jenny has been out in the dairy herd and I bring her in to the barn to feed the calf and spend a few minutes to a half hour with him before and after he nurses. I'd like to put the calf out with her, but I didn't want him getting hurt if he tried to nurse one of the other animals, and it is also a big field, I could easily spend a half hour looking for him if he were to lay down in tall grass or in a dip. So this morning Jenny was waiting for me, very close to the calf pen, only about 20 feet away from the calf. When I let her in she seemed to moo to him, but I wasn't 100% sure if it was directed at the calf or not, and she again shaved him off with her leg when he tried to nurse. So I put her in the stanchion as usual to feed him. When I brought Jenny in this evening* she definitely mooed to him, twice! I let her in with him and hung back. He went to try and nurse and she let him! So I tried to stealthily get a generous pan of alfalfa pellets and set it in front of her, I didn't want her to think that she only gets alfalfa pellets when she doesn't let him nurse. To her credit, she didn't come motoring over when she heard me pour the pellets, she stood still and waited for me to come and set the pan in front of her. So that's pretty exciting, I think I'm going to try letting him out with her tomorrow morning! It's looking like they just may be a pair in less than "several days."

* Normally I like to feed a young calf like that 3 times a day, but it wasn't working in this case. Yesterday morning he cleaned her out and was stuffed. When I tried him again at 2pm he wasn't hungry, he nursed a little but mostly just played with the teats with his tongue. And then at 10pm he was kinda hungry, but seemed to be still stuffed from breakfast and lunch, and so I had to come back up to the house for milking buckets and then go back down, in the dark, and milk her, because I was concerned she'd get mastitis if he wasn't cleaning her out. He ran and played a bit after each feeding, so he wasn't sick, just stuffed.

 

[Farm Girl 1]

Hello again, I just wanted to renew this thread and ask a question. Once the cows are unloaded ( I unfortunately haven't received the yet there has been a problem with the person delivering them) what do I do? Do I give them grain within the hour or do I give them a while to settle down? Or do I just start them with hay then in a few days give barley?

P.s. @cowgirl71 how are White Udder and the calf doing? How's Jenny?

 

[cassie]

What are the cows used to being fed? That should be your guide. When they are first unloaded, make sure they have access to hay and water and leave them alone for a few hours so they can calm down and settle in.