Our goats are raising calves :)

[Ducklove334]

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it's so great that you saved these babies...but what happened to their momma's?

I know nothing about cows, but I've heard it's common for cows to abandon their calves.

 

[Cara]

My FIL thinks that the heifer might have snuck under the fence into the wrong pasture. The cows will give up on them after a few days as they need to go with the herd to water themselves.

The bull was probably orphaned when the herd was sorted. My husband thinks his mom was paired wrongly or sent with the dry cows, and moved to a different pasture. He was by himself for about 3 days.

There's all kinds of things that cause calves to be orphaned. We had one previously that had somehow got himself in a pen, and couldn't get out. Unfortunately he did not make it. We were raising him on replacer, but I think his digestive system was harmed while he was not eating or drinking. He'd been by himself for over a week. He would bloat a little every time he ate hay or feed, and finally bloated and died. That happened a couple of days before my husband brought Alvin home, so I was delighted when he had another calf for me. It's hard not to get attached, especially when they've had a rough start.

We had another, Melvin, whose mother was sick and had to be put down. That was last year, and he's now 700lbs!

 

[Ducklove334]

awww,

I love cows, but alas, we don't have enough room for even one

we were gonna get a calf last summer, but thought better of it.

 

[username taken]

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I have now read your entire post four times. And I have not 'found out' that they are no longer feeding directly from the goats. This is what you wrote, regarding how the calves are feeding:

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Now please, explain to me exactly where you said that the calves were no longer feeding from the does? I get that you have separated them, but you are still letting them out to suckle while the doe is on the milk stand.

If you are milking the does out and using the milk to feed the calves, well, good for you. But you have not said anything like that in your post. Matter of fact, you said it was much easier to let the calves drink directly from the udder, versus bottle feeding.

So I will say it again: Letting calves nurse on goat's udders will ruin the goats udder, and thus it is not a good method to use for raising calves.

 

[greathorse]

**post removed. Please don't fan the flames**

 

[Cara]

**post removed**

 

[greathorse]

**post removed**

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Uh just because someone says that letting calves nurse on goat udders can harm the doe doesn't make them a troll. It's not negativity, it's a legitimate question. Are any of the calves still suckling on the goats? Or have you switched feeding methods. Or do you disbelieve that bovine calves suckling on goat does causes no harm to the does?

 

[mekasmom]

Wonderful story.
"Bottle calves" show up at market around here every week where you can buy them for $30-40 quite easily. I have seen some of the weaker ones go for less than five dollars. Last week there were almost 700 bottle calves at market.
When a cow has a male calf, it usually comes off her almost immediately and goes to market. Farmers save the milk for more important female calves or to sell. Males are seen as expendable in dairy herds. And few people think they are worth the time to raise for meat because they aren't a meat breed. It's like the billy babies in dairy goat breeds. They end up at market early.

 

[Ducklove334]

Quote:
I have now read your entire post four times. And I have not 'found out' that they are no longer feeding directly from the goats. This is what you wrote, regarding how the calves are feeding:

Quote:
Now please, explain to me exactly where you said that the calves were no longer feeding from the does? I get that you have separated them, but you are still letting them out to suckle while the doe is on the milk stand.

If you are milking the does out and using the milk to feed the calves, well, good for you. But you have not said anything like that in your post. Matter of fact, you said it was much easier to let the calves drink directly from the udder, versus bottle feeding.

So I will say it again: Letting calves nurse on goat's udders will ruin the goats udder, and thus it is not a good method to use for raising calves.

I will say this once, Terrielacy please forgive me

but MIND YOUR BUSINESS

the calves are alive, healthy, and strong, the goats are obviously ok too, no body has croaked.

are they your goats, are they YOUR calves?, no they're not

so do us all a favor, take your animal rights activist self, go to your own home, buy your own goats and calves and do it your OWN way, and leave people who are just happy to have saved the calves alone.