Bottle calf
 

We have a new baby and we've decided to bottle feed due to the broody nature of mama. The thing is, we have no clue how to get her to take the bottle :(

With new ones, sometimes I straddle them so they can't get away, cradle their jaw in one hand, get the nipple in, and hold them that way. Try to squeeze some milk into her mouth. Once she gets the idea, she'll do fine. Don't try too soon after she has nursed, or it won't work.

Is this the heifer calf born Saturday that you mentioned in another thread? You said you'd separated the calf from the mother. Did the calf get colostrum?

If you're not going to milk the cow, why don't you simply let the calf stay with her mother?

Yes, we opted to use the colostrum replacer, we know from past experience that the mama will not let us close to the baby if we'd left her with her. The last calf we had that had been on it's mama refused the bottle and we didn't want to risk that either. The little lady is taking the bottle but gets very distracted, she is not too fond of the hard rubber though.

That's what I would call a good cow. She is just doing her job protecting her new born calf, they usually settle down after a few days.

I think Allen W is correct. Cows with new calves should be protective of them, and they usually settle down within several days.

Did the calf nurse its mother after birth?

A colostrum substitute is great if it's needed. You'll spend a fortune on good milk replacer for a bottle calf.

You've got a cow (that you're not planning to milk) with everything that calf needs and you've separated the calf? I don't understand.

I'm sorry I don't understand either. Was she refusing her calf? Are you planning on milking the cow? I take the calves off of my Dexters because they are TOO good at being mom and won't give me any milk if I don't but I still always leave the calf with the dam for the first few days to a week, until all of the colostrum is out of the milk. Why did you take the calf away? Liz

She is a great mother to the point of obsessively so, she would let anyone near her last calf, even at 8months old. We ended up selling the calf to give it a chance to get away from her and open up to being around people.

Why would you take the calf from its mother and bottle it colostrum replacer when mom has plenty for it... and much better than the replacer. You are still unclear why you pulled the calf off her so early, other than she wont let you touch all over the calf. What are you doing with the mother?

Justin

6ncounting, There are concerns here for the calf and her dam. It sounds like the calf did not receive any of that wonderful substance colostrum, that is perfectly designed by nature to give the calf immunity. Bought colostrum is a poor substitute and artificial feeding is a very expensive way to raise a calf. Has the cow's udder been relieved of the fullness of milk? By now, the mother cow is no doubt frantic and uncomfortable. Dexter cows are particularly good mothers and it seems a shame that your cow is being denied her calf and the calf denied her birthright of being nourished and groomed and loved by her dam. It is especially puzzling if you dont want the milk from the cow. If you wish to be close with your calf, you need some proper handling facilities: A pen with a stanchion in one corner, where the cow could be confined while she has some delicious hay and a grain treat. This would help the cow get used to some handling, and the calf would be close by for you to enjoy too.
Please give us an update..ck

Well said and wonderful advice....


Justin

Sorry, I'm puzzled too and agree with everything that has been said including comments on the welfare of the cow. If you don't intend to milk her why not let her rear the calf. She will do a far better job of it than you ever will. Doesn't matter that she's protective even when the calf is 8 months old, she is, in my opinion a ---- good mother and would boot that calf off her anyway before the next one came along.

My advice would be to put the calf back with it's mother and let them get on with the job to which they are suited.

Cheers,
Ronnie

I appreciate your concern, please understand that the decision was not made lightly. Both mama and baby are doing very well. The baby is on real milk. Thanks.

Is the cow just stand offish or does she head for the back of the pen when she sees you? If she a little stand offish a little grain or a flake of good hay once in a while might help to gentle her down. If she is head up and as far away as she can get, standing and watching you thats more of a disposition problem.

she heads for the hills, if she even thinks you might touch her. She doesn't mind you standing by her but just don't touch her. She runs the calves off if we get within range of them and yells at the ones that stay around us. She is 6 years old and very set in her ways. She was not abused at her last home, but they kept them much like wild horses, well fed but nothing hands on.

Im glad everyone is doing well! What is being done with mama? Are you milking her?


Justin

we would love to milk her, but she will not let us near enough. There is no amount of grain, sweet feed etc to change her mind on the matter. She watches us milk our other cow and though she loves the grain and sweet feed, she . . . We've tried many different ways to try to get her to respond, but she does not, I've resigned myself to the fact that it may not be in her nature. She is going to be culled from our herd.

6ncounting, I get a lot of satisfaction out of socializing Dexter heifers. When they have been raised with little human contact, they associate humans with bad stuff, because they are only trapped for nasties like dehorning or shots. If your cow will stand close, you are ahead of the game already. You just need a place to bring her inside where she cannot escape (high walls etc). Bring her in for treats and a flake of really good hay, so she will associate confinement and you with good stuff. When she has accepted penning, then get her into a stanchion, where you can start to touch her in safety. I bought in three a few years back that were crazy wild to the point of being dangerous. They all turned out very nicely and the one I kept is a super little milking cow. I bought two wild heifers in November, and one is much more hyper. She was desperately trying to scale solid walls. I fed from outside the pen for weeks letting them have their space, then was able to stand by the hayrack while they ate. I now have halters on both, and they get petted and scratched while having a grain treat. The formerly quite crazy one, I tied for the first time this week, for ten minutes or so, and she pulled but didnt panic :)
Go in small steps, dont try to touch all over in the beginning, but let her feel safe in the stanchion or tied, just be close while she eats her special foods and start just with scratching her neck. When she is relaxed with that, then you can gradually work further back. I do withers, topline, then down the sides and when safe to do so, work under to the udder. And last, scratch the tailhead and below the vulva and feel the udder from the back..ck

6ncounting,
I've always been, well, what my wife considers "hard-headed". And, to that end, even if it took me a well-built squeeze chute and some lariat ropes, I'd be trying to milk that cow. If you are persistent with getting her trapped everyday and putting feed in front of her while she is being milked, she should eventually get the idea. If you have a way to pen her up in a lot that is built well enough to hold her when you start to crowd her into a chute or stanchion you could feed her only in the stanchion for the first few days. I will say though, I'm pretty hard headed and I wouldn't be trying to rodeo a cow if I didn't have her in a place that I wasn't apt to get my head kicked off.
If you're not interested at this point in gentling mama and are just planning on cutting your losses with her and gentling the calf, I'd keep mama and baby penned up pretty close and find a way to cut baby from mama every day to handle it. These little amounts of human exposure daily can make that calf grow up to be not so human scared. In the meantime, what are you doing to relieve the stress to mama's udder?

I, for one, think it is a good idea to cull her. If your past attempts at taming her have not worked then she should go. I've had to cull a few cows here and there that just would not tame down. Cows like that are dangerous. I especially don't want them around when there are kids on the farm. Heather

Heather,
You're not trying to say you dislike seeing a good ol' square dance in the parlor are ya? I can also say, I'd cull her. I'm just so hard-headed. Definately if there's kids around ship her out!

Francismilker, I don't mind a square dance now and then but being 7 months pregnant and on 2 heart meds, I am going to have to sit this one out. Not to mention the 5 kids 11 and under.

6ncounting,
In the case of pregnancy and kids around, I'll second the above idea of shipping her. It's not worth having an outlaw around!

We lost our calf this morning, the vet believes she contracted pnemonia, he also thought she had water on the brain. It is unlikely that we will undertake a bottle calf again, your suggestions have been noted and we will leave any future calves on mama. That we are devastated about losing her is an understatement . . .

Sorry for your loss. Don't beat yourself up too much, some just don't make it no matter the circumstances.

While it is best to leave a calf on the cow when possible there are many calves raised by bottle, and those that are raised on the farm they were born on usually have few more problems than if they were raised by a cow. Sometimes these things happen.

I would suggest in the future, to perhaps get rid of this cow, either sell her to someone who prefers that type of cow, from what I read, she wasn't mean?? but just antisocial. Or sell her for slaughter (if she's nasty). And find a cow that is sociable to bring onto your farm.

6ncounting, a little late to the party but I'm going against the grain here and say that I, too, would have split them up. having a cow that dislikes humans that much in a pain in the arse, and you would have taken the chance that even with daily human contact (being far along preggers and other kids to look after would have made that alone difficult) the little heifer might have picked up a few of her dams less likeable habits and then you would be stuck with two cows you can't do much with (as far as milking). As for the bag on the cow, if she isn’t being milked, she'll soon dry up. no big deal. talk to any dairy farmer, goat or cow, and they'll tell you the same thing. just don't milk her. (as if you could...), no "relieving". that will just tell the cow to "make more milk" and the drying off time would take that much longer. next time just try and secure a source for cow colostrum. A dairy farm can be a source.
and for the other folks that are gasping at the cost of milk replacer for the calf. Yes, milk replacer is expensive, but having a sweet heifer that comes running up to see you for food is SOOOOOO worth it to most folks. and I would NEVER chance getting my arm broken or kicked in the face trying to milk the cow 6ncounting is describing. That would make for some expensive “free” milk. Lol.

-Melissa

I'm sorry about the loss of your heifer. You know I have been thinking about your situation. If I were you (and this is for anybody that calves out cows) next time one of your friendly milk cows freshens, save all the colostrum that the calf doesn't drink and freeze it. Anybody that calves out cows should do this. All the good antibodies from the cow survives the freezing process. That way the next time you have a calf that cannot get colostrum from it's mother you just pop a serving out of the freezer, defrost it, and feed. Just don't use the microwave to defrost, that will kill the antibodies. I'm not knocking what you did but I would use the replacement colostrum you can buy as a very last option. I would contact all the local dairy farmers to see if they have colostrum before I would use that stuff. In my experiences it just can't compare to the real thing (fresh or frozen).

That is a very good point, Up North. We keep a bag of the boughten stuff on hand, just in case I run out of my frozen stuff, but I try to milk a couple cows out every year. I freeze it in 500 ml (2 cup) servings, in ziplock freezer bags. Thaws out quickly, you just have to make sure that there are no holes in the bags before you thaw it. Watered down colostrum just doesn't have the kick that you need ;~>

I think I will refrain from being my critical self as I would only alienate at lot of people here. The heck with it, the calf would have been alive and well if you had let nature run its course. The vet was just being nice plus was wanting paid.

Right on agmantoo. Been biting my tongue but you said it for me .ck

Edited to add: Sorry if this post is seen as contrary to board rules. BUT, one of the reasons for these boards is help for newbies. Colostrum is VITAL for calf survival, and it must be given before too many hours have elapsed, in order to be absorbed. No colostrum, or too little, or too late..means a dead calf. A good mother is the best source of clean warm colostrum.

That's why I kept thinking about this post. There is a lesson to be learned here by a lot of people who may read this thread. Yes, letting the cow raise their calf is the best but you can take a calf away from it's mother with equally good results. Dairy farmers take calves away from cows every day. People just need to learn the importance of getting sufficient quantities of high quality colostrum into a calf asap.

Yup. That calf could have stayed on the dam for a few days or a week and then separated. That would require the very most minimum of 'handling facilities', a catch pen and a spare gate or two to make a 'squeeze'. Which would be needed anyway, in case you needed to treat a shy cow for an injury, or to check her udder.ck

I agree with with you guys.... There is a lesson to be learned here. The truth is, if this calf would have been with its dam for a few day to a week, like cowkeeper said, it would be alive today. If you dont have the facilities to handle a cow like this, you probably are better off without her...

Justin

I am thankful that I am only reading your responses today. After much dialogue with the vet it was determined that the calf had water on the brain and would not have survived. I do believe this is why the mama cow allowed the bull to attack the baby right after birth. He was in no way being playful as he rammed her into the fence and flipped her with his horns. Maybe you'd have prefered her to die in that way instead.

Having never had a bottle calf or newborn calf around before we never even noticed that she was not meeting develpomental goals. For instance she could never find her balance, even at a week or more old, she just kept falling down. Her general condition was good, she was being fed but she had to forced as she never quite got the hang of sucking on the bottle.

I absolutely agree that getting a good source of colostrum is a must have if we attempt this in future. We have since gotten another calf and he is taking the bottle wonderfully, and it is in having him around that we are able to see the differences. Thank you for your concern but I would reserve judgement in future as you only have parts of the whole picture. This thread was only about how to bottle feed a calf.

With all due respect to those who’ve posted on your original topic, much of this is new information! I didn’t see anything in your original post mentioning that your bull had rammed the newborn heifer calf into a fence and then proceeded to flip her with his horns. Little wonder she couldn’t find her balance, kept falling down, and wasn’t able to nurse!!! Are you sure this had nothing to do with your heifer calf’s death?

Was any laboratory testing to determine hydrocephalus was the cause of death?

Sorry if you are offended at the followup posts people have made. Had we been privy to the entire picture that you’ve now chosen to reveal, I dare say the responses might have been somewhat different.

And now you have a new Jersey bull calf! Please do yourself and your family a favor and have this calf castrated as soon as possible so you won’t have to post about a family member being maimed or killed by a bottlefed dairy bull.

If you want pertinent advice we need to know all information pertaining to the critter. Feeding a healthy calf and feeding a calf that has suffered a trauma are two completely different things.

I strongly suggest that you read the sticky regarding feeding a bottle calf or your next crisis will be dealing with a calf with scours.

Well 6ncounting perhaps if you had appropriate handling facilities to separate a bull from the 'nursrey' for the new borns that wouldn't have happened, if it did. As Gale said that is totally new information and franlkly it is quite funny that you hadn't mentioned it when you were giving us the 'reasons' for pulling a newborn off a healthy, attentive mother without it getting colostrum. Your original post might have been how to get a calf to take the bottle but it soon became clear that the problem was a great deal more than that. You know most of us really care about our livestock and the reason why we spend time an energy on this board is to try and help others avoid some of the hard knocks that helped us to learn. However when you suffer the 'hard knocks' and don't learn, it is only the livestock that suffers and that is not acceptable.

Actually I wasn't aware there was a sticky on this, I wouldn't have posted if I did. I still haven't found it, except for the one about the dangers of bottle feeding bull calves (bottle fed male animals). I have dealt with scours in a young calf, it is not my idea of a good time by any means. We intend to dodge this particular bullet it we can help it.

As for the rest, as I mentioned before you didn't have the whole picture, this isn't my blog so I posted only what I wanted to know about, the rest really as mentioned fairly early on was not up for debate or discussion - The decision was made with careful consideration. As for the matter of proper facilities, I'm glad to know that you all have all the animal housing you might need less than a year after you got started, we can't all have that luxury.

We hadn't even thought about the attack on her until we were analyzing the whole situation after the fact. (Hindsight is 20/20) She didn't appear to have been harmed so at the time we didn't think much of it. We were just so thrilled to have a little calf, we never noticed the slope head or any of those details. I'm still not quite sure how one can tell from looking at a calf if it has a sloped head.