08/08/11, 06:56 PM
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In Remembrance
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Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 6,844
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Keep in mind cattle cannot see directly ahead of them or directly behind them. That's why some cattle turn their head slightly to look at you.
At least locally cattle go through several stages as it were. Calves are born with only their bottom front teeth (at least I think it is the bottom). Never will get any front teeth on the other jaw. Each year a molar will grow top/bottom/sides. Someone guessing age will 'mouth' a cow by using thumb and index finger in nose to take a quick look inside. Eventually will get six molars and will be known as a F - full mouth. As teeth get some wear she will be marked as a full/slash, an F with a line under it. Just means teeth are starting to get some wear. Next state is a P - pegger. Then a G - gummer. Gummers can do fine on nice green grass, but have trouble chewing up hay.
Vet preg. checks by putting arm up into colon and feeling the size of blood vessels feeding embryo. Some vets are way better than others, but it still comes down to an educated guess.
Trivia: Something like 95% of bull calves will never breed a cow.
As with many grazing animals, they will get a belly full and then go lay down somewhere to reguritate and mash it up.
If you give whole kernel corn as a treat, don't be concerned to see it looking whole in the manure. They will have processed what the need out of it. When in the area of poultry they will scatter manure going for the spent corn. My ducks seem to just move beak back and forth until they produce something.
When she does calve, don't be concerned if you see her eating the afterbirth. It is a survival instinct to hide the evidence.
Some folks leave the calf on full-time for first 2-3 days to consume the colostrum. Then separate out the calf at night, milk what they want in the morning and turn the calf back in with mom for the day.
Cattle being milked seem to like a schedule, e.g., every morning at 7 AM. They don't have the concept of gaining or losing an hour, so transition into new schedule.
Calves often have a favorite tit they will suck dry before going to the others. In my herd I commonly have a 'milk thief' who will sneak up on a cow nursing their calf to one side and get milk from the back two tits from behind.
When you wean, put a fence between them. Expect bawling for 2-3 days. 30 days of separation should do it.
I can move my cattle by just putting some whole kernel corn in a plastic bucket and shaking it. However, that method means it will make it harder to keep them away when you are using a bucket for some other task, such as fence repair.
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