calf sucking

wkyongae · #1 08/26/06, 12:14 AM

How do you stop a calf from sucking. He is 2 months old and eating hay and grass just fine, but, everytime we go in the pasture with hem here he comes ready to butt and suck. He can drink water from the tub just fine but would rather suck on your finger and drink still his tummy is full. Or until we have had enough of him sucking and push him away. What to do?

Ronney · #2 08/26/06, 05:45 AM

That's easy - don't let him suck your fingers!

Cheers,
Ronnie

topside1 · #3 08/26/06, 07:28 AM

Listen it's just an instinctive reflex, kind of like smoking, hard to quit. Ronney got it right don't let it suck you fingers, and smack him sharply on the nose with your hand whenever he sucks or butts. In time he'll grow out of it....Enjoy your calf.....John

pygmywombat · #4 08/26/06, 08:08 AM

I assume you've just weaned him, right? The sucking and bunting instinct will fade as the weeks go by. Don't let him suck your fingers, push him away if he bunts at you, and he should start forgetting about it after a while.

wkyongae · #5 08/27/06, 12:37 AM

Well, that's what we thought. Thank you for clearing that up.

mpillow · #6 08/27/06, 07:27 AM

My calf is getting Naughty too.....I smack him on the nose and try to distract him after his bottle is gone....He starts talking "MOOOOOOOOOOOOORE please"
I'm not looking to wean him though even if I have to go down to 1 bottle a day

We have a remesh fenced area he will be going into soon and be fed from the outside....he gets frisky alot and I'm afraid he'll butt or kick my goats...

wkyongae · #7 08/27/06, 09:08 AM

Our's is weaned from milk replacer and is eating fine it's just drinking from the water tub he is balking at.

mpillow · #8 08/27/06, 09:15 AM

Mine learned to drink from bucket from the goats

I could easily wean him but as long as we have milk he'll be the one to drink most of it and I'm not bothering to grain him because the goats beat him to it most of the time...he does get a few pieces of bread a day.

Oxankle · #9 08/27/06, 09:44 PM

LOL, you guys are complaining about nothing. Wean 'em.

Visited a friend Friday. He has probably 500 cows scattered all over, but on his home place he just build a new house and does not have the fences closed in so has no cattle on it.

The first thing I saw when I got out of my truck was a little red calf trotting over to see me. Only animal on the place, unfenced, and the calf was sticking close to the house and barn.

Turns out this is a first-calf heifer's offspring and she rejected it, so the friend took it home to bottle. Now the calf expects its ears to be scratched, its back to be rubbed and regular feedings. Friend told me that since his wife has adopted the calf it will be in his herd forever. Fortunately it is a heifer, and a good one.
Ox

wkyongae · #10 08/27/06, 10:37 PM

Well, that smacking him on the nose works like a charm. Showed my wife how and where to smack and that was that. Kind of cute though, at one point he went over to the water tub and looked back and gave a good bawl at my wife. Then he went back out to the field and resumed eating after being petted first, of course. We had a good laugh at that one.

topside1 · #11 08/28/06, 06:59 AM

Good to hear the bottle calf has seen your upperhand. Another tip, twisting the ear is another training technique that works....enjoy your calf,,,,Tennessee John

wkyongae · #12 08/28/06, 07:30 AM

I quess that would be one way to get him to listen. It's beggining to sound like we our working with a fury little kid.