New calf nursing on one side only

Alan In Texas · #1 08/17/07, 02:17 PM

We had our first calf Tuesday. Cow is a short legged Dexter, sire is a miniature longhorn. It is a dun and white bull calf. The cows teats are huge and with her short legs the calf is only nursing on one side. I have tried to get the calf to nurse on the other side but he can't seem to get the teat in his mouth. Mom is not aggressive but she does not let me touch her so helping the calf nurse is not working. Her bag on the side he is not nursing looks like it is getting hard. This is the third day it has not been nursed on. How long do I have before I have to hog tie her and force the issue? I am new to raising cattle and I need everyones help. Will the milk in the side that is hard be OK for the calf? Thanks

jerzeygurl · #2 08/17/07, 02:33 PM

Is she kicking it away from that teat or is it just so engorged that he cant get it. Can you be sure he has not gotten it ever?

If it is sore she will not let him nurse. I would try getting her in a head gate if possible and letting him try. There is also a chance that the opening is plugged and will need to be opened by hand milking.

Alan In Texas · #3 08/17/07, 02:51 PM

I am pretty sure he has not nursed on that side. It is engorged and about 1 inch off the ground. The teats on the other side are much smaller after nursing and are easier for him to reach. He head butts her on the full side and milk comes out and he will lick it but he just can't seem to get it and goes to the other side. She does not kick at him and even seems try to get him to nurse on the unused side. This is her 2nd calf but I have been unable to reach the man I bought her from to see if she had this problem before. Thanks for the quick response.

jerzeygurl · #4 08/17/07, 03:28 PM

I suppose it is simply too big, or the fact its so low to the ground. If you can get her in a headgate or something to milk it down to something managable. I don't know much about dexters and their udders tho, maybe a dexter person can help.

Alan In Texas · #5 08/19/07, 08:42 AM

I finally spent the money for a squeeze chute. This will make it much easier on the farm. I was getting to old to wrestle with these cows anyway. We were able to get Fan-C-Snuggles (Cows name) in the chute and milk her down. She was calm as she could be. It did not appear that she was sore.When it went down you could see that her bag and teats were starting to crack and peel on her right side. We put bag balm on her. It didnot say anything about nursing calves on the directions. Will this be ok for the calf? I am going to milk her again this morning.

jerzeygurl · #6 08/19/07, 06:19 PM

bag balm is fine

Alan In Texas · #7 08/20/07, 12:59 PM

Milked her twice sunday. She looked much better this morning. Calf was nursing on the right side this morning when I went to work. Thanks jerzeygurl I needed someone to let me know I wasn't messing up. I'm new to this and I was hoping my first calf wouldn't give me any trouble. I have another due in Nov./Dec. maybe that one will be easier.

jerzeygurl · #8 08/20/07, 10:43 PM

im glad things are going well now

sometimes they need a little help