HELP! re: new Dexter calf

dbarjacres · #1 07/03/09, 09:28 PM

I'm hoping someone can calm my nerves and tell me this will all be okay tomorrow.

I picked up the new Dexter heifer calf today (from Feb.) and also a Jan. Hol/Ang steer (was a bottle calf) from the same place. They caught up the two last night and put them in the barn and we picked them up today.

The steer is doing great but the little Dexter is getting downright panicky tonite, pacing constantly in the paddock and calling for mom. She did eat grass today and some grain from my hands, but she doesn't have any interest in water.

I've no experience with beef calves. Will she learn to drink? I've even put out 3 extra water buckets around the paddock.

genebo · #2 07/03/09, 10:07 PM

Your heifer had not been weaned from her mama. She's being weaned right now, by you. It will take 3 days for her to settle down and quit bawling. It always takes 3 days.

Hopefully, your little girl had already been eating and drinking a little water, but her instincts will kick in.

She is a little young to leave her mama, but it has been successfully done earlier than that.

I seldom see my Dexters drink water. They usually drink a lot when they do, but not very often.

Good luck. Keep us informed.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

dbarjacres · #3 07/03/09, 10:26 PM

My little girl has been pasture raised and I visited twice before we picked up, both times, her along with the other two calves about her age (one is coming home with us in a month as she's a bit younger) are always munching grass. And they had a big clean water tank available.

Thanks for the bit of hope! I love her already and just don't want her to keel over on me!

Cliff · #4 07/04/09, 07:37 AM

Agree with genebo.
I'm sure that by this age she was drinking some water, she's just upset.
Is she closer to 4, or 5 months old? If 4 it is pretty early to wean. I'd ask the person to hold on to the last you're getting if it's on mom and that early. They just do better if not taken off so early. We have a bull someone weaned off his mom at 3 months - he had been weaned and changed hands by the time we got him - and he took a year to catch up and not look scrawny.

ozark_jewels · #5 07/04/09, 08:30 AM

At 5 months old, she was no doubt drinking water at her previous home. Just give her time to settle in and make sure to keep the water *fresh*.

jirwin · #6 07/04/09, 09:46 AM

If there is a change in water type ( well > city or city> well) this could take time too, besides the obvious weaning. I have personally had cows resistant to change.

dbarjacres · #7 07/04/09, 10:09 AM

Little girl drank a bit of water this am. Still very upset tho and lookin for mama. As long as she drank and keeps eating grass for right now she should be okay, I hope.

She was born mid February.

Thanks for the advice!

dbarjacres · #8 07/06/09, 11:31 AM

Just an update on the little Dexter heifer. She's drinking well, eating pasture and is eating about 1 lb of 16% calf feed. She quit looking for mom obsessivly on Sunday and seems to be doing well.

genebo · #9 07/06/09, 09:44 PM

July 3, July 4, Sunday July 5. Three days.

Now you're her mom.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

cathleenc · #10 07/06/09, 10:00 PM

Glad she's settling in, Jenny!

Tabitha · #11 07/07/09, 03:42 PM

back at the other farm, the mom is calling for the calf, too. the crying does tug at one's heart strings, but she should have stopped by now. We kept the last calf we sold five months with the mother and the Amish who bought her thought that was long.

G. Seddon · #12 07/07/09, 06:14 PM

We wean our calves at 5-6 months of age. At this stage they are already accustomed to having some daily grain, they have had their first set of vaccinations, and they are no longer dependent upon their dams for food. They have learned how to be a member of the herd.

Before they leave our farm, they receive their booster vaccinations and have been completely weaned. When they leave for their new homes, the stress of weaning is over with and they are able to successfully adjust to a new environment. Weaning is stressful to calves, and weaning in addition to a new environment is even MORE stressful. We try not to overlap the stressors.

furholler · #13 07/12/09, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genebo

Your heifer had not been weaned from her mama. She's being weaned right now, by you. It will take 3 days for her to settle down and quit bawling. It always takes 3 days.

Hopefully, your little girl had already been eating and drinking a little water, but her instincts will kick in.

She is a little young to leave her mama, but it has been successfully done earlier than that.

I seldom see my Dexters drink water. They usually drink a lot when they do, but not very often.

Good luck. Keep us informed.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

Right on the money.