urgent!!!

scholtefamily · #1 10/19/11, 10:45 PM

just checked on my cow, she calved within the last hour. she is in a loafing shed with the calf licking it off. I did pull the calf farther into the shed to get it out of the wind and rain. it's gonna get to almost freezing here tonight. the calf was shivering, i did try to dry it off as best i could with a towel. what are its chances of being ok in temps in the mid 30's? it hasn't gotten up yet to nurse. my cow wasn't too happy with me.
should i put a sweater on her or something?
please don't laugh at this newbie, I really need some input here.

**gone-a-milkin** · #2 10/19/11, 11:01 PM

Congratulations on your first calf.

It sounds like you have done all you can by getting them out of the weather.
Mid 30's is not very cold.

Let that mama cow do her job and you should all be fine.
If she is attending to her baby then all is well.

scholtefamily · #3 10/19/11, 11:08 PM

thank you for the encouragement. I hope you're right! we lost a calf last year and I don't want to go thru that again!

**gone-a-milkin** · #4 10/19/11, 11:08 PM

....OR... You could put a pink sweater on that calf and then take a bunch of pics and post them up for us.

springvalley · #5 10/19/11, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

Congratulations on your first calf.

It sounds like you have done all you can by getting them out of the weather.
Mid 30's is not very cold.

Let that mama cow do her job and you should all be fine.
If she is attending to her baby then all is well.

I second this Stacey, congrats on the calf, just keep the calf in the shed it will be just fine. > Marc

eggzackly · #6 10/19/11, 11:38 PM

When I have had horses foal and it was really cold, I would LOOSELY put a thin layer of straw over them that would not stop the birth fluids from evaporating, but just help a tiny bit to keep them warm till they dried off in ten or twenty minutes. Mama cow can kill you. Babies are born to shiver to warm up.

scholtefamily · #7 10/19/11, 11:42 PM

You guys are great! I'm going to put urgent on all my posts from now on. haha.

How soon should the calf be up and nursing?

She is trying to get up, but hasn't managed it yet.

ufo_chris · #8 10/20/11, 12:46 AM

Hi ,I'm not an expert but nobody has answered you.... my last calf was up in 5 or 10 minutes and searching for milk right away.....
They usually say if it's not nursing within 1 or 2 hrs I think ,then you need to get it some colostrum.
I'm sure there is something on here you can search...
Also, are you watching the whole time? Sometimes you miss it.
They say ,if it's safe to get to, stick your finger in it's mouth , if it's warm it has nursed ,if cold ,no.
Good luck, hope everything is fine by now.....
Chris

JDog1222 · #9 10/20/11, 07:14 AM

YAY, it's a heifer!

scholtefamily · #10 10/20/11, 09:19 AM

so far so good! I'll post pics later today in a new thread.

arcticow · #11 10/20/11, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scholtefamily

just checked on my cow, she calved within the last hour. she is in a loafing shed with the calf licking it off. I did pull the calf farther into the shed to get it out of the wind and rain. it's gonna get to almost freezing here tonight. the calf was shivering, i did try to dry it off as best i could with a towel. what are its chances of being ok in temps in the mid 30's? it hasn't gotten up yet to nurse. my cow wasn't too happy with me.
should i put a sweater on her or something?
please don't laugh at this newbie, I really need some input here.

That's what old-timers kept a couple towsacks for, to dry off wet babies or tie around sick ones. Now they have calf blankets... save an old worn-down bath towel to use around the barn. Just wash it in bleach once in a while.

genebo · #12 10/20/11, 02:29 PM

Sometimes the less you do, the better.

Mama gets something from licking the calf and eating the sac. She tastes the calf, letting her know it's hers. She puts her own smell on it. Some of the stuff in what she licks helps stimulate her milk production. If you wipe the calf with a towel, you might make it smell strange to mama and deprive mama of what she needs.

The calf is learning to recognize it's mama. The licking does that. It helps the calf imprint on her.

Bonding between mama and calf is important.

Chief Cook · #13 10/20/11, 03:03 PM

Congratulations on your new baby girl!!! Good luck!

barnyardfun · #14 10/20/11, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

....OR... You could put a pink sweater on that calf and then take a bunch of pics and post them up for us.

AND video!

I'm sure that would be a sight to see!

Those little buggers are tougher then you might think!

Congrats!

ksfarmer · #15 10/20/11, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genebo

Sometimes the less you do, the better.

Mama gets something from licking the calf and eating the sac. She tastes the calf, letting her know it's hers. She puts her own smell on it. Some of the stuff in what she licks helps stimulate her milk production. If you wipe the calf with a towel, you might make it smell strange to mama and deprive mama of what she needs.

The calf is learning to recognize it's mama. The licking does that. It helps the calf imprint on her.

Bonding between mama and calf is important.

Right! If you put anything on the calf, mamma might decide he isn't hers because he doesn't smell right. Then you do have problems.

scholtefamily · #16 10/20/11, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

....OR... You could put a pink sweater on that calf and then take a bunch of pics and post them up for us.

LOL, see the picture on the other thread with the mama, she wouldn't have none of that! And...............I couldn't find a pink sweater that would fit her.

JDog1222 · #17 10/20/11, 06:32 PM

It's also best to let mamma lick the calfs behind and front end. That's how they get the GOOD bacteria into the digestive tract. Least that's what my biology teacher told me.