fresh heifer with a suck reflex

[gone-a-milkin]

Calving season is just getting started here.
Will be freshening 60 first time dairy heifers within the next month.

One of the early-goers is a jersey x that still has a strong suck reflex.
She starts slobbering and sucking her mouth before she even comes in the barn.
Then after she eats her grain she is still slurping her mouth, moving her ears and wagging her tail,
rooting her head and everything!
Just like a little calf... when I boot her out of the barn after milking her.
I haven't seen her suck any of the other cows. She just gets excited about her grain ration. LOL

She is at least 2 years old.

I had never seen this particular phenomenon before.

[myheaven]

I can picture her doing this. Lol! Never heard of such a thing but I can picture her doing it.

[mamahen]

I have 2 bulls that are almost 18 months. If they see the little purple bucket & used to feed them their milk in, they start sucking again! Each others ears, the hay(?), and then start rooting the hay manger and mineral bucket. Goofy critters....

[momagoat61]

OMG > 60 First Freshening Heifers within the next month... We usually just have 5 or 6 replacement heifers calving per year and those can drive me carzy...

[tinknal]

Pavlov's cow!

[CJBegins]

I have one that starts slobbering as soon as she sees that it is her turn to be milked. It is amazing how much slobber they can produce. She was a bucket baby and an ear sucker.