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Post By wr
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Post By randiliana
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Post By Allen W
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Post By MO_cows
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03/04/14, 02:38 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Central Louisiana
Posts: 12
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Dead zebu calf
New to raising Zebu cattle...My heifer, i knew she was getting close to calving, just didnt know how close because she was pregnant before I got her. I went out to check on my live stock today and noticed the heifer standing over the dead calf, it had frozen to death, it looks like. Very disappointing. I understand this kind of stuff happens, but this is very sad knowing this is our first calf. Now the heifer is greiving, and keeps belering. Her utter is full, and she's the one that wont let us get close to her. I dont know what to do.
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03/04/14, 03:09 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MO
Posts: 3,519
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Find the first calf you can buy or borrow, or get ready to milk in a squeeze chute...
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Home is the hunter, home from the hill, and the sailor home from the sea...
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03/04/14, 03:12 PM
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Super Moderator
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 11,783
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I'm sorry you lost the calf but I'm not sure what your concerns are when you say you don't know what to do. Are you worried about her full udder? If so, she will dry off on her own but if you could graft a calf onto her, it would be helpful but given she's not overly quiet, you might need a chute or some way to keep her contained while you work with her and the replacement calf.
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03/04/14, 03:26 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Central Louisiana
Posts: 12
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How long do I have to put her on a replacement calf? A week, a few days?
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03/04/14, 04:29 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 796
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Less than a week, the sooner the better.
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03/04/14, 11:29 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MO
Posts: 3,519
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That works OK for lambs and kids, you're better off using Vicks Vaporub on the cow's nose...
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Home is the hunter, home from the hill, and the sailor home from the sea...
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03/05/14, 01:05 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: NW OK
Posts: 3,464
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Unless your flirting with zero lows I would say the calf didn't freeze to death, but died from other causes. If you don't have a way to catch the heifer I wouldn't try to put another calf on her.
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03/05/14, 01:14 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: S.E. Iowa
Posts: 2,530
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Around here it would be very difficult to find another miniature calf. So sorry for your bad news, it's always hard to lose one.
She will settle down, but it is hard to see. If I pull the calf to milk my cow, she goes on about her business in no time. Of course, I am milking, so that discomfort factor is taken away....
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03/05/14, 05:20 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MO
Posts: 3,519
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Doesn't have to be a mini calf to do the job...
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Home is the hunter, home from the hill, and the sailor home from the sea...
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03/05/14, 06:23 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Northern Michigan (U.P.)
Posts: 9,385
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While not a certainty, a dead calf is often the result of disease or nutrient deficiency. I have seen many well intentioned folks leave their livestock starving for minerals. Parasites deprive livestock of nutrition and damage organs.
I know nothing about your management and am not pointing fingers. Just general observations.
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03/05/14, 08:03 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: W Mo
Posts: 9,185
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If you really want to know what killed the calf, get a necropsy done. Since they are a breed adapted to the tropics, maybe it was the cold. Maybe the heifer took too long to deliver it, the sac was over its face so it couldn't breathe in time, there's a long list of what could have gone wrong
You should learn the signs of imminent calving, the bag doesn't tell the whole tale.
As far as getting another calf to graft onto her, can a mini cow produce enough milk to grow a full size calf after the first few weeks, or is it doomed to be a runt from lack of it?? I don't know the answer for sure but I don't think I would attempt the experiment.
The cow will get over it in a few days.
Sorry you lost your first calf, that's a tough deal.
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It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with the simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
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03/07/14, 06:03 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Central Louisiana
Posts: 12
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She's over it now, thanks for the replies. Now she's mad cause we separated the bull (her best friend) from the herd.
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03/08/14, 01:12 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: New York bordering Ontario
Posts: 4,778
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Calf didn't freeze, it was born dead. Probably just took too long in labor and it couldn't take it. It happens sometimes. 
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