How often should newborn calves nurse?

sassafras manor · #1 06/01/14, 08:38 PM

I have raised cattle for the past 5 years but just this evening had our first calf born on the farm. She was dry and active when I came home this evening but I have not seen it nurse. It will get up and move around for a few minutes then sit back down but over the course of the past hour or so I have not seen it nurse. Cause for concern or just be patient?

sassafras manor · #2 06/01/14, 09:19 PM

I just was out closing up the chickens and the calf and momma were strolling around and the calf was nursing pretty agressively. She is a beautiful little calf out of a White Park heifer and an Angus (AI) bull know for low birth weights. My guess is 45 to 50 lbs and is solid black except for a very narrow white band the length of her belly.

MO_cows · #3 06/01/14, 10:33 PM

Sounds like all is well. They should nurse soon after birth to get the colostrum. The sooner the better because their ability to absorb it lessens by the hour. When we observe a birth, the longest it has taken for the calf to get latched on and suck was 2 hours. Usually, more like 30 minutes!

Some cows are more attentive mothers than others. We have some that stay close by their calf for the first few days, until the calf knows to follow them around the pasture. Others, they bed down the calf, go off and graze and come back to it morning, evening. Probably during the day, too, when they come in for water, but I'm not here to see it.

sassafras manor · #4 06/02/14, 06:02 AM

She is a very attentive mother yet allowed me to give the calf a once over when I got home. While I was checking sex etc, she stood close but stayed very calm. Since I had limited calving experience, I waited until she was 22 months old to breed her then used a low birthweight donor for the AI which apparently made for an easy birth. She was bred September 9 which means she should have calved June 18 but was 2 1/2 weeks early. She had been heavily bagged up for the last 10 days then her hips dropped earlier this week so I thought she might calve soon. Thanks

G. Seddon · #5 06/02/14, 06:30 AM

Congratulations on the new baby! Of course, we need photos!