How To Care for Orphan Calf? (Maybe)

[Lanthanum]

I recently visited my Uncle's farm, in which he has about 25-30 cows + a bull. I stated that I wanted a milk calf to bottle raise, and they told me that they will give me one for free but can't promise what gender it will be. Reason being, they have one crazy cow that births every year but refuses to feed the calf and the calf has died the past four years. They said they will let me bottle feed the calf and keep it when it's born. Is this a good idea? I've been looking at getting a cow and now I can get one for free. I don't know what breed they are, but can say they are HUGE cows, come in a variety of colors and make good milk. Mostly black but there are five blue cows and a few dark reds and two light reds too. She births during spring, obviously, but I would like to be prepared if she does birth a cow and rejects it again. If it is a bull I will raise for meat or 4H, and if it's a cow she will be for milk.

 

[norseofcourse]

That's sad that she's had four calves and all have died - that would worry me, though - did they all die right after birth, or did someone try to bottle raise them and none of them made it?

 

[Lanthanum]

That's sad that she's had four calves and all have died - that would worry me, though - did they all die right after birth, or did someone try to bottle raise them and none of them made it?

That's the thing, having a farm is busy work and it's just the two of them so they couldn't bottle feed the babies themselves and mamma kept rejecting them. They said the calves lived about a day or two, and once one lived five days at the most but they found her dead too. I am a bit cautious as well to if it's really her rejecting them, but they said they were born healthy but never saw the mamma feeding them and when they'd try she'd move away. So really it is just a hypothesis, not 100% sure. Even if it's not, if I have the baby and it's getting the milk it needs and it still dies, we can bring it to the vet to see about what is going on.

 

[norseofcourse]

I understand busy. Sorry they weren't able to bottle feed or find someone who could. If you get it, have an area prepared for it, and have colostrum on hand to feed it right away, within hours of birth if possible.

Hope some cattle folks stop by soon for more info for you - @WildRoseBeef @farmerjan and there's more I just can't think of names!

 

[farmerjan]

First off, sounds like a perfect opportunity to get yourself a calf. NOW since this cow has a history of the calf not getting to eat, I have to question why in the world they have kept her for so long with nothing productive out of her, but that is not the issue. I do think, having beef cattle as well as some dairy animals, that she is just rejecting it and there is probably nothing wrong with it. She would have been on a truck for Mcdonalds to have a big mac attack the second year she did that if she was mine.
From the descriptions of them I would hazard a guess that they are black angus and maybe crossed with some shorthorn as that cross often results in what we call blue roan cattle here. Since shorthorns are red, white and roan I would say without any pictures that is their make up.
You will have to figure that the calf doesn't get any colostrum so get a package from the feed store or where ever you deal with. It's expensive, but will give the calf the antibodies that are so crucial for it's survival. About $10-15 for a bag that you will mix with water. If you can get the calf within the first 12 hours then get 2 bags so it will have a very good gut full of the colostrum. Or if you live near a dairy, go ask if they would sell you a couple of gallons of colostrum from a fresh cow. But the thing is THEY NEED those antibodies. Feed a bottle as soon as you get it and another 8-12 hours later. Plus the colostrum is thicker, and will help to get their whole gut system "started". A calf has a "meconium" that is like a "plug" in the bowel and they need to pass that after they are born and the colostrum also helps them to do that.

Then make sure you get ALL MILK milk replacer. Do not use any with soy in it. Their systems cannot utilize the soy based ones, and if they live they will be "poor " but it basically is starving them. This is from YEARS and 100's of bottle calves experience. Give the calf 1 bottle, which is 1/2 gallon, TWICE a day. Yes they will want more but you can cause them to get scours (diahrrea) (sp) if you give them too much. Better a little hungry than sick. Put a bucket of water there for them and from about a week or 2 you can offer a handful of a calf starter feed and a little hay. Calves learn from their momma's so you will have to put a little of the feed in their mouth to get them to taste it and they will get it, eventually.

You will need to feed a bottle for at least 8 weeks but I like to do it for 10-12 so they are getting enough as they transition to feed. When it is eating good you can cut back the bottle to once a day then stop in another week.

 

[Latestarter]

Sounds like an ideal situation to me! A free cow for you to raise. What's the worst that can happen? You got great advice form a seasoned veteran right above. I'd say that you should have these folks let you know ASAP after the calf is born and NOT WAIT. Getting the colostrum into the calf is life or death and needs to happen within hours of birth if possible. If you wait 24 hours or more, you're too late. I would tie up the bad mom cow and try to milk the colostrum out of her... If you can get a gallon, you'll have the first 2 feedings taken care of and in time... One immediately and the 2nd 8-12 hours later. Good luck and hope when the time comes you'll add this to your journal w/pics!

 

[Lanthanum]

First off, sounds like a perfect opportunity to get yourself a calf. NOW since this cow has a history of the calf not getting to eat, I have to question why in the world they have kept her for so long with nothing productive out of her, but that is not the issue. I do think, having beef cattle as well as some dairy animals, that she is just rejecting it and there is probably nothing wrong with it. She would have been on a truck for Mcdonalds to have a big mac attack the second year she did that if she was mine.
From the descriptions of them I would hazard a guess that they are black angus and maybe crossed with some shorthorn as that cross often results in what we call blue roan cattle here. Since shorthorns are red, white and roan I would say without any pictures that is their make up.
You will have to figure that the calf doesn't get any colostrum so get a package from the feed store or where ever you deal with. It's expensive, but will give the calf the antibodies that are so crucial for it's survival. About $10-15 for a bag that you will mix with water. If you can get the calf within the first 12 hours then get 2 bags so it will have a very good gut full of the colostrum. Or if you live near a dairy, go ask if they would sell you a couple of gallons of colostrum from a fresh cow. But the thing is THEY NEED those antibodies. Feed a bottle as soon as you get it and another 8-12 hours later. Plus the colostrum is thicker, and will help to get their whole gut system "started". A calf has a "meconium" that is like a "plug" in the bowel and they need to pass that after they are born and the colostrum also helps them to do that.

Then make sure you get ALL MILK milk replacer. Do not use any with soy in it. Their systems cannot utilize the soy based ones, and if they live they will be "poor " but it basically is starving them. This is from YEARS and 100's of bottle calves experience. Give the calf 1 bottle, which is 1/2 gallon, TWICE a day. Yes they will want more but you can cause them to get scours (diahrrea) (sp) if you give them too much. Better a little hungry than sick. Put a bucket of water there for them and from about a week or 2 you can offer a handful of a calf starter feed and a little hay. Calves learn from their momma's so you will have to put a little of the feed in their mouth to get them to taste it and they will get it, eventually.

You will need to feed a bottle for at least 8 weeks but I like to do it for 10-12 so they are getting enough as they transition to feed. When it is eating good you can cut back the bottle to once a day then stop in another week.

The reason they keep her is because she is their friendliest cow and can't bear to just send her off somewhere

My phone was dead when I was at the farm so i didnt get pictures but once I get the calf I will definitely have some.

I asked them to let me know as soon as the calf was born so I could come get it, or to let me be over there when her due date is close so I'll be there at birth.

This is great advice and I will be absolutely sure to heed it. I will definitely post back here once the calf is born

 

[babsbag]

If she isn't the first cow to give birth then I would get colostrum from one of their other cows and have it in the freezer and ready to go. The cows will have plenty to share so don't worry about taking some from a cow with a calf of her own to raise. That colostrum is critical to survival.

 

[farmerjan]

I agree with getting colostrum from a cow if possible. However, as I read it, and correct me if I am wrong, the whole problem is that this cow won't let the calf suck. I would greatly doubt that she will let a person milk her. And if they are beef cows, the possibility of someone milking them is probably slim. Plus, most beef cows do not have alot of colostrum like a dairy cow does. They tend to take a day or two to let their milk down well, nature designing it that way partly so that the calf does not get too much at first. Plus realize that the calf is going to maybe get a pint to a quart a feeding, but will nurse several times a day. It is just nature's way for them to not over produce in the beginning, so that it doesn't scour the calf. Unless they are big pets, getting another beef cow into a chute or something, to contain her to milk her, with her brand new calf to "protect and take care of", is asking for a fight. Been there done that.

And not to talk you out of a calf but have they ever tried to put her in a chute and physically put the calf on her so that she has to feed it? Maybe she has never actually realized what the calf is supposed to do. And maybe she ___doesn't have any milk___ to feed the calf. Had a recently bought cow that uddered up and 3 days later the calf died. She was not at a pasture where we could get her in. The next year she was at a different place, uddered up, calved, and I saw the calf with it's head up under her nursing. 2 days later the older lady that owned this place, called and said that the calf looked weak. So, I went up, got them in the pen and when we got the cow in the chute she had 3 dead quarters and the 4th had crappy looking junk. The calf was starving. I took it home, put it on a bottle and the cow went to town. Again, regardless of how friendly she is, she is costing them money by never paying her way with a calf, and abandoning it to die is just inexcusable. Sorry to say but alot of times it is the "pet cow" that is the most trouble. Don't know why, just have seen that time and again. With dairy cattle, it is often the show animal that is a miserable dispositioned b**** in the barn when they first come fresh.

All that aside, there is alot of information about colostrum having to be fed in the first 12 hours or their systems can't/won't absorb the antibodies. Again there are a few other studies that are questioning that. I am of the second group. I will give colostrum to a calf up to 5 days old if I get one from somewhere that I am not sure what he has had. Reason, that even if they don't get much in the way of antibodies, there are still properties in that colostrum that seem to feed the bacteria in the gut so that it functions better. And if it is colostrum from one of my own cows, then they are getting immunity properties that are specific to my farm and I just firmly believe that it gives the calf a better chance. So yes, get colostrum into the calf as soon as possible after birth, but even if it is the next day, give it at least one bottle of some type of colostrum. Cheap insurance to get it's digestive system started.

If the cows are pasture bred they won't have an exact due date; even with ultrasound it will be at least a week or more plus or minus. When we run a bull with cows, we document when he goes in and when he comes out. Then when we do pregnancy checks, the vet will say she is 5 months or 3 months or 6 plus. With the date in and out we know that the cow will be due within a certain time frame but it's like people....they will calve when they are ready. Even if they see her in heat and get bred, you are still looking a week plus or minus. Sitting there waiting for her to calve is like watching a pot waiting for it to boil.

If you can manage to get some colostrum from the mother or from another cow there, then that's wonderful. But when a beef cow gives birth, they are normally very protective and if you upset them you can get hurt. It's not worth getting hurt or really upsetting a cow for that. Buy a pkg of colostrum, it is guaranteed to have a certain level of antibodies and go from there.

 

[Lanthanum]

I agree with getting colostrum from a cow if possible. However, as I read it, and correct me if I am wrong, the whole problem is that this cow won't let the calf suck. I would greatly doubt that she will let a person milk her. And if they are beef cows, the possibility of someone milking them is probably slim. Plus, most beef cows do not have alot of colostrum like a dairy cow does. They tend to take a day or two to let their milk down well, nature designing it that way partly so that the calf does not get too much at first. Plus realize that the calf is going to maybe get a pint to a quart a feeding, but will nurse several times a day. It is just nature's way for them to not over produce in the beginning, so that it doesn't scour the calf. Unless they are big pets, getting another beef cow into a chute or something, to contain her to milk her, with her brand new calf to "protect and take care of", is asking for a fight. Been there done that.

And not to talk you out of a calf but have they ever tried to put her in a chute and physically put the calf on her so that she has to feed it? Maybe she has never actually realized what the calf is supposed to do. And maybe she ___doesn't have any milk___ to feed the calf. Had a recently bought cow that uddered up and 3 days later the calf died. She was not at a pasture where we could get her in. The next year she was at a different place, uddered up, calved, and I saw the calf with it's head up under her nursing. 2 days later the older lady that owned this place, called and said that the calf looked weak. So, I went up, got them in the pen and when we got the cow in the chute she had 3 dead quarters and the 4th had crappy looking junk. The calf was starving. I took it home, put it on a bottle and the cow went to town. Again, regardless of how friendly she is, she is costing them money by never paying her way with a calf, and abandoning it to die is just inexcusable. Sorry to say but alot of times it is the "pet cow" that is the most trouble. Don't know why, just have seen that time and again. With dairy cattle, it is often the show animal that is a miserable dispositioned b**** in the barn when they first come fresh.

All that aside, there is alot of information about colostrum having to be fed in the first 12 hours or their systems can't/won't absorb the antibodies. Again there are a few other studies that are questioning that. I am of the second group. I will give colostrum to a calf up to 5 days old if I get one from somewhere that I am not sure what he has had. Reason, that even if they don't get much in the way of antibodies, there are still properties in that colostrum that seem to feed the bacteria in the gut so that it functions better. And if it is colostrum from one of my own cows, then they are getting immunity properties that are specific to my farm and I just firmly believe that it gives the calf a better chance. So yes, get colostrum into the calf as soon as possible after birth, but even if it is the next day, give it at least one bottle of some type of colostrum. Cheap insurance to get it's digestive system started.

If the cows are pasture bred they won't have an exact due date; even with ultrasound it will be at least a week or more plus or minus. When we run a bull with cows, we document when he goes in and when he comes out. Then when we do pregnancy checks, the vet will say she is 5 months or 3 months or 6 plus. With the date in and out we know that the cow will be due within a certain time frame but it's like people....they will calve when they are ready. Even if they see her in heat and get bred, you are still looking a week plus or minus. Sitting there waiting for her to calve is like watching a pot waiting for it to boil.

If you can manage to get some colostrum from the mother or from another cow there, then that's wonderful. But when a beef cow gives birth, they are normally very protective and if you upset them you can get hurt. It's not worth getting hurt or really upsetting a cow for that. Buy a pkg of colostrum, it is guaranteed to have a certain level of antibodies and go from there.

I'm not entirely sure of the purpose of the cows so I have no idea why they have any of them. They don't butcher, they don't milk, and they aren't pets. I think it is just because my Aunt's near death father raised them as both when he was in good health amd wishes to have them around until he passes.
They don't have a chute, only things they have for the cows is a huge feild and a shed that holds the tractor and a trailer full of hay to throw out in the feild every day.
For some reason these cows aren't very matronly. They have about four or five calves right now in the feild, but you can't tell who they belong to. Even the tiny calves wander pretty far from the other cows and only come back to nurse and then leave again, and are already weaning themselves. Most of the cows have nothing to do with their calves.
They also don't like to be milked at all, so getting fresh colostrum isn't an option without someone getting hurt. I will check at Taylor Feed to see if they carry Colostrum, which they should, and what formula they have.
I am honestly very uninformed on this subject, and I really hope everything goes well here. I've never even seen a cow up close except for the other day when I found out I could get one.