New calf dilemma

[Alison]

Hello: I have a perfect storm situation here. An accidental insemination in May 2019 has resulted in February 1 2020 calves. And we are in the middle of a major winter storm here in Utah. A shortage of workers resulted in a delay in the building of a new barn. So everything is torn up and I had to erect temporary shelters.

I’ve got two calves born in the last couple of days and only a small 12x12 shelter. The dominant cow with a calf has pushed the other cow out and she couldn’t get to her baby. So I moved her baby into a more removed shelter. Finally got mom into the remover shelter and she FREAKED out. I was worried she was going to hurt the baby the way she was frantically trying to get out. She finally Pushed the fence open to get back to the herd and left her baby.

I’ve got the baby in a calf hut in a bed of straw. I managed to get a bit of colostrum into her today and a bit of milk replacer this evening.

mom keeps coming down to the shelter and mooing but the baby won’t follow her and she leaves. I know if the baby leaves the shelter she will be exposed to the cold and kept out of the other shelter by the other dominant cow.

my inclination is to keep the baby in the enclosure and shut the gate so it can’t get out and risk exposure. I just don’t think mom will come in and stay with her.

what would you all do?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh boy - that's a dilemma.... Sorry, I'm not a cow person, but, is baby feeding when mom comes back? How cold is it? A baby with a full tummy can probably deal with cooler temps than a baby left alone. Or - if the baby has had some nourishment, can you keep it up for the night and let it back out with mom tomorrow?

 

[Beekissed]

Put an insulated dog jacket on her and let her be with her mama. If she's a good mother she will find ways to keep her calf out of the wind and cold as much as possible and there's really no substitute for that warm mother's milk.