Post by milliebee on Jul 15, 2013 10:06:43 GMT -5
Belgian Blue x Jersey heifer calved on Sunday morning in the field. No problems with the birth but the heifer seemed very agitated - was bellowing and seemed bewildered - didn't seem normal to me. The calf got on its feet but couldn't suck because every time he got near the teats the heifer spun round so that he was facing her. Eventually we milked a couple of pints off her - she didn't mind a bit as long as the calf was immediately in front of her - and bottle fed the calf.
A couple of hours later the calf was feeding from her and everything seemed fine. Early this morning she came up near the house with the calf in tow - so far so good. All day I kept looking across the field - the heifer was grazing but no sign of the calf. At two o' clock I could stand it no longer and went looking for him. I'm in the middle of a bad arthritis flare up - so it was difficult for me to walk. I eventually found the calf in a grassy hollow. He was lying down and seemed quite content. The heifer didn't seem the least bit interested in him or what I was doing (very different from yesterday).
Is this normal behaviour? I've never had a cow who just left her new born calf before. It's a red hot day - is this why she has just 'parked him up'? I'm pretty certain that she hasn't been with him from early morning. It's a big field and she couldn't see him from where she was grazing. When my husband gets home I intend to bring the calf up and see if she follows (I'd do it now but I wouldn't be able to manage it on my own). Will it do the calf any harm to be just left in this heat? How should I manage this - or am I worrying unnecessarily? The calf is a cross bred Sussex and he's built like a little tank - I wouldn't like to lose him.
A couple of hours later the calf was feeding from her and everything seemed fine. Early this morning she came up near the house with the calf in tow - so far so good. All day I kept looking across the field - the heifer was grazing but no sign of the calf. At two o' clock I could stand it no longer and went looking for him. I'm in the middle of a bad arthritis flare up - so it was difficult for me to walk. I eventually found the calf in a grassy hollow. He was lying down and seemed quite content. The heifer didn't seem the least bit interested in him or what I was doing (very different from yesterday).
Is this normal behaviour? I've never had a cow who just left her new born calf before. It's a red hot day - is this why she has just 'parked him up'? I'm pretty certain that she hasn't been with him from early morning. It's a big field and she couldn't see him from where she was grazing. When my husband gets home I intend to bring the calf up and see if she follows (I'd do it now but I wouldn't be able to manage it on my own). Will it do the calf any harm to be just left in this heat? How should I manage this - or am I worrying unnecessarily? The calf is a cross bred Sussex and he's built like a little tank - I wouldn't like to lose him.