Post by rd200 on Jul 7, 2016 9:27:46 GMT -5
Multi question post:
Cow calved Tuesday nt at 11pm. Went very well, no problems, calf drank well. So we are now about 36hrs past calving. And she's not picking up yet on her grain intake. Eating lots of good hay & pasture, drinking water well. Just doesn't seem overly interested in the grain. She ate it wedn. Morning good, then wedn night she didn't much so I put it in her pen with her and she ate it overnight. This morning wasn't interested.
She's alert, normal temp (101) no milk fever signs, not much swelling in her udder, no mastitis, chewing her cud, acting normal pretty much. Except won't really touch her grain.
Gave her warm molasses water (about 15 gallons) Tues nt when she calved. And she got her Bovi-kalc bolus too that night.
I guess my question is, when to become concerned about it.... I'm not too concerned right now, she looks fine. But I don't want her to get too far negative energy by not eating the grain. However she IS eating alot of hay & grazing fine.
Milking does make her nervous the first week or so, so maybe thats why she won't eat it while she's milking. She gets better once were back into the routine of milking. Thoughts??
Second queztion: I got a 5 day old Jersey bull calf from an organic dairy down the road yesterday. This morning I successfully got him to suck from the cow!!!
So, would you: let him out with the cow & her calf right off the bat today and see what the cow does? ( Take him, reject him,) etc. Or...
Let him nurse twice a day while shes in the milking stanchion for a few days so her milk can get thru him so he smells like her, likely having a better chance at her taking him in as her own. ??
My ultimate goal is to have the 3 of them one big happy family. Lol.
Not having to lock her up to let him nurse. She is a very, very attentive mother, so either she's gonna welcome another calf to lick on, or hate him with a passion and not let him get close to her at all.
Cow calved Tuesday nt at 11pm. Went very well, no problems, calf drank well. So we are now about 36hrs past calving. And she's not picking up yet on her grain intake. Eating lots of good hay & pasture, drinking water well. Just doesn't seem overly interested in the grain. She ate it wedn. Morning good, then wedn night she didn't much so I put it in her pen with her and she ate it overnight. This morning wasn't interested.
She's alert, normal temp (101) no milk fever signs, not much swelling in her udder, no mastitis, chewing her cud, acting normal pretty much. Except won't really touch her grain.
Gave her warm molasses water (about 15 gallons) Tues nt when she calved. And she got her Bovi-kalc bolus too that night.
I guess my question is, when to become concerned about it.... I'm not too concerned right now, she looks fine. But I don't want her to get too far negative energy by not eating the grain. However she IS eating alot of hay & grazing fine.
Milking does make her nervous the first week or so, so maybe thats why she won't eat it while she's milking. She gets better once were back into the routine of milking. Thoughts??
Second queztion: I got a 5 day old Jersey bull calf from an organic dairy down the road yesterday. This morning I successfully got him to suck from the cow!!!
So, would you: let him out with the cow & her calf right off the bat today and see what the cow does? ( Take him, reject him,) etc. Or...
Let him nurse twice a day while shes in the milking stanchion for a few days so her milk can get thru him so he smells like her, likely having a better chance at her taking him in as her own. ??
My ultimate goal is to have the 3 of them one big happy family. Lol.
Not having to lock her up to let him nurse. She is a very, very attentive mother, so either she's gonna welcome another calf to lick on, or hate him with a passion and not let him get close to her at all.