E 2 newbie calf mom

[Deleted]

Hi, my name is Susie. I live in the MO. Ozarks (hubby and I are recent empty nesters) I've wanted a family milk cow for years, but just this fall finally got the chance to move to the country. We have a bit over 20 acres. Nice mix of rolling hills and open meadows, patches of woods here, there and all around. It's a lovely view, but just cried out for a cow. As of this morning (at 11:20 to be exact ;D) Alice was born. She's a reg. jersey (she's about 2 1/2 hours south of me) I've fallen head over hills in love, just from the pics. Can't imagine what it'll be like to actually get my hands on her. (the wait for her birth just about killed me and her breeder. it was a never ending stream of emails back and forth. tales of her in the middle of the night, throwing her hubbie's coveralls on, over her pj's, crossing the creek to check on the mom-to-be) I was so excited to have found Maggie's mom. She too has goats (I have nubians) Maggie is the family milk cow. She's a gentle well mannered cow and a much loved family member. Which is exactly what I want relationship wise with my little Alice. ........ BUT....
now that's she's been born, I'm getting nervous. I know nada about cows. I've done some reading. (actually ordered a copy of Keeping A Family Cow this afternoon) I also spent several hours reading thru your board here. What can I say, so many knowledgeable, supportive, friendly folks. I so look forward to getting to know you all. So glad I stumbled upon this site. (((Alice will be happy that I did to, I'm sure LOL)))....
I will be going down to pick her up in about 3 weeks. Leaving her long enough for her to get a good start. (her breeder raises beef calves, so that's who she milk shares with) In the past Maggie was bred to a beef bull. This time she was AI'd to a reg. jersey. I will be bottle feeding Alice. Hoping it will help us bond to each other. I'm sure I'm going to have tons of dumb newbie questions and never ending brags and pics of her, not to mention never ending worries. I swear I don't think I've ever been this excited in years. Spent the day doing the happy heifer dance.
susie & alice

[MooMad]

Welcome to the group Susie and the wonderful world of the family cow ;D

You'll find that raising a calf will fill the void the fleeing children have left no problems!! Your kids will probably get tired of hearing about her every time they phone.

Sounds like you have a lovely farm there.
Would love to see a pic of Alice. Do you know how to post one here?

Hope you enjoy being here with us!
Midge

[Deleted]

Welcome Woodwyfe,
I know that raising a calf is a tremendously rewarding experience. I have no regrets that I have become so enamored with bovines!

I warm my calf bottles of raw fresh milk in a crock pot, set to warm, on a timer, which turns on 2 hrs before I wish to feed. The bottle is slowly warmed to between 90 o F and 100 o F but never higher to retain the goodness of the milk.

[Cricket]

:)Welcome Woodwyfe, You will find the help and support you need on this forum. We all help each other! Where in the Ozarks of MO do you live? I'm in Walnut Shade, just north of Branson a bit. I have a registered three yo spotted Jersey. With her is her second offspring a 10 month old hiefer. Hassie will be registered when I get around to it. She looks just like her mamma. I keep them separate because Hassie would still nurse if allowed.

Hope you can post pictures of you little Alice.

[Deleted]

Thank you all for the warm welcome.
Midge, I've got to tell you. I think I'm MORE excited about this little heifer, then I was with the birth of my last kiddo LOL. (don't tell her that hehhehe) Would love to show Alice off here (not sure how to post pics) also waiting for some of her DRY hehehhe. I do have a pic of Maggie, the mom the day before Alice was born. Also some of Alice still all damp and wobbly.

Joann, Are you the JOANN who wrote the book I can hardly wait to have arrive??? So happy to have found out someone wrote EXACTLY the type of book I need to raise Alice up into a happy, healthy, well adjusted cow.

Cricket, we're east of you. Between West Plains and Thayer MO. LOVE it here (as I write this there are two bald eagles swooping and soaring over the house) I don't know if I've ever seen a spotted jersey? would love to see pics.

Sally, thank you for the bottle warming tips. Really enjoyed looking at the calf pics. So cute.

And so it starts. Just got finished ordering some supplies. Bottles, nipples, bottle brush, neck strap....nice swiss bell (just because that's the LOOK I've always had in my head for a well dressed milk cow I'm having a heck of a time finding any milk for her. None of my nubians have freshened yet. All the local goat people have their milk spoken for. No luck yet with fresh cow's milk. What would you all suggest??? would replacement formula mixed with store bought cow's milk be awful for her? she'll be on her mom for at least a week, then switched over to a bottle (her breeder of course has cow's milk & goat milk to give her. BUT she's too far from me to be able to be my supply source) If I do have to use replacement, what brand do you all like best?
susie

[Selden]

Hi there! I am raising my calf Ferdinand on milk replacer as I don't yet have a milking cow. I use Neutrena Snowflakes Milk Replacer, by Cargill. It's 20 percent protein and all milk (no soy). I think the best brand is Sav-a-Caf, which has a 24 percent protein solution, but for me the shipping is prohibitive, more than half again the cost of a bag. As it is, I drive 2 hrs. round trip to the feed store to get the Neutrena. The 50 lb. bag cost $42 and lasted six weeks. I am hoping to wean him around 12 weeks, if it works out. Ferdinand had a week on his mother's milk before switching over to replacer formula. I gave him probiotics when I made the switch and it went without a bobble. You mix the replacer with WATER, not milk, and the big thing to remember is DON'T OVERFEED. I got that counsel on this list and it is crucial when you're dealing with formula rather than real milk. Follow the directions, as I did, and you should be fine. Good luck!

Selden

[MooMad]

Hi again Susie
Having hand raised hundreds of calves the best advice I can give you is; ask your friend not to feed Alice for at least four hours before you pick her up. Get some electrolytes from your Vet and feed her these on arrival at your place but keep her off milk until the next day. She can have two or three feeds of electrolytes. She won't starve, honest! As Seldon says, don't overfeed if you want to avoid having her scour.

Transportation is VERY stressful for calves as is a new environment, new people around her and a new type of milk.

There are a few calf raising tips in the Tree of Knowledge section of the website.

Good luck!

[Joann]

Another thing that sometimes people are not fully aware of when transporting a calf is that they are easily chilled. Then they are likely to get pneumonia. Make some plan for keeping her warm en route.

[Deleted]

again, thank you all so much for the tips and suggestions. (I'm making notes LOL) At least she will only have to travel for a couple hours. We are thinking about taking the neighbor's mini van to get her (we'll keep the heater off or really low, as not to over heat her) Of course we'll take the back seat out. I was trained and showed dogs for many, many years. I have 3 XXL (500) crates. Would a 2 or 3 week old jersey heifer fit into a crate that size? I think it would be a safer spot for her, then just being thrown here and there.
susie

[Deleted]

Dog crates work well. I put fleece saddle pads on the calves as jackets when they travel.

I have 2 CH CD dogs here and have bred at least 6 Champions.... but I'm not doing that anymore.

Are there any dairies around you? If so, take a photo of your calf and an empty (clear blue 5 gal) water bottle with you. Most dairies have "throw-away" milk if they won't let you steal bulk tank milk. They must know that you really are feeding a calf (photo) and if they can not sell the milk, ask if you can steal it. Leave money that has nothing what-so-ever to do with the milk. Keep them out of trouble.

[valmai]

Hi there ... decided it was time to de-lurk.
Woodwyfe I would suggest you ring and ask for some milk to take home with you when you collect Alice. Wether you can get real milk locally or use CMR, it would help Alice if you can mix the milk she is used to with whatever else you give her. Even if its real milk, from a freisian for example it will be different to jersey milk. Anything to keep the little tummy from getting upset.

[Selden]

I brought Ferdinand home in a giant dog crate in the back of my own warm van. Worked fine. I don't think the danger of overheating is too great. For all their size these babies are incredibly fragile. But perhaps I am influenced by our Adirondack temperatures: -30F again this morning, before wind chill!

I forgot to mention the electrolytes that Midge mentions. They were literally a lifesaver with Ferdinand, who was scouring badly -- I felt as if I were infusing life with every bottle. There are two schools of opinion on withholding formula, and if you read on the Net you'll find plenty of support for both. In the end I did not withhold formula (still fed according to bag directions, which at Ferdy's age was only 1/2 bottle AM and PM) but fed electrolytes in between. And the probiotics.

In the U.S. I think you can buy the electrolytes and probiotics (also Neomycin, which would be reassuring to have on hand, even if you don't have to use it) at most feed stores, if there are cattle anywhere around you. Sadly, the practice of removing calves from their mothers at birth results in lots of sick calves.

Selden

[MooMad]

Just thought I'd better clarify why I highly recommend no milk for some hours before and after travel. This is to prevent the dreaded scours, prevention being far better than cure!

When calves are stressed it is always their delicate digestive system which suffers.
So many unexperienced folk get the calf home and think poor little thing must be hungry, feed it milk then wonder why it starts scouring and they end up spending the next week trying to clear up scours.

With Alice being fed her Mothers milk for three weeks before you pick her up she should be a very healthy calf and I'm sure you'll want her to stay that way

[Joann]

In answer to your question about what kind of milk replacer to buy, the main thing is not to buy a soy based feed. No calf does as well on this.

Here is the recommendation made by AnnB some time back, that I saved. I agree with her suggestion.


Calf milk replacer
Make sure that the milk replacer is not only all milk, but also "20/20" (20% protein/20% fat).
There are all milk "10/10" and "10/12" formulas out there and the calves don't do nearly as well on them.

Personally, I use Country Lane Premium All-Milk Non-Medicated 20/20 (from Orschelin) when I need a replacer.

Ann B