This may sound like a really stupid question but I am new to raisng cattle. My husband and I grew up in a large city and only recently, in a moment of insanity, decided to live on a farm and raise black angus. Two weeks ago a heifer gave birth to a bull calf and would not let it nurse. We gave the calf colustrum. We tried several differnt ways to get the cow to let the calf nurse. Nothing worked so we decided to bottle feed the calf. After 2 weeks of keeping him in a corral we let him out in the pasture. Now the cow is letting the calf nurse and acting very protective. Finally the question Will the mothers milk come back???
cow nursing
- Thread starter kygirl
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TheBullLady
Well-known member
Probably not. In my experience they are pretty much dried up after 5 - 7 days.
J&T Farm
Well-known member
Maybe it will, we have weaned calves for 3 weeks and a couple starterd sucking again and the momma was producing milk. It may have just been those cows but they did have milk. Just watch and see if the calf has any milk on its nose or get the cow up with the calf and watch closely, it would be great if the cow did have milk and could raise the calf. It will do much better. Good Luck
What JT said could be right. The momma just might give milk, but watch closely. As he said, if the calf has milk on her nose, OR is switching its tail when nursing from momma cow, then she is giving milk. It wont take too long to tell if you have to bring it back up and continue with the feeding of it yourselves.
fourstates
Well-known member
I had a cow adopt a a calf almost 4 weeks after losing her own calf. She was not dry, and her milk built up over time.
I would watch the calf carefully to make sure he is getting enough to eat. The more he sucks the more milk she will make. Supplement the calf with creep or grain if needed.
I would watch the calf carefully to make sure he is getting enough to eat. The more he sucks the more milk she will make. Supplement the calf with creep or grain if needed.
i would continue to bottle feed the calf out in the pasture, carefully, and just let it live with the cow. with the calf frequently sucking she may come back into her milk but it will probably take a while to get enough flowing for the calf to do well on. if he turns up his nose to the bottle two feedings in a row, you will know. i say two b/c the first time he may just prefer the taste of his moms milk and the second try he may be hungry enough to reconsider...
shorty
Well-known member
Put the cow in a chute or tie her and check her milk. that way you'll know for sure , she could have dried off already
