cow sitting on calf

whelan1

i always get 1 or 2 of these a year , got one last night , it was a fr bull calf:mad: very annoying

reilig

whelan1 wrote: »

i always get 1 or 2 of these a year , got one last night , it was a fr bull calf:mad: very annoying

Very Frustrating. Thankfully we haven't had one in a few years.
I have an inlaw who has 90 suckler cows. He calved 60 in the late autumn and up to christmas and has lost 20 of these calves through salmonella which is causing sores in their feet and eventually causing them so fail away and die. He's at a very low point in farming and is talking about giving up.

Bizzum

Where you have livestock, you'll have dead stock.
There are times I'm sure we all think of packing it in, but life gets in the way and on we rumble.
The tide allways turns and things seem a bit brighter when things go well.

barryoc1

Whelan, just wondering do you always leave the light on in the shed for the cow after she calves? I know cows are generally good like that but i find leavin the light on helps.

whelan1

barryoc1 wrote: »

Whelan, just wondering do you always leave the light on in the shed for the cow after she calves? I know cows are generally good like that but i find leavin the light on helps.

yup light on in that shed all night... wouldnt mind its a big shed

Figerty

Have never had one of these yet thank god. I make a small corner in the shed with straw the cow can't get into and the generally the calf will find it and they cow cant fit. Usually just use a feeder or in a cattle crush in the shed where the calf will get in but the cow wont.

bbam

Whelan, that is a real disappointment and can be sole destroying, we had it two years ago... lost what looked like a wonderful bull calf. :rolleyes:

Rellig, that's just scary stuff, I can see why he'd feel like getting out...

blue5000

Hey whelan sorry to hear that. Has the cow got milk fever, maybe as a result of all the minerals?

pakalasa

Up to what age of calf can this happen, I wonder?

Bit of a sickener, eh!

whelan1

this calf was only 3 days old . i have to leave the fr bull calves on cow so dealer will take them

dar31

whelan1 wrote: »

this calf was only 3 days old . i have to leave the fr bull calves on cow so dealer will take them

why would you do that, sounds like pure hardship. change calf dealer, is it one of the few big ones or just a local lad

whelan1

i also leave calf on cow so they get the rotavec corona biestings for 7 days... i could take them straight off cow when they are born i suppose , but we have coccidiosis , crypto and rotavirus so vet reccommended leaving them on cow for a week and then making sure they have a fresh cows biestings for at least another week , with the rotavec in it... works better for us this way- thats the downside of building up your herd when you buy in , you buy in every disease too

Indubitable

had a cow once that used to stand on her calf :mad:
thankfully it has never happened again

Min

I had one cow that lay on her calf when out in a field.

5live

Thats a bitch whelan1. Seeing as you leave calves sucking for a week would it be possible to leave the calves out to the cows twice a day to suckle and separate again after? More bother i know but we used multiple suckle back in the day and 4 calves per (quiet) cow would reduce risk of scour from over drinking plus most of the cows are milking so some cash turning over