Today on the farm I had a heifer who did not want to claim (accept) her calf after he was born. For some reason, the mama of the little guy in the back of my four wheeler was not interested in her baby. This does not happen very often but it does happen. Today’s post is simply going to cover the process of getting them back together. (I’ve tried to keep these short but I could not keep this one to the usual one page).
The best way to get a cow to accept her calf is by first getting the pair into a calm, clean, quiet environment. The photo below shows the calf in a stall in the barn with “calf claim” sprinkled on his back.
Calf claim was invented by a couple of vets from Mt. Ayer, Iowa. The ingredients are “top secret” but smell a lot like dried molasses and brown sugar. (I haven’t tasted it so I don’t know). The product works by getting the cow to lick her baby. Anything that will get a cow to lick and imprint the scent of her calf will work. It’s just Calf Claim works better than anything I’ve ever used.
The next step in the process is to put the mama cow in the stall with the calf, stop taking pictures, and come back in an hour. To find a happy contented pair.
The cows at Pinhook Farm have one job and that is to deliver, raise, and wean a calf every year without assistance. Because of this a cow not claiming a calf can be grounds for culling (termination) from the herd in my operation. W80 is going to get a second chance. This was her first calf and she did come around quickly, so for today everything turned out all right.
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