# move the cow?



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

my heifer is in the same pasture as the bull and the donkey. she is showing signs that she is pregnant. should i move her to another pasture by herself or will she and the calf be okay once he/she arrives? Might the bull or donkey by nature hurt the calf?


----------



## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

The momma will protect the calf.


----------



## roundman (May 21, 2004)

momma and donkey may help with wild dogs/coyotes to protect calf and bull will just be there to worry about when she comes back and help bring her back into heat, no problem


----------



## dbarham (Aug 13, 2005)

where is rustyS when you need him.


----------



## bassmaster2004 (Aug 2, 2004)

Leave her with them


----------



## chickenboy (May 5, 2008)

Same situation last weekend. Bad outcome


----------



## pshay4 (Aug 18, 2005)

Everyone assumes that donkeys protect livestock because they kill coyotes. Donkeys just hate coyotes too. I've seen them kill newborn calves. They pick them up and shake them, kick and bite. Bull is fine with cow, get rid of the donkey. They sometimes just don't like animals they aren't used to.


----------



## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

That momma cow will protect that calf to death. No worries. 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


----------



## clint623 (Jan 31, 2012)

Leave em be. That momma will protect it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


----------



## Gottagofishin (Dec 17, 2005)

We've had donkeys with our cattle for years. Never had a problem. The momma cow will protect the calf. The donkey won't take on a mad momma cow. I don't know of I would leave the calf alone with the donkey. Also not sure if one cow, one calf, and one donkey makes a difference. We have two donkeys with 50-60 head of cattle.

What's weird is the donkeys have killed a couple of coyotes in the last couple of years, but don't give the dogs a second look. They even allow themselves to be herded by the dogs. The dogs bring them in with the cattle.


----------



## Jaysand247 (Aug 19, 2012)

Just have to keep a eye on the donkey for a few days . If he doesn't show signs of being aggressive now he probably won't be towards the calf . I had a donkey try to climb in the saddle with me a few years ago while penning cows . I had to tie him to a tree to keep him off of us . He was a mean sucker ..


----------



## Rusty S (Apr 6, 2006)

dbarham said:


> where is rustyS when you need him.


He is alive and well, censored, but alive and well. FC's rs


----------



## Gemini8 (Jun 29, 2013)

Had a horse growing up that acted like a donkey, well the jackass kind. He was the best calf sitter on the farm. He would have 3 or 4 babies all bedded down, keeping watch while momma cows grazed.


----------



## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Gemini8 said:


> Had a horse growing up that acted like a donkey, well the jackass kind. He was the best calf sitter on the farm. He would have 3 or 4 babies all bedded down, keeping watch while momma cows grazed.


I had a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that would do the same thing. All the cows were used to him so they would let him around. I think he thought he was half calf. He would let them lick on him or play with him until they grew out of that. Bull and dog hated each other though...lol


----------



## TexasVines (Jan 5, 2012)

Usually a Jenny is better at protecting than a Jake and a Jake that is not cut should not be with the calf......if the Jake is cut just watch for a few days


----------



## budreau (Jun 21, 2009)

better pay more attention to the heifer than the donkey . may not have a calf to worry about .


----------



## RexP (May 29, 2013)

I would be more concerned if this is a heifer like you say, they some timeshave problems having a calf. After the first they do fine, Need to watch her and be there if pos. when calf is born.


----------



## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

If the donkey is a jack,I'd seperate them.Walk up to the momma and new baby the first time to see how she'll protect it.We've had pets that stayed around the house have a calf,and they'd wear you out when you just wanted to look at the baby.Other cows could care less.


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

Got to see my heifer this weekend and take some pics. her udder filled up tremendously since last week. so, just waiting to see when she calves. I'll leave the bull and the jenny with her in the pasture and definitely keep watch.
Any one care to guess how long till she calves?


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

sorry for the sideways pics. didn't know it loaded that way.


----------



## RACER (Mar 15, 2006)

I have a buddie that his donkey tried to kill a new calf a few weeks ago....move it not worth the risk...


----------



## Jaysand247 (Aug 19, 2012)

Calf is gonna have a hard time with those udders . Make sure it eats within the first hour...


----------



## fluidation (May 16, 2005)

5 days till calf max. Jay is right, watch that calve, if dont latch on to a tit within 2, 3 hrs put them in a pen, feed the cow some grain, stand behind the calf, pushing up to the cow and squeeze down a tit and force it calves mouth. Might take a couple of days till he get the hang of it and gets her sucked down till he can do if alone


----------



## Rack Ranch (May 25, 2004)

Within the next week...


----------



## troutslayer (Feb 7, 2006)

Just dont let HP any where near that donkey!!


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

cow dropped calf early Thursday morning and i found her sleeping. she is a cutie. wife named her Bella. seems like she has a hard time getting milk cause of the large diameter of cows teats and doesn't always get the right spot.two got smaller over nite so i think calf did eat a bit. she lays around for most of the time but gets up occasionally but doesn't wander far. i got worried that she didn't eat correctly so i bottle fed her some colostrum. my donkey seems to kept good watch on her. lets hope she gets better at eating.


----------



## Spirit (Nov 19, 2008)

Oh how precious!! Bella is a beauty!!


----------



## Palmetto (Jun 28, 2004)

I'd ship that wench. If you werent able to be around, I doubt that calf would make it. Shoulda named that calf "Lucky". 

They usually have enough in them at birth to last a few days, in the right weather conditions. Did she suck the bottle pretty good? Whats tough is when they dont even have enough in them to suck. We have nursed quite a few back from death in the past. Such a PIA. When they wont nurse, you have milk the cow, & tube them. Then hopefully they will get enough energy to start sucking on their own. This can go on for DAYS. 

We run about 200 mommas, and anything like that goes to the sale barn. Good luck with her.


----------



## teamgafftop1 (Aug 30, 2010)

A Jack that isn't cut can get aggressive with cattle (large or small). Ours used to like to bite the back of a cow's neck. He apparently thought it was fun being swung around like he was on an amusement park ride. He nearly got shot over it but the folks decided to move him to a different pasture and have him cut. Now he doesn't do a whole lot of anything but stand around lamenting the demise of his jewels. And, he couldn't care less what comes into the pasture as long as it isn't jeopardizing his small patch of grass.


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

My donkey is a jenny. she been good with the calf.
as for the calf having trouble with the large udder ive gotten some advice to use udder balm on cow and try to milk her to make teats more manageable for calf's mouth to latch on. gonna try that and see how far i get along in the next few days and keep close watch. gonna pen her up with calf too.


----------



## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

Sounds like the calf has plenty of attention since she is named... LOL. Congrats!


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

So far the calf has done good. i was concerned cause she is thin but several people said this is normal and she will eventually gain weight since all she is eating is milk and it will take a while to grow from just eating milk. i worked on the cows teats by applying udder balm and she seemed relieved. her teats were dry and cracked from stretching out being full of milk. she let me milk her too. one teat did concern me cause it had bloody(pink color) milk. that quarter was very warm. i milked that one much more and got the teat to decrease in size considerably. as i milked it i also noticed that the milk wasn't as pink as before. i think i got most of the blood out. any thought from anyone? Thanks.


----------



## Rack Ranch (May 25, 2004)

Don't worry about a little blood in the milk.. It should be fine


----------



## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

Sounds like you have a new pet. Don't let her get used to sleeping in the bed with you. If she does she will want to do it when she gets bigger.


----------



## Main Frame 8 (Mar 16, 2007)

shaggydog said:


> Sounds like you have a new pet. *Don't let her get used to sleeping in the bed with you. If she does she will want to do it when she gets bigger.[/*quote]
> 
> I know a few gals like that :spineyes:


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

The calf has made it to being four weeks old and growing a bit. she is still sleeping or laying a round alot but has a good appetite for the bottle. 
Given the uncertainty that she got colostrum from form the cow at birth i gave her some soon after i found that she was born. not sure how long that was after she was born, maybe 12-30 hrs after.
Should i vaccinate her soon or wait till she is six wks or older? and which vaccine ?


----------



## Johnny9 (Sep 7, 2005)

Black Leg Vaccine


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

at what time frame? now or in a couple of weeks? I got a vail of 7-way from tractor supply.ill get her done with the cow and bull at same time.


----------



## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

I got in late on this post but in the future call Dr. Pol. lol. He is an expert.


----------



## bigfishtx (Jul 17, 2007)

If that cow has not been sold, sell her when you sell the calf, With those blown out teats she will never nurse a calf.

Tough go bottle feeding those calves. Best is to find a person with a jersey cow to buy the calf from you. You can get $150+ for it now.


----------



## Rack Ranch (May 25, 2004)

Your safe to give an 8- way now and give a booster as well. The calve was born at a bad time of the year. Very hot out then and hard on the babies. We have been calving the last month and the ones that were born in August struggled a bit. You should start the baby on some calve mana now and the mom should take care of the rest.


----------



## hdh828 (May 27, 2006)

Rack Ranch,
thanks for the info. Basically this calf has become a bottle calf due to not being able to feed cause momma had some mastitis. Found her down but not out a few days later very dehydrated. Guess from not nursing. took her to vet for care and sent her mom over the next day. mom was treated for mastitis and both were encouraged to get calf to nurse. no go. calf has been bottle fed twice a day and is maintaining but is now four weeks old and not gaining too much weight which concerns me. she seems weak when walking around but does move around. Gums are a little white and got to do research on that. I'm encouraging her to eat calf starter and take 6-10 pcs before bottle. poop is good n stinky but firmer now than before. sleeps or lays alot. I'm not giving up on her.


----------

