Attitude of first calvers

I was just wondering, what are your first calvers like after they have had their calves? Are they just as protective as cows or are they worse? If this seems like a stupid question, I'm just getting nervous with my first set of calves ever on the way.

Depends on a lot of things.  Breed, bloodlines, prior management, and more.   

That said, most of the time our first calf heifers are not as 'in your face' as a cow that's done it before.  I can name plenty of exceptions to that tho - one particular event involving a heifer running us up a fence as we were pulling her calf. 

Good Luck.  A few things I can think of off the top of my head..  Make sure you have a good fence between you & the cow until you know how she is - even then, NEVER EVER trust her.  Make sure you keep an eye on her all the time & have an escape route planned.  Always keep the calf between you and her.  And never go out by yourself.   

learn how to run and jump over gates in record time before she stomps your a$$... just in case 

"attitude of an ext heifer that just calved"

Dont go in with them with a dog around.

some cows even change year to year...  one year just fine, run in tag, weigh, sex check.. etc... cow just stands and looks.. next year the broad mauls my old man...

We've been pretty lucky lately, knock on wood!  We started selecting for disposition about ten years ago.  We have one EXT daughter left and come may or june whe will be gone!  Never been so happy to see a cow struggling to keep weight the way she is right now!  When she's gone I won't have to worry about her stomping my guts into the ground every time a cow calves!  If anything calves she is just plain psycho! 

As I get older, I get less brave every year. I would just soon drag the calf out of the pen or on top of the flat bed of the truck than get killed. Except I have one cow that a couple years ago came on the back of the truck with me, things where flying everywhere. The cow is not wild at all, and is the easiet cow to handle, you just don't touch her calf the first couple days after birth then everything is fine.

Ours are all X show heifers and we have never had a problem with them being over protective, however you do get the occasional dumb one that can't figure out where that calf came from or what to do with it.

I firmly believe that cows and heifers are smart enough to understand the difference between a human and a coyote - I have zero tolerance for bad behavior around calving. If I had a cow that jumped in the back of my pickup she would be headed to town. Putting temperament high on your list of wanted qualities eliminates a lot of problems

I think there is a big difference between a wild cow and a protective cow. Sometimes a cow can be both and yes those cows should not be tolerated. But I wouldn't trade a really good cow that is a little protective and that is it.

I find it is best to always respect any cow that has just calved...whether it is a first calver or a tenth calver. As has been mentioned, there are many things that can affect how they will act. Most quiet cows will act quietly when they calve, but there are exceptions, and it is the exceptions are the reason to use some caution. Several years ago, a neighbor was killed by a cow that was a family pet... a cow that had been shown extensively. I do not want to create fear here, but just some old fashioned respect. Another guy who lives close to here, went out to check his cows in the morning, and found a newborn outside. The cow seemed normal so he bent over to see if he could get the calf to stand up so he could get it to the barn. As he leaned over, another cow bumped him from behind, and he went over on his head, and broke his neck. In the meantime, his wife had gone to work. He layed outside in -30 degrees for 10 hours before she returned home and realized he had not ate his breakfast.He had severe frostbite to his face, ears, hands and feet, but did live. Again, I do not want to impose fear with these stories, but respect. I honestly think animals can sense if you fear them. Treat them with respect and once the baby is born and OK, allow the mom and baby to have some alone time to bond.

I had a quiet cow calve quite uneventful, a few years ago. She got up and started to lick off the new born calf, and suddenly, she let the strangest beller out and started tossing the calf with her head and beating it with her feet. It was beyond anything I had ever seen before. I grabbed a fork and was able to get her to back off so that I could grab a leg of the calf and get it into safety. Fortunately, the calf had no permanent injuries, but was probably pretty bruised for awhile. A few seconds after I seperated them, she snapped back to normal again, and wanted her calf again. My vet told me that an occasional cow will go into a post partem shock situation, in which they can kill their calf. This was the only one I ever saw, and it was pretty scary. I kept this cow for several more years and she was excellent at calving time after that.

rtm, define "little protective".... to me that is standing 3 feet from me, WATCHING  me tag, weigh, and vacc her calf.
That is NOT throwing her head around throwing snot everywhere, charging me, bellowing, etc.  

My cows are not pets, but I have zero tolerance for mean, wild or hard to handle cows. NONE. I do not multi-task well, so I have a hard time weighing, tagging, vaccinating AND PRAYING all at the same time, so therefore I refuse to do it!  I do all the work by myself, and laying in the middle of a pasturing hoping someone might miss me soon is not my idea of fun, therefore I refuse to tolerate such behavior.

I have found many a cow herd that had people problems, and very few people with cow problems......

I have found its the x show heifers that are the worst...  most other cows. seem to have a bit of "wild" in them... 

Show heifer, I would not tolerate a cow that would knock me to the ground and stomp on me either. I just assume that most cows by nature should have some instinct to make sure there calf is not being harmed. I think it alright to have a cow that just stands there as well. When I'm tagging a new calf I feel it's just best to assume they can all hit you. If I know I have a cow that is maybe a little protective I can prepare for that and take the proper precautions, if it is to the point I'm fearing for my life then yes the cow should go.

We pasture calve and tag with the pickup.  Rope the calf and reel him into the back.  Sometimes have to roll under the truck if she figures out how to go past the calf and run up the rope.  For the one or two really motherly ones that will jump in the back of the truck with me (I know who they are), I take along a driver to keep the truck moving while I take care of tagging.  Don't have too much problem with coyotes.

Jill said:

Ours are all X show heifers and we have never had a problem with them being over protective, however you do get the occasional dumb one that can't figure out where that calf came from or what to do with it.

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same here...totally...

The majority of our first time heifers have no problem with us around their calves of course most of them were show heifers so they are use to us. Now have had some that are fine with us but not other people. My daughter has a cow that only lets her mess with her and her calves but anyone else comes around she can get protective.My daughters very first show heifer is a Heatseeker and was a puppy dog of a show heifer but do not go anywhere around her when she has a calf. She is very protective and a little nuts when she has a calf. She does not even like other calves and cows near her calf.  I have more of a problem with first time heifers being dumb.The dumb ones drive me crazy!!! Usually they are better with the second calf and if not they are history unless they have really great calves. Good luck and just never trust a cow with a calf because sometimes they will suprise you on how they react once they have a calf. I always watch my back.

Depends on their breed bloodlines ours aren't to bad but it seems like if they have an attitude they will have an attitude when they calf. I have a little story it happend about five years ago anyway, my uncle had a cow that calved and my uncle and my dad were trying to put the calf in the loader bucket they got the calf half on and, the cow took down both my dad and my uncle. They didn't get seriously hurt my dad got up and grabed a pipe and it the cow in the head and after they got her to the barn loaded up the cow and took her to the barn my dad bottled fed the calf let me tell ya my dad was mad now we don't even have one cow that will try to take unless you piss them off.

We have a first calf heifer that wants to kill her calf!!! She did not want to calve, would not mother, and now will put the calf through the wall if left alone. I have been at work for 3 days now which is maybe lucky for the heifer. My wife said she is going out with the cows that have not calved now because she will not let the little girl get hurt. I can not be pretty because I heard words from her mouth that I have not heard for a while!!! We had a 10 year old cow with a 12 hr old baby beside want to take her as a twin so my wife let her clean the calf off, put the heifer in the chute for the calf to suck and then let them out in a pen only to see the heifer run the little baby. She tried every trick we have ever used including a dog in the pen, grain on the calf and trying to be patient but I just talked to her and she wants to shoot the 2 yr old, and my wife is a very, very patient lady. She has to be to have put up as long as she has with me. Maybe some are just not born to be mothers!!!!!