HELP PLEASE............

[OkeeGal]

I have 2 cows- they are at seperate locations.

1-angus w/ calf  found the calf dead this afternoon. I have no idea what happened. It showed no signs of being sick had been vacinatted etc. it was about  3 months old.
Just went to his pen and he was laid over...nothing.

I have a shorthorn cow that has just gone missing, she has a calf.    The calf was left in the pasture.  We have walked the pasture and seen no signs of a broken fence, cut fence or anything abnormal.  There are some sections that are heavy brushed. The cow is gone. Just like she vanished into thin air. No buzzards, no trail nothing. we last saw her last Weds night and noticed her missing Sunday.

What I want to know, since the angus momma is still full of milk is there a trick way to get her in to milk the orphan calf. It is only about 40 days old and I have been giving it some bottle.

Just not sure what to do.. cause it has been a sucky week for us.

I live in so Fl.  and has been suggested that could been snakebite or pneumonia ?? what ever it was, it was FAST.. he seemed to be fine yesterday.  I didnt notice any bite marks on him.. but that doesnt mean much either ??  thanks

 

[GoWyo]

I would guess your shorthorn cow was rustled.  Worst thing about ex show heifers is they can be stolen with a grain bucket and a halter.  The graft sounds really difficult unless the Angus is really maternal -- if you had a Simmie and were trying to graft a calf on it would be way easier than an Angus.  Maybe try milking the Angus and bottling the calf for three weeks or so then wean him at 60 days age.

 

[ruhtram]

My guess is this would be tough to accomplish but would be worth a shot...Sorry to hear about all your tough luck. Hope things get better in the future!

 

[cowgirl864]

sorry to hear such a sad story : our heart goes out to you

 

[jbzdad]

I think you can graft them... I assume you can get the cow in the chute

skin the dead calf  .. keep all the buttock skin if possible .. just cut through the bones of the tail  tail at the base  when you have skinned to it and leave the tail on the skin.....' skin almost all the legs out... the skinning is easiest if the calf is lifted by it's hind feet on a loader... you only need  about 1/2 the neck.. the starting incisions for the skinning need to be middle of belly to inside of legs

about 1/2 way down the legs cut big slits for the grafts legs to go thru (buttonholes like)... put the skin on the graft calf like a sweater...I would start by just putting them together  if that doesn't work I would  put the cow in the headgate and start the calf nursing...them turn the cow loose  she will sniff that rear end and think that calf is hers... you will need to take off the skin after 24 hours (it will start to stink)

I am hoping it is cold there and the skin on the dead calf is not to stinky yet

pretty labor intensive but I think you have a chance,,, keep the graft calf hungry and this pair seperate for a few days

 

[amandaraithel]

I have NEVER skinned a calf and we graft calves on other cows all of the time. (At least one or two a year.) We take the cow, put her in our River Rode clipping chute, give her feed and tie one back leg back so she can't kick the calf. Our chute sides swing open for clipping, which makes this really easy. This process is a bit harder in a more conventional chute with non-opening sides. Make sure your calf is hungry and turn him/her in to suck. Do this routine for as long as it takes to get the cow to claim the calf. Can take one session or up to a week's worth. When the Angus cow's milk starts to run through the baby and digest, the mom will claim it. I know everyone talks about the "skin-the-dead-calf" method, but this seems to work great for us. We run 200+ Angus cows. It is possible to graft on them too...

 

[kp1625]

I think you can graft them... I assume you can get the cow in the chute

skin the dead calf  .. keep all the buttock skin if possible .. just cut through the bones of the tail  tail at the base  when you have skinned to it and leave the tail on the skin.....' skin almost all the legs out... the skinning is easiest if the calf is lifted by it's hind feet on a loader... you only need  about 1/2 the neck.. the starting incisions for the skinning need to be middle of belly to inside of legs

about 1/2 way down the legs cut big slits for the grafts legs to go thru (buttonholes like)... put the skin on the graft calf like a sweater...I would start by just putting them together   if that doesn't work I would  put the cow in the headgate and start the calf nursing...them turn the cow loose  she will sniff that rear end and think that calf is hers... you will need to take off the skin after 24 hours (it will start to stink)

I am hoping it is cold there and the skin on the dead calf is not to stinky yet

pretty labor intensive but I think you have a chance,,, keep the graft calf hungry and this pair seperate for a few days


I second this idea.  Done it a few times myself.... within a couple weeks you can take skin off and cow should still take calf.

 

[knabe]

skinning works.

 

[jbzdad]

when I said to keep them seperate I meant keep the grafted  pair seperate from other cattle and keep them where you can watch them

 

[realtree23]

hope you find them (cow) (cow)

 

[Angusboy]

yes good luck with everything

 

[jbzdad]

OKEEGIRL... don't keep us in suspense... what did you decide to do... how is it coming... hope things are doing OK

 

[OkeeGal]

Ok...I cant skin the calf. NOPE, not gonna happen.  I have been giving the calf milk and he is eating a little feed. So, Im excited that I have managed to keep him alive. He was the first calf that we had birth to us.  ( He had been eating grass and drinking pond water out there at the other pasture.)

You know, I really didnt think I had gotten rustled.  BUT= today I have spent the day at the pasture along with my friend, we searched 20 acres worth of fence and brush on foot. There is not a dead shorty cow out there.  No stink dead smell and no vultures .And now that I think of it, they didnt get the calf, cause the jerks couldnt catch him.  I will put the Angus in the chute and tie off the let and let my little man try it out.
Thank you all for your HELP and sugestions. I really appreciate it.
And if I find my shorty and the person that took her- Im gonna kick their A$$. Because that makes me very upset

Again, thank you all <3