Cow Calf Pair....Let the calf nurse?

[blackcows]

My daughter is going to show a cow-calf pair at the county fair next week.  We have a small cattle show that starts at 1:00 pm, by the time we get through showmanship and on to the calves and pairs it will most likely be 2:30 or so.  If the show was in the morning I would let the calf nurse at night and then not nurse until the afternoon but with the show later in the afternoon I am thining the calf (which will also show as a feeder calf) and cow will be fairly hard to handle if I don't let them nurse.  I am thinking that if I let the calf nurse at 6:30 or 7 by afternoon I shoud have a fairly full bag again...what do you think?

 

[Bulldaddy]

She should bag back up and both cow and calf will be easier to handle if you let the calf go ahead and nurse that morning.

 

[Jeferin]

My experience in the cow/ calf pair we would let them nurse at 6-7 and then they would show at approx. 2pm with a nice size full udder.

 

[firesweepranch]

We did that today with our cow calf pair - nursed the calf at 7:30 am (she is only almost four months). Show was scheduled to start at one, but with it being a district show we had to wait for the Angus to get done. We did not start until 2:30, at which point the cow and calf were both bawling!  Pair finally showed by 4 pm (we were reserve champion) and were glad to nurse when pictures were done. I can't imagine how bad it would have been if they did not nurse! Sunday is the open part and in the am, so we will not nurse and just wait.  

 

[FarmerWanna-Be]

So what would be a good time length between letting them nurse and the show? This is my first year showing a cow/calf pair.

 

[firesweepranch]

So what would be a good time length between letting them nurse and the show? This is my first year showing a cow/calf pair.

Depends on the age of the calf. Ours is about 110 days old, so she still nurses three times a day. If we skip just six hours, the cow and her are screaming for each other   last year the calf was older, and so there was no noon nursing. The cow could go 8 to 10 hours without too much pain. As they get older, they nurse less. Practice a few times at home and see when her udder looks the best. Everyone told us pairs were hard, but my daughter LOVES IT!!!

 

[FarmerWanna-Be]

This is my first year with one and Im looking forward to having them at my county fair. The calf will be 6 weeks old at the fair so still pretty young and this is the cows first calf (she's a 2 year old). The pair is out on pasture where I dont get to see them all the time but I'll try to practice before the fair comes around.