Heifer still won't adopt a calf. Here is the situation. Need your opinions!

[Ruebush Shorthorns]

So, a couple of weeks ago I posted trying to find tricks to get a cow to adopt a calf.  Well it has been almost a month and still have had no luck.  Here is the story.  I was at the local sale barn and noticed a cow with an eartag from a local club calf sale in her ear.  Her utters were really tight like she had just lost her calf.  Knowing that she was of club bloodlines I bought her from the pound cow pen and gambled.  I also bought a calf that was very young and tried to make a match.  YES I LIKE TO GAMBLE!!  wThe only way I can get the heifer to let the calf drink is in the chute still after a couple weeks.  They both no the routine so it kind of works but takes up my time.  I found out she is a Hotmail X Kadabra from the people who run the sale.  She kicks at the calf even in the chute.  I don't know why she lost her calf but I am startting to think she probably ran off or wouldn't let it eat. In your opinion should I keep this heifer and hope she takes care of the next calf, or should I send her back to the stockyard and assume she will not take care of the next calf after waiting for another year?
Thanks

 

[OH Breeder]

If you know where she came from, why not ask the folks why they sold her. She is that great that you would want to keep her as a replacement? I would have a breeding soundness exam done prior to making any breeding decisions as well.
JMO

 

[shortyisqueen]

How do you know she lost her calf in the first place? Maybe she kicked the living daylights out of her own calf and THAT's why she was shipped. Sometimes paying a bit more for a heifer from a reputable breeder and getting her history with her instead of getting a sale-barn "deal" with a lot of problems is the most inexpernsive way to go.

Also, sometimes your first loss is your best one. Send her to McDonald's.

 

[knabe]

next time, log into steer planet when you are at the sale barn and tell us what you told us in this post versus the other one before you buy her. 

 

[Ruebush Shorthorns]

Well in Virginia it isn't like there are club calf sales every month like where most of you are from.  Having to drive for 8+ hours or trying to get things shipped from the west make it hard to find anything.  The stockyard is twice a week and I am willing to take chances.  It sure most me nice to sell calves for thousands of dollars but here that is not the norm at all.  I just wanted some opinions on if this might be a continuing problem.  I can sell her at anytime.

 

[RSC]

Well in Virginia it isn't like there are club calf sales every month like where most of you are from.  Having to drive for 8+ hours or trying to get things shipped from the west make it hard to find anything.  The stockyard is twice a week and I am willing to take chances.  It sure most me nice to sell calves for thousands of dollars but here that is not the norm at all.  I just wanted some opinions on if this might be a continuing problem.  I can sell her at anytime.

A friend of mine had the same problem and borrowed a set of Dairy Hobbles from a firiend and kept them on her for over a week and with the calf going after her all the time it eventually worked.

Good Luck,

RSC

 

[knabe]

i'm just saying if you would have represented the situation more clearly, all could have cut to the chase a little easier.  i'm not faulting your good intentions.  with more information before hand, you could have a better understanding of the potential determination necessary to overcome an obstacle.  i don't sell anything for thousands of dollars, and we don't have club sales twice a week.  i'm not even aware of one locally all year.  i purchased my first two cows with a calf at the side and pregnant to minimize this situation.  they were shipped from texas to Ca.  i'll admit it was annoying, especially since they got shipped to a guy who held them for a while, couldn't coordinate with the trucker, yet charged me for yardage, which he deserved.  i'd probably do the same thing if i had to do it over, though i would have bought one more cow and leaned on the trucker/holder a little more.

 

[shortyisqueen]

Well in Virginia it isn't like there are club calf sales every month like where most of you are from.  Having to drive for 8+ hours or trying to get things shipped from the west make it hard to find anything.  The stockyard is twice a week and I am willing to take chances.  It sure most me nice to sell calves for thousands of dollars but here that is not the norm at all.  I just wanted some opinions on if this might be a continuing problem.  I can sell her at anytime.

I have to cross into another country if I want to attend a club calf sale.

You obviously have local club calf breeders in your area if there is a club sale around you (the one that she had an eartag from?) If you want a club heifer and want to be economical, why not stop in at one of their places and see what's in your budget at their farm? You might be able to pick up a decent bred heifer or heifer calf and avoid your current situation. Or, if there's a non-clubby breeder in your area with quality heifers, go there instead of the sale barn, get something that will be productive and breed them to your favorite clubby A.I. sire.

All sorts of delights are found at sale barns and some of them were there for a reason. Not having any maternal instinct is a continuing problem. She doesn't look very economical if she doesn't raise a calf this year, eats you out of house and home until next year and then gives you another calf she's not going to take care of. I'd say things are not in your favor as far as luck and money go.

 

[JbarL]

So, a couple of weeks ago I posted trying to find tricks to get a cow to adopt a calf.  Well it has been almost a month and still have had no luck.  Here is the story.  I was at the local sale barn and noticed a cow with an eartag from a local club calf sale in her ear.  Her utters were really tight like she had just lost her calf.  Knowing that she was of club bloodlines I bought her from the pound cow pen and gambled.  I also bought a calf that was very young and tried to make a match.  YES I LIKE TO GAMBLE!!  wThe only way I can get the heifer to let the calf drink is in the chute still after a couple weeks.  They both no the routine so it kind of works but takes up my time.  I found out she is a Hotmail X Kadabra from the people who run the sale.  She kicks at the calf even in the chute.  I don't know why she lost her calf but I am startting to think she probably ran off or wouldn't let it eat. In your opinion should I keep this heifer and hope she takes care of the next calf, or should I send her back to the stockyard and assume she will not take care of the next calf after waiting for another year?
Thanks

high maintance  vs  gambled effort...hum.....why not try to find another milker for the calf.....breed the cow ....be prepared for the same ..check out the calf ....then decide....not sure how much  the pair/price  vs.  gambled gains you were talking about....but it seems the gamble was compromised by the "matching"....i like the local auctions as well....mostly because the stock is local and transporttion/ or lack of......is the reason supply is usually limited...and they do see alot of "bad habits"...but this year in particular alot of decent callte were sold because of lack of hay.....good cattle....just plain ole cowboy economics......i hope your gamble pays off.....jbarl

 

[CAB]

I guess my opinion would be rather than judge what we should have done move onto where it's @ today. I would keep doing what you are doing while introducing grain and water to the calf so that you can wean early if the situation doesn't get any better or possibly when the calf gets bigger he will be able to hang in a little stronger. In the mean time, try to find out whether the heifer just lost her calf or if she wouldn't claim her calf and if the latter is the case, try to find out if there were circumstances that could have lead to her not claiming the calf, ie. had to take the calf away to warm up or some other reason. If she just flat out wouldn't claim the calf,she would more than likely be @ high risk to repeat. BTW, there's not anything  wrong with buying cattle through a sale barn. There of coarse are some risks involved, but there are sure  a lot of numbers that satill move through barns. The other BTW is that those stories that you hear about all of the high dollar calves is probably not all as great as it sounds and by and large, and I mean large, most calves bring sale barn market prices. Good luck & hang in there.