Calf Watch...Guess with me....

Poor baby having to go in through the back door, he is determined for sure. I had a kid that the mom rejected and I would go down 4 times a day at first and hold the doe so the kid could nurse. (Goats are easier to hold than your cows :) ) Well this little kid quickly learned that she could sneak snacks off other does while they had their head and mind in the feeder. I had a doe named Chocolate who seemed to be this kids favorite doe to snack on and we used to laugh about the doeling getting "Chocolate milk".

This year I have a kid whose dam I sold when she was a week old and I had planned to put her on a bottle. She just didn't want any part of that so I stuck her on a doe whose kids I had sold and let her nurse. At first the doe was not happy but I was milking her so she was locked in a head stand. After a few weeks Lucy decided that the little kid was hers and now they are inseparable.

Hopefully your cow will cooperate a little more each time.
 
It is typical for "grafted calves to nurse from the back unless you have put them on as new babies when she first has her own calf. Don't worry, her calf is probably nursing off the front teats so this calf is getting more by nursing the back and will help to relieve the swelling so it is the best of all things for the cow. The black one will learn to sneak up on her when hers is nursing, and her letdown will be better and she will get used to it.
 
That's exactly what's happening. I have been letting them all live together now and it's working well. We offered the Angus a bottle last night and he turned it down! That confirms to me he is getting more than enough to eat, which is just great. The Jersey calf seems to be too and the two calves have really bonded. It's pretty adorable watching them play. We let the Jersey, her calf and the Angus calf all in the field from 5pm until morning. For the morning the three of them are in their paddock. This routine seems to be working well and mama is more of a buffet now in the paddock haha.
 
Just wanted to share a few pics of my all grown up bottle calves :hit. They are all out in our back "pasture" which is really just a forest area. They are moving to the front pasture this weekend. My babies are all grown up! I have 4 completely off a bottle and 3 that are down to one bottle a day.

I am still waiting on the calf out of my shorthorn but she is looking ready to pop! That will wrap up our year with 13 calves this year! Usually we only have 2-3, this year was a big jump for us.



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