night vision

[pmitch10]

Can cows see at night? We separated our heifer from her pregnant Mom today....though their fences are adjacent so hasn't been too bad. But I heard the Mom bellowing a bit tonight and wondered if she could see her offspring.

The mom is a red highlander and the heifer is white so I would think so on a moonlite night.

The heifer is doing much better than the mom it seems though so far it has not been as bad as we thought it might. The mom was looking like she was losing weight and the calf still nursed off and on once in a while so we thought it was better for them both as long as they could still be close to one another.

My husband wants to do this until her milk supply dries up more and then put them back together for the winter. Her udder did not look big at all to me to begin with.
Do they sometimes wean naturally if they are pregnant with another?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Yes, cows can see at night with just the moon & star light. We get up at 4 a.m. and our cows are outside. They have no problems finding the barn.

A cow will wean her calf but, with winter coming, depending on where you are, it would be best to get her to dry up so she doesn't have milk in her bag.

 

[Thewife]

My cows wander in the dark!
My neighbor hates waking to a mowed yard when the main gate gets left open!(he mostly hates the land mines left behind!)

Even if mom and baby can't "see" each other, they may continue to talk for awhile.
I have seen cows wean naturally, and some calves that never seem to give up on mom.(or any thing with an udder) I had one go back to mom when she had milk again!
Just keep a close eye on them, once you put them back together!

 

[pmitch10]

What do you mean by keep a close eye on them once you put them back together?

Thank you all for sharing your input.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

She means to watch them to make sure that the calf doesn't go back to nursing.

 

[wynedot55]

yes cows an calves can see in the dark.an even with them penned off momma knows where her baby is.