Getting A Cow To Take An Orphan Calf

Getting A Cow To Take An Orphan Calf LIVESTOCK Beef 21-6-40 A reader recently passed along some tips on how cow-calf producers in his part of the country coax cows into accepting orphan calves. "Before putting a cow and calf together, we milk enough from the cow to bathe the calf in it," says Alfred V. Wilson. "When the cow smells her milk on the calf, she thinks it's hers and she accepts it right away. A little feed and a gentle cow help, of course. "Usually, a calf won't nurse from a strange cow until it's licked by the cow. So when we take a strange calf to a cow's udder, we rub the calf on the back like the cow is licking it. That way the calf begins to hunt for teats. When the cow begins to lick the calf on her own, she's accepted it. "We push the cow up against a wall. Then we put the top of our head in the cow's flank between the hind leg and belly and hold her against the wall with our head. That way our legs are back far enough so the cow can't kick us. This leaves both hands free to help the calf find the ædinner table.' Having another person to rub the calf on the back makes the job that much quicker." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Alfred V. Wilson, P.O. Box 19, Peoples, Ky. 40467.

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