Time To Wean Elsie

We've reached a point well past the time for weaning.  We want to wean the calves and dry off the cows so that we can bring them to a neighbor down the road that has a registered Jersey bull.  There we'll have our cows bred, have them calve and allow them to freshen.  In about 6 months we'll do the same for our yearling calves - Elsie and LuLu.

So we're weaning Elsie first.  We use a weaning device.  We did use this one several years ago.  It is called a nose thorn.  That doesn't sound pleasant, does it?  You put it in the heifer's nose (ouch!)  The object of this device is that when the calf tries to nurse the momma cow, the pointed thorns poke her bag and she kicks the calf off of her udder and won't let her nurse.

We've also used this weaner.  It has the same general idea.  You put it in the calf's nose, pull the two pieces together and then tighten up a wing nut. You bend the pointed things outward and when they try to nurse, the pointed things poke the momma and she kicks her off.  Over time, the calf gets tired of getting pushed away and she stops trying - meanwhile the momma cow "dries up."

This was a new weaner available at the feed store.  It was a little more pricey than the other two, but we wanted to try this one out.  It works the same way the other two work.

With much fighting, we were able to get the weaner in Elsie's nose.  After much kicking, dust flying and rodeoing in the corral, we finally got the weaner in.  At this point, amidst all of the chaos, we didn't realize that we put it on BACKWARDS!  I tell you, they say you learn by your mistakes.  It seems like we should be really smart, because we make a lot of them.

If you could capture this photo, It'd say, "What did you just do to me and how am I supposed to eat??"

To answer the eating question, it is amazing how quickly they learn that you must stretch your head out, pull your head forward, and the weaner lays flat against the ground, allowing you to eat grass while pulling your head back to you.  In the photo below, Elsie's momma, Clarabelle, is wondering what that contraption is on her daughter's nose.

Elsie looked at us as we left the barn.  She had mischief on her mind.  She went out to the pasture.  The next morning we found her without her weaner on.  Tricia and I walked up and down the pasture until we found it laying on the ground.  She had apparently found a way to pry it out of her nose.

In losing the weaner, she was able to get to Clarabelle and drink all of her milk!  Oh no.  So, we resorted to the old tried and true weaner.  You'll see below, we have it installed.

We have this one installed properly!  So far she hasn't pried this one out of her nose.  We'll keep a close eye on old Elsie, though.  She is cunning and crafty.  If we can keep this in her nose, we'll be successful in weaning her.

Update on Rosie (And Her Injured Teat)

Well it's been two months since Rosie's no good, horrible, very bad day.  In this post: Watch Where You Step! you can see what happened.  For two months now, we've been having to milk out her one quarter once a day since she kicks and won't let her calf, LuLu nurse from it.  It has healed so that there is only a small scab.  She's come a long way, baby.  So you would think that she would let LuLu nurse off it now.  But, no.  She kicks her off.  Perhaps it is habit as we can't understand that it would still be that painful after two months' healing time.  Or the calf is too traumatized to even try after being kicked for two months each time she tries to suck off of that injured teat and now she doesn't even try.

Whatever the reason, we have to put an end to this.  Here's the plan and how it unfolded.  We figured that we would separate LuLu from Rosie all night so she was good and hungry.  Prior to putting LuLu with her, we would cover Rosie's other three teats, leaving the (slightly) injured one exposed, forcing LuLu to go after it.  Sounds like a good plan, right?

We used Tricia's flannel shirt draped over Rosie's bag as the barrier.

We worked to cover up the three uninjured and very full teats so that LuLu could not get to those.

We got some baling twine to tie the shirt tightly to keep it in place.  Not a pretty or professional job, but hopefully a workable one.

Here's where we test things out.  We let LuLu out of the stall.  She runs to her momma, at first confused by the shirt covering up her breakfast.  There's only one teat instead of four.  And it's the one that Rosie doesn't let her nurse on.  What a dilemma!!  Tricia helped to direct her to it.  Rosie kicked.  LuLu kept trying.

It was at an odd angle, so LuLu switched around to the back.  At this angle she was able to get it.  She nursed for a while and it worked!

Unfortunately, the very next morning we found that LuLu DID NOT nurse on the injured quarter.  We'll have to continue working with her.  Hopefully, we'll see a breakthrough soon.

Elsie, the Heifer, At a Month and Three Weeks Old

I thought we'd catch you up to date on Elsie, our little heifer.  She's almost two months old.  We have had quite a few calves over the years, but we think she may be the prettiest.  Rosie and Clarabelle may beg to differ.  Elsie is inquisitive and frisky.  We watch her jump around the pasture, playing with the goats.  Then she lifts her tail high in the air and runs as fast as she can.  Our neighbor has told us that she enjoys watching all the animal activity.  Here's Clarabelle and Elsie in the pasture on a sunny afternoon recently.  The grass in the pasture still hasn't really taken off.  We are still supplementing with hay, but with the warm days, the grass will soon outpace the animals' eating.

Elsie is getting plenty of Clarabelle's good milk to drink.  In the late afternoon, we call the cows to the barn so that we can separate Elsie from her momma.  About a week ago, we would have to milk Clarabelle out as Elsie wasn't drinking everything.  Not anymore.  That girl is growing!  She's now drinking it all.  We separate and all night long Clarabelle is able to make milk for us.  In the morning we milk (Tricia during the week and I do it on weekends) and then put Elsie back with Clarabelle.  We don't milk hard in order to leave a little for Elsie, but Clarabelle holds back some.

When we open the gate, hungry Elsie rushes out and begin to ravenously suck on each of Clarabelle's four teats, switching from one to another until they are all empty.

Right now, Elsie is drinking primarily milk.  Her rumen is not fully functional yet.  Her rumen is a fermentation vat where her body breaks down food.  In about four months her rumen will be developed and then she'll be able to digest grass.

Until then, she'll continue to nurse, drinking Clarabelle's sweet milk.

An Update on Clarabelle's Little Bull

Last night I was mentioning that Clarabelle had a little bull on Saturday afternoon.  The little fart was real weak.  He didn't try to stand on his own for hours after being born.  He just laid there, limp as a wet noodle.  In that condition, of course he didn't try to nurse.  I ended up milking out Clarabelle's colostrum into a bottle and we fed it to him.  He gained some strength and we were actually able to get him to stand.  We worked and worked with him to try to get him to nurse off of Clarabelle, but to no avail.  He didn't seem hungry anymore and when we would try to get him near Clarabelle's udder, she would kick him away.

We left them both in the barn last night.  Tricia mentioned to me that she was not looking forward to morning chores as she didn't want to be concerned about him not drinking milk.  I mentioned that I'd milk out Clarabelle and bottle feed the little fart when I got back from work in the evening.  This morning I received a text from Tricia stating that she had worked with the little bull and was successful in getting him to nurse.  She told me he drank a lot and she put them both in the pasture and that he was going to be okay.

This afternoon I walked out to the pasture to see the stunning metamorphosis that had taken place.  The little bull was way out in the pasture, playing and running around on his spindly legs.

When he saw me he scampered off to be near his mom.  He looked at me warily.

Then his curiosity got the best of him and he started walking my way. 

He stopped and just stared me down for a while.

They've all got very muddy feet as we've gotten lots of rain over the past several days.  I like this picture as it is a good shot of the calf with Clarabelle in the background.  I like the way the red barn contrasts against the green grass in the late afternoon sun.  You can also see Oreo, the goat, in the background.  She should be kidding in the next few weeks.

It is hard to imagine that this little fellow is doing well.  Just two short days ago, we were worried about him because he was weak, wouldn't even try to stand up and couldn't drink milk on his own.  Now he is full of life and energy!

My wife is the calf whisperer!