afterbirth question

[red]

sorry if this grosses anyone out. Why is it that some cows eat the afterbirth & others never touch it (heeler loves those cows)? I have some that just gobble it down. seems to always be the same cows. Any thoughts on why they do it?

Red

 

[Bawndoh]

It is a form of defence against predators.  They clean up all the "evidence" as not to attract them.  It is sick, and they stand there and choke it down for an hour.  Im not sure how more cows didnt die doing that!  I think it is also a "natural" process, as there are so many nutrients left in there from nurturing the fetus for so long.  They eat it in attempt to absorb all nutrients back.

 

[chambero]

Humans probably used to do it!

 

[LN]

Humans probably used to do it!

gross...

 

[Throttle]

A guy that runs a big commercial outfit in NE (like calves 2000 a year), told me a couple years ago that he has had cows die choking on it. That was the first that I had heard of it I think, and ever since then I have been getting them out of the pen if I'm around when they clean. I think all of my cows will snatch them up if I don't. My Dad tells me I'm overly cautious and need to let nature run it's course, then again, none of the 5 figure donor cows in the shed belong to him either 

 

[MYT Farms]

As I recall, it helps mamas bond with the babies, too. Around this country, if a cow doesn't eat the afterbirth, we get a little concerned.

 

[LazyGLowlines]

As I recall, it helps mamas bond with the babies, too. Around this country, if a cow doesn't eat the afterbirth, we get a little concerned.

That may explain why we had 1 cow that didn't bond with her calf last year. Had no interest in her at all.  We'd put the cow in the chute, lower the panels and let the calf nurse.  Did that for quite a few days then finally gave up and let the cow loose.  She never turned back.  We're gonna try to pen her up in a stall this year and see if it makes a difference...

 

[farmboy]

As I recall, it helps mamas bond with the babies, too. Around this country, if a cow doesn't eat the afterbirth, we get a little concerned.

That may explain why we had 1 cow that didn't bond with her calf last year. Had no interest in her at all.  We'd put the cow in the chute, lower the panels and let the calf nurse.  Did that for quite a few days then finally gave up and let the cow loose.  She never turned back.  We're gonna try to pen her up in a stall this year and see if it makes a difference...

shoulda poured vanilla food flavoring all over the calf

 

[MYT Farms]

As I recall, it helps mamas bond with the babies, too. Around this country, if a cow doesn't eat the afterbirth, we get a little concerned.

That may explain why we had 1 cow that didn't bond with her calf last year. Had no interest in her at all.  We'd put the cow in the chute, lower the panels and let the calf nurse.  Did that for quite a few days then finally gave up and let the cow loose.  She never turned back.  We're gonna try to pen her up in a stall this year and see if it makes a difference...

Ya, puttin' them in a stall can help. Lotta guys will rub the afterbirth all over the calf in order to induce licking from the cow and that helps them to bond. God made it so that when the cow eats it, she seems to suddenly be more concerned with the well being of her baby. As you can see, I have a deep interest in this! I'm looking at being a large animal vet and specializing in cattle reproduction and nutrition.

 

[LazyGLowlines]

I'm keeping an eye on this cow.  Not exactly sure when she's due since she was pasture-bred.  I notice when cows come in heat...just hard to tell who it is when everyone (but 1) is black!  If she doesn't take to the calf right away then I'll try the afterbirth/rubbing on calf trick.  She's a nice cow...just needs to be a good mom too.

 

[MYT Farms]

I'm keeping an eye on this cow.  Not exactly sure when she's due since she was pasture-bred.  I notice when cows come in heat...just hard to tell who it is when everyone (but 1) is black!  If she doesn't take to the calf right away then I'll try the afterbirth/rubbing on calf trick.  She's a nice cow...just needs to be a good mom too.

Ya, that can be a tough thing to make happen. If she's still disinterested, purchasing O-No-More may or may not help. Some guys swear by it, but I never worked for anything but gentling show steers for us.  : Some stout hobbles are sometimes the trick. We even separated the calf from the mom one night when it got cold out. We left the calf nice and comfy in the barn and let the cow ball outside. Next morning, she stood there like a good mama and let that calf suck all he wanted. She was a great mama after that. Sometime you just never know.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Any mature cows that I have ever had that would not claim a lively, healthy calf got a one way ride to the sale barn. I might give a first calf heifer a second try, but I better really like her. RW

 

[MYT Farms]

Any mature cows that I have ever had that would not claim a lively, healthy calf got a one way ride to the sale barn. I might give a first calf heifer a second try, but I better really like her. RW

An even better fix. I reckon I ought to have said that after calf #1, most cows get the chance to try and raise the calf and wean it and then head to the auction bred.

 

[LazyGLowlines]

Any mature cows that I have ever had that would not claim a lively, healthy calf got a one way ride to the sale barn. I might give a first calf heifer a second try, but I better really like her. RW

If it were a commercial cow you're right, she'd be gone. She was imported from Australia and it was her first calf.  If she still won't accept calf #2 then she'll either be sold or flushed.  Her heifer from last year is pretty nice, so she could just become a donor cow.

 

[oakbar]

I've also heard that the afterbirth contains hormones that help the cow let down her milk and heal from the process.  I don't know if this is true but it sounds somewhat logical anyway.  I don't really worry about it if the cow wants to eat it.  I also think the problem of cows dying from eating it is probably more a human concern than an actual concern.  JMHO

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Any mature cows that I have ever had that would not claim a lively, healthy calf got a one way ride to the sale barn. I might give a first calf heifer a second try, but I better really like her. RW

If it were a commercial cow you're right, she'd be gone. She was imported from Australia and it was her first calf.  If she still won't accept calf #2 then she'll either be sold or flushed.  Her heifer from last year is pretty nice, so she could just become a donor cow.

I have sent some pretty high priced cows to the sale for 45 cents a pound. The concern with making her into a donor cow is this - Do I really want to propagate this cows maternal instincts into my or others herds through ET. I hold my donors to a higher standard than any of the other cows in the herd, other wise they would not be donors. RW

 

[LN]

Any mature cows that I have ever had that would not claim a lively, healthy calf got a one way ride to the sale barn. I might give a first calf heifer a second try, but I better really like her. RW

If it were a commercial cow you're right, she'd be gone. She was imported from Australia and it was her first calf.  If she still won't accept calf #2 then she'll either be sold or flushed.  Her heifer from last year is pretty nice, so she could just become a donor cow.

I have sent some pretty high priced cows to the sale for 45 cents a pound. The concern with making her into a donor cow is this - Do I really want to propagate this cows maternal instincts into my or others herds through ET. I hold my donors to a higher standard than any of the other cows in the herd, other wise they would not be donors. RW

Is maternal instinct a heritable trait? I would think that environment is the biggest influence on that.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

It has been my experience that certain lines of cows are better mother cows than others. We calve everything in open pastures so penning one up in a barn to make sure that they take their calf is often times not an option. I don't have any scientific proof that mothering ability is inhertited but my hands on experience tells me that it is to a point at least. RW

 

[oakbar]

I believe that "maternal instinct" is a heritable trait.  It seems like the cows that we have that are good mothers have daughters who are also good mothers.  Also, if in fact it is an "instinct" it could not be the product of environment by definition--it would have to be inherited. JMHO

 

[LazyGLowlines]

We have 1/2 & full sisters to this cow at our place and they were all good moms.  We had quite a few cows in the same pen, including a hereford, so am wondering if there were too many in the pen when she calved. Lowlines aren't as easy to come by and there are only 1500 registered fullblood cows in the US to date, so we'll give her another chance.  If she does the same thing as she did with the first calf then we'll go from there.  We'll breed her heifer this year so will know more about whether it's inherited or environment.