L Piland

Wow, so much good info, thank you, thank you!

Thank you! Now that it’s cooled off again mom has returned and he’s up and following her to nurse; I guess in the heat of the day she and another cow have left their newbies among the shade trees so they’re not up and following them around and expending too much energy while it’s so hot. I will keep monitoring them, and tomorrow try offering water and some minerals during the heat of the day. Thanks again!

Thanks for the reply! I don’t think she’s a first time mom, she’s about six years old we believe, and she’s been very attentive to him, staying close, and the first day when he wasn’t nursing we were more clued in on her behavior, being anxious and unsettled vs the calf’s, but she’s more relaxed the past couple days which makes me think he’s ok, I’m just not sure I don’t want intervene if all is well I’m just not as knowledgeable on their normal behavior...

Hello! Total newbie here, and just acquired a small herd of Black Angus cattle with the purchase of our new home/farm a couple of months ago; I tend to be an over-worrier, but my question/concern is for a 4-5 day old bull calf and whether he’s nursing enough in the TX summer heat within the first 24 hrs after birth, once we noticed his arrival, we watched closely and decided he was not attempting to nurse, became very weak and lethargic that evening and we brought him in to syringe feed colostrum mixture throughout the night; by the next morning he was up and moving and looking to nurse, yay! Then fast forward a couple days later, in the heat of the day, I noticed him stressing out trying to figure out how to go down and around this partial fence to get to mama, and by that point he was open mouth panting, looked weak and exhausted, and once with mom was not nursing; after some more observing I decided to give him some more formula mix for hydration and after some rest he was up and moving again, but now today, the day after, he’s been under a shady tree line all day and has not nursed for the past five hours and mom and herd are on other side of pasture again; question is should I intervene again? He’s cool to the touch, slightly panting but closed mouth, sleepy, doesn’t look to be in distress, but is this just normal activity or is he not nursing enough in this heat to stay hydrated and well?? Thanks for reading, and any advice appreciated. Thanks!