Cows nursing cows
Sometimes you look into the pasture and find that someone is helping themselves to the milk.
When it is a calf, it can be adorable, when it is a full-grown cow or bull, it can be unsettling.
I have all sorts of experiences with cows nursing off my Jersey’s udders when I do not want them to.
Years ago we leased a giant hunk of a bull in order to breed our jerseys. I had had my fill with artificial insemination and was exhausted with that game. We decided to try the real thing instead of the test-tube papa.
More artificial insemination here: artificial insemination
Fun story about Mr. Beefy here: The Bull Got Out
Our guy was a fully intact, black Angus, a monster of a bull. We are talking about 2000 pounds of bovine testosterone. We affectionately referred to him as “Big-&-Beefy,” “Mr. Beefy,” “Mr. Beef,” or “Mr. Balls.”
He was an impressive specimen of a bull. Mr. Beefy was manly and large and here to do a job.
The main problem I had with Mr. Beefy was that he couldn’t seem to decide where he belonged alongside my jerseys. One minute he’d be on top of my cows, giving them what he came to deposit, the next minute he’d be under them drinking all my milk.
Gross.
Then I have the whole “Jersey cows will adopt anything” problem. I swear, my jerseys would strut around before Mr. Big-&-Beefy and shove their udders in his face. It was like they were beckoning him to the buffet.
He would happily partake and they would just stand there and lick him while he nursed. All 2000 pounds of him.
Ew.
You may not have a 2000 pound bull drinking all your milk, but you may want to get a cow (or calf) to stop nursing…. if so this is for you.
There are lots of reasons you may want to stop a cow from nursing:
- He’s a 2000 pound bull who is not supposed to be drinking your milk.
- You would like to have your butter.
- Your calf is getting huge.
- Your calf is getting old.
- You want to graph a new calf onto your cow & need her old calf to stop taking all the milk.
- You want to dry up your cow.
If you are drying up your cow because she is about to give birth it is important that you get her current “calf” to stop nursing.
WHY?
Problem #1: It can put too much stress on the mama (to be making milk and a baby). We had a cow go down with milk fever 7 months after calving. The stress of making milk and a baby was too much strain on her frame.
Problem #2: Colostrum. If there is another calf/cow currently partaking from the udder you now have 3 issues:
- There is a lot of pressure on your cow (she is making milk & a baby)
- She can’t “take a break” from milking
- She can’t ‘bag up’ before calving
- AND the other cow will drink all the colostrum that the (unborn) baby needs
Problem #3: Who’s the baby? After the new calf is born there will be a competition for the udder. I know what a grown cow can do to an udder (Thank you Mr. Beefy) and you do not want this happening while you have a new baby around who might want will need a meal. I’m pretty sure the new, little guy (or gal) won’t stand a chance at that udder.
If you have a newborn calf who misses out on a few meals it could cause a lifetime of health issues.
Get a Jersey to Stop Nursing another Cow
Jerseys can be difficult when it comes to weaning.
ONE – Jerseys Are Great Mamas
Jerseys will adopt anything. It doesn’t matter the size, breed, age, weight, or sex. If you have a Jersey cow who is producing milk she may want to feed everyone in her pasture.
TWO – Calves Remember their Mamas (even the adoptive ones)
Calves don’t forget.
If you have a cow pair (a mama and nursing calf) in the same field, even if they have been separated for a period of time. There is a high chance the nurser will return to nursing the udder. And the mama will most likely be happy to oblige.
HOW TO WEAN A CALF OFF YOUR COW-
THE SHORT ANSWER:
Separate Fields
The easy answer is to put the calf (or cow) in a separate field.
New Pasture – Mama is gone. Mama can be dried up & they will never meet again.
Done.
What if I don’t have multiple fields?
On the other hand, if you have limited pastures and would like to keep your Jersey mama in the same field with her (all grown up) baby you are probably in trouble.
In our experience, this can’t be done. Our mama will not stop nursing their children unless we separate them.
SOLUTIONS TO WEAN COWS
ONE: Separate them for MONTHS
This did not work for us –
As soon as we reunited them that stinkin’ calf went straight back to the udder.
TWO: We separated them for months & dried up the Mama so there would be NO MILK when the calf came back into the field
Not only did the calf go straight back to the (dried up) udder – he actually got the milk production to start back up.
THREE: We attached a horrifying metal appliance (recommended by our vet) to the calf’s face so he “couldn’t” nurse.
We tried it on frontwards (spikes facing the calf). We tried it on backward (spikes facing the cow).
Guess what? The calf still found a way to nurse.
We have tried everything we can think of to stop the babies from going back to the Jersey udders. We have had no success. The only way we have been able to completely wean our grown cows from their Jersey mamas & guarantee they will never go back to the udder again is to put them in separate fields forever.
The end.
There is one more technique that may work…..
Bottle feed the calf.
If you remove the calf from your milk cow & bottle feed it (thus, it is never on the actual udder of your cow) you will be able to put them in a field together when the calf is grown. I know many folks bottle-feed their calves for this exact reason. They want to put the calf in the field with their mamas in the future & not have to worry about having milk shortages. The Amish folks I know around here always do this.
There are a couple of problems with this scenario:
- She may still adopt the calf (allow it to nurse) in the future whenever you decide to put him/her in the field.
- You will not have a calf to help you with the milking – this means you are milking 2 times a day every day. (How to milk once a day here.)
I wish I had more information or a secret tip that works. I don’t.
THE PREDICAMENT
We are about to deal with this scenario on our farm. Our Jersey (Daisy) had a little heifer (baby girl) named Basil, last spring. We are in a predicament now that the baby is nearly grown. Once Basil is bred and producing milk, we will need to make decisions.
Basil is happily living in a pasture far away from her mama (Daisy) now. She was weaned months ago and has been thriving in a field with the other cows.
Once producing milk, our milk cows live in the pasture outside the milk barn (so we can milk them). I fear that we will not be able to reunite Daisy with her offspring, Basil, without creating an adult-cow-nursing problem.
We will most likely be forced to sell either Daisy or Basil.
We have fought this problem for years. If you have successfully weaned a grown calf from your milk-cow (and been able to keep them in the same pasture) – please share in the comments below how you did it.
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-Candi
