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Grafting calves

leanin' H

Well-known member
I won't complain too much after seeing the posts about ya'll having -48 temps. Down here it's been 60 mph wind and snow but the temps were in the 20s F. Anyway, i had to attend a funeral for my Uncle today and had a 1st calf heifer calve. She was under a barn but lost the calf. I'm hoping to graft a dairy calf on tommorow. Thought it may be interestin' to hear your grafting stories and learn a little something. We always skin the dead calf and tie it on with haystrings. It's not any fun but usually helps a lot with mothering up. Here's hopin' no one else has to.
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
I started to post we but then decided no cause this part of we doesn't skin critters. What they do here is skin the dead calf and tie the hide on a new calf with baling twine. Sometimes they put amonia on the hide and then rub the cows nose with it.

If all else fails a leg tied up helps things out or putting her in the stantion to let the new one suck has been done too.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
CattleArmy said:
I started to post we but then decided no cause this part of we doesn't skin critters. What they do here is skin the dead calf and tie the hide on a new calf with baling twine. Sometimes they put amonia on the hide and then rub the cows nose with it.

If all else fails a leg tied up helps things out or putting her in the stantion to let the new one suck has been done too.

Yep- I do the same thing with the calfskin--also pour some of that O-No-Mo stuff on the skin ( or in the absence of that have used salt or powdered molasses ) to cover the smell and get the cow licking....

Also putting them in a little corral with a baler twine set of hobbles on the heifer- pulled up pretty tight usually gives the calf a fair chance at sucking--and after a week or so of wearing them they usually decide its easier and more comfortable to not kick and take the calf......
 

3words

Well-known member
I use to try and graft a calf on any cows that lost a calf,but always found out the hard way i was just bringing in scours with that new calf.Now if a cow looses a calf and i don't have a extra calf of my own,off to market she goes.
 

randiliana

Well-known member
We don't skin. I detest the job, and have found that in general it takes about a week to get a cow to accept a calf with or without the hide. Here is what we do, and it does depend somewhat on the cow.

First we will simply put the new calf in with the cow. Depending on how she acts towards it, we will either leave her with it or separate for the first day or so. Now, we put her in the headgate and let the calf suck her. If she is a kicker we tie a leg back. Afterwards, we will usually pull the calf away and put it in a separate pen until the next feeding. At the next feed we will again headgate the cow, and possibly tie the leg back. At this point we usually hobble the cow's hind legs, and then leave them together. By hobbling we stop her from kicking the calf off. 95% of the time that is all we need to do. Just leave the hobbles on for about a week.

To find out how much the cow wants the calf we will separate them for a few hours, if she is looking for it, then we will take the hobbles off and see what happens. If she lets it suck with no problems, then we turn them out into a bigger pen, and keep an eye on them.

If we have a really tough case (onethat bunts as well as kicks), we will leave a halter on the cow, this way we can easily catch and tie her up to let the calf suck. Usually after a day or so they give in. With these type you have to be careful that you don't teach her that she can win if you aren't there. Been there, done that. They are perfect as long as you stand there, but completely miserable if you aren't right there.

The last few cows we have dealt with have been really good. A couple took the calf as soon as we brought it to them. Started mothering it and let it suck without being restrained at all. Those are the nice ones, have had a few that took weeks before they would let the calf suck without hobbles on.
 

Yanuck

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
CattleArmy said:
I started to post we but then decided no cause this part of we doesn't skin critters. What they do here is skin the dead calf and tie the hide on a new calf with baling twine. Sometimes they put amonia on the hide and then rub the cows nose with it.

If all else fails a leg tied up helps things out or putting her in the stantion to let the new one suck has been done too.

Yep- I do the same thing with the calfskin--also pour some of that O-No-Mo stuff on the skin ( or in the absence of that have used salt or powdered molasses ) to cover the smell and get the cow licking....Also putting them in a little corral with a baler twine set of hobbles on the heifer- pulled up pretty tight usually gives the calf a fair chance at sucking--and after a week or so of wearing them they usually decide its easier and more comfortable to not kick and take the calf......
_____________________________

Oldtimer you better check your bottle to make sure it wasn't part of this recall :eek: a good shot of Lysol in the cow's nose and then on the calf works good too

PRODUCT
O-NO-MORE (Formerly ORPHAN-NO-MORE) Calf Claimer Powder, packaged in 9-oz. bottles, For Animal Use Only, Recall # V-011-2007
CODE
A07
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Springer Magrath Co., McCook, NE, by telephone on January 11, 2007 and fax on January 12, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
The bovine blood meal which was used to manufacture the finished product was cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal, and the finished product is not labeled with the cautionary statement that it should not be fed to ruminants.


VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
300/9-oz. bottles
DISTRIBUTION
NE
 

Denny

Well-known member
Last time I bought a dairy calf home to graft on a cow I got a bad scour bug and lost another 25 calves that spring.I will run a cow open before I graft on a boughten calf.
 

Triangle Bar

Well-known member
Skinning the calf usually works well but make sure to leave the tail and as much of the bung hole area on your pelt as possible since that's where most of the scent is.

My Dad tells a story of a cow they grafted a calf onto. After working with her for close to a week she finally took the calf and didn't have to tie her up anymore. So they put her in a small pen and kept watch on her to make sure. All seemed okay they put her out in the larger corral and watched her. Again she let the calf nurse, no problems. Finally after about 4 to 5 weeks of being in the corral they thought we can turn 'em out no problem. As soon as she went through the gate she took off on a dead run for the timber and never looked back leaving the calf in the dust and wasn't seen again till next fall! :lol:

Conclusion: Hard to figure those critters out.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Yanuck said:
Oldtimer said:
CattleArmy said:
I started to post we but then decided no cause this part of we doesn't skin critters. What they do here is skin the dead calf and tie the hide on a new calf with baling twine. Sometimes they put amonia on the hide and then rub the cows nose with it.

If all else fails a leg tied up helps things out or putting her in the stantion to let the new one suck has been done too.

Yep- I do the same thing with the calfskin--also pour some of that O-No-Mo stuff on the skin ( or in the absence of that have used salt or powdered molasses ) to cover the smell and get the cow licking....Also putting them in a little corral with a baler twine set of hobbles on the heifer- pulled up pretty tight usually gives the calf a fair chance at sucking--and after a week or so of wearing them they usually decide its easier and more comfortable to not kick and take the calf......
_____________________________

Oldtimer you better check your bottle to make sure it wasn't part of this recall :eek: a good shot of Lysol in the cow's nose and then on the calf works good too

PRODUCT
O-NO-MORE (Formerly ORPHAN-NO-MORE) Calf Claimer Powder, packaged in 9-oz. bottles, For Animal Use Only, Recall # V-011-2007
CODE
A07
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Springer Magrath Co., McCook, NE, by telephone on January 11, 2007 and fax on January 12, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
The bovine blood meal which was used to manufacture the finished product was cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal, and the finished product is not labeled with the cautionary statement that it should not be fed to ruminants.


VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
300/9-oz. bottles
DISTRIBUTION
NE

Not sure if its still sold or not-- it was- then it wasn't- then it was again-- so I assumed they had changed the ingredients...--Haven't tried to buy any this year....
I have a barrel of powdered molasses- and since I usually put it on grain when I first get my replacements started eating grain after weaning--that is usually what I put on calves- as they know what it is and really go to licking and usually like what they smell and taste....
 

Shortgrass

Well-known member
I have had good luck going one step further. I'll let the cow in a stall with the dead calf, then take her out and give her a dose of ace. I'll let that take effect while I skin the calf and put the hide on the graft. The graft will be good and hungry if its old enough. Then bring the cow back in the stall with her doped up. She'll usually take the calf immediatly. 2-3 days later, I come get the hide. It isn't always that fast, but ace really helps, especially on older cows. I don't like skinning calves either, but take every advantage you can the first shot, and make it count. I'll try to hold the calf's head so that the first smell the cow gets is the tail, and old hide. Molasas or salt on the hide won't hurt. I had one ole cow a year or two back that thought her calf had resurected from the dead, and she ran me out of the pen, but took the calf.

Sure enjoyed the story about the cow that headed for tall timber! Bet she got a bus ticket out of that stunt!
 

jodywy

Well-known member
I skin but instead of twine I slit the legs on the hide and put the live calf's legs thru. There a product called calf claim almost works as good as OH-NO-MO. Sometimes leaving the cow in a barn pen and having a tied dog outside the pen helps.
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
I agree with Shortgrass.

I usually put the hide on the graft calf, put the cow in the headcatch, and introduce the calf by letting the cow smell the rear end of the calf. Then, I let the calf start nursing while I give her a shot of Rompun.

I wait a few minutes for the drug to start taking effect, then release them into a small pen. Often, the calf is really nursing at this point, and the drug is taking enough effect that the cow sniffs the rear of the calf and doesn't think much of it. I really make an effort to move extra quietly around them at this point. The less she reacts to stuff, the better.

She'll usually lay down and take a nap for a bit (watch she doesn't lay on the calf), but when she wakes and stands again, she will be groggy, and the calf gets another opportunity to nurse. This gives the calf confidence.

I keep them in a small pen for the remainder of the day, and usually can remove the hide within 24 hours (if it doesn't fall off first :D ). The next day I move them to a clean pen and keep an eye on them before letting them into their own corral for a few days.

This of course depends on the cow, but I've had high success grafting this way. They usually take them within 48 hours. I'm by myself, and really don't have time to devote to this type of project for long (who does???!!!).
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
That's what Mr. FH does too. He says that 'tail end' is really important.
Skinning the hide for grafting is pretty tried and true. Not fun, but it
generally works.
 

Soapweed

Well-known member
Being the good conservative Republican that I am, I once tried to get by with too small of a piece of the cow's own dead calf's hide. It didn't work, but by then I'd wrecked the hide bad enough that even after getting more of it and re-attaching the small piece, the cow would have nothing to do with the new calf. Since then, I always include hide from the neck to the top of the tail (but I don't use the tail) and clear down the legs. We also just use the slits-in-the-legs method which makes any string or twine unnecessary. I don't like to use the dead calf's tail, because all the extra hide hangs down too low and interferes with the calf's natural body functions.

Don't leave a hide on for too long (three days at the very most), especially in warm weather, because maggots can become a problem.
 

Kato

Well-known member
Your cow will have to wait for a day, so this won't work for her. It's the way we've done it and it's the easiest we've found yet. Try it on another one if the occasion comes up.

We don't skin anything here either. We don't let the cow see her dead calf either. We will take the cow's cleanings. (gross but effective :? ), and drape them all over the adoptee. It's quite disgusting to do, but the cow goes to work right away licking them all off. Usually by the time she's got the calf cleaned up, it's hers.

If she's a little reluctant, we will give her a shot of ace. It takes a while to wear off, and if the calf is agressive he will take advantage.

That said, bringing in a dairy calf can be a dangerous thing to do. I'd want to make sure it came from a herd that was vaccinated, had good health status, and was free of things like Johne's disease.

Sometimes you can make more money by letting the cow go dry for the summer. :!:
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
We got the nice steer calf home o.k. We had to travel 75 miles one way to get the little bugger! But I sure wanted that heifer to raise a calf. Anyway, he's got a "new Coat" and mama loves him!!!! He's suckin' and gettin' licked to death and I'm awful proud of that bally faced sister! He came from a place we've got calves from before and is healthy, vigorous and vaccinated! Hope ya'll have a great calving season and lots of healthy bovines.
 

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