New Mother Cows Are Unpredictable

My husband tries to pin me down on exactly what a cow will do when having a calf and why. However, you cannot pin down a mother and accurately predict what she will do. Each cow, just like any other type of mother, will do things her way and there is not much you can do to change that.

I have learned to sprinkle words such as "usually" "sometimes" "often" and other qualifiers when answering my husband's questions. For example, he will ask, "Do cows always go off on their own to have their calves?" My answer was "Usually they will."

Just like a human, each cow is different. My husband is pretty good about remembering every word I said and if I goof and say, "They always go of on their own" and some cow decides to have her sisters act as midwives, I will never hear the end of it.

Some cows like to go off on their own and to stay out with their newborn calves for the first three or four days. Some cows will bring in their calves immediately. Some cows will lay down with the herd to have their calves. There is just no telling which way a certain cow will behave during this important time.

About the only clue you will have on how a cow will behave is if you know what she did the previous year. Honey was a long legged honey colored mixed breed cow. Last year, she walked into the water lot bringing a tiny baby calf with her that was only a couple of hours old. The calf was so small that he stood directly beneath her to suckle instead of to the side like most calves nurse.

Knowing what she did the previous year gave me a clue as to what she would do this year. She left the herd about nightfall and wandered off on her own. The next morning she brought in a long-legged heifer calf that was still stumbling as it learned to walk. Honey showed her calf off to the herd then bedded the baby down where she could keep an eye on her while she grazed nearby.

Other cows like to keep their calves hidden away for the first few days. This helps to create a strong bond between the calf and its mother. My husband could not understand why Honey brought her calf in while it was so small, "Are you sure they're going to bond okay?"

"Usually that is not a problem." I replied. I made sure to use the qualifier as there is no way to be sure what will happen when you are dealing with animals. I have seen mother cows reject their babies. Fortunately, this time, it was not a problem. Honey and her calf have bonded just fine as have all of the other mothers and offspring on the ranch this year.