Nursing Struggles

For those wondering why all the excitement in our recent post about nursing, let me give you the back story that we didn’t have time to post over the weekend.

When Darla was born on Saturday, February 21, (that date needs to go into the record book, by the way [note to self]), Iris was in a cranky, ornery mood for ours after that. She nudged and licked baby until she was up and walking, then she took a hike. She didn’t seem to want Darla following her either. When Darla tried to nuzzle up against her teats, she would walk away or even shove her away with her hoof.

Now, Iris is not what you would call a people cow. She does not like a lot of people around. She is used to Kathleen and I, and lets us scratch her head, usually. If she is in a really relaxed mood she even lets us scratch her ears. However, she never lets anyone touch her behind the ears. She doesn’t get aggressive about it, but she does toss her head, and turn and walk away. This is why we never intended to milk her.

We did not expect that her attitude about being touch would extend to a calf.

However, two hours after the birth, she still was not interested in the calf. She wanted to get out into the laneway with the sheep, and wouldn’t pay any attention to her calf.

So we ran to the feed store and bought a bag of colostrum replacement mix, and mixed up a bottle of that.

Kathleen got to feed Darla her first meal! She guzzled down a pint and a half like it was her job!

In the meantime we gave Iris her wish and put her out on pasture, and immediately called and texted all our cow friends for advice. Advice ranged from “wait and see” to “Tie her up and try to get the calf nursing right away.”

At night fall she moved back into the barn, but still didn’t seem interested in the calf. She wasn’t aggressive or pushy, but whenever Darla tried to nuzzle with her she would just walk away.

Sunday morning I took the time to set up a paddock for the chickens, with electricity between them and any ground predators.

Iris still seemed a little uninterested in the calf. A picture of her udders was reassuring because they seemed less distended than they had before.

But when I mixed up a bottle, she drank down a quart and a half in 5 minutes.

I fed Iris some alfalfa and she seemed more interested in that than in the calf, but she did not object when the calf nuzzled her around the front legs. After Mass we went up to Deedee and Papa’s house and borrowed Papa’s trail cams, which we set up around the paddock to see if we could catch Iris nursing her calf at night.

Although Sunday afternoon Iris did seem to be showing some protectiveness, which is a good sign, and Darla did not take any formula.

Monday morning Iris did not seem interested in Darla at all (she was more interested in Alfalfa) but her udders were not very distended, which one would expect if she had not nursed. However, no nursing was caught on camera so we weren’t sure.

I fed the stock and harvested some brussels sprouts for pickling (this is plot significant, as you will soon see).

When we got back to the farm for afternoon chores, Iris was somewhat protective, but was not interested in nursing still. However, I had all the brussels sprouts stalks and leaves from the sprouts. Iris loves brassicas, so I put them in the feed rack and she went over and started chowing down. While she was doing that I crept into the pen, and picked Darla up and carried her over to Iris. While Iris was occupied, I took Darla’s little nose, and stuck it right up against the udders. She nuzzled around a little bit, and then tried to lick the teats. Then she got a quick suck on one. Iris immediately woke up and turned around and started walking away. She even shooed Darla away with her hoof.

At that point I thought we were defeated so I went inside to make a bottle. However…

By the time I came back outside with the bottle, Evie had already “spied” on Iris and found that the calf was nursing. Poor Iris.

Apparently, once Darla got a taste, she just kept chasing Iris, until she gave up and stood stool. Look at Iris’ face. She so wants to walk away and get back to her lovely brussels sprouts stalks.

By Tuesday, oxytocin had worked its magic, and Iris is now in full-on Mama mode. She moos loudly and comes rushing up at anyone who touches Darla. We had some friends over to see the new baby and the extra people stressed her out so much she galloped to the very end of the laneway, taking Darla with her.

So now we have a nursing cow/calf pair, which is good, but the Mama is stressed, which is not good. We do not want Darla to be an anxious, ornery cow like Iris, we want her to be a chill people cow, and most especially, we want her to be a milker. That means she needs to be used to people touching her.

Bring on the calf-treats!