# Dairy Calf Won’t Stop Butting/Biting



## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

We bought a dairy calf who was a few days old to bottle raise and to eventually breed and milk. From the first day we brought her home she’s been crazy. I tried sitting with her for a while, to see if she’d calm down, but she goes so crazy that she started kicking so I decided “I don’t want to get kicked” and left. The problem is she’s crazy for her bottle. She goes crazy and tries nursing everything she can including fingers, shoes, clothing, and other animals. Recently she’s started butting me (and she’s growing horns... ouch) And today I found marks on my horse and his mane and tail is coated in green saliva and is much shorter than it used to be. We will keep her in the stall for now, but of course that’s not ideal because it’s much better for her to be out in the sun and green pasture. I just don’t know what else to do except raise her for meat and maybe breed her for that, but I’d hate to waste all that money we spent for a dairy cow. Especially an A2A2 (a dairy cow who dairy free people, like me, can drink from). Any suggestions??


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

Not really. I raise calves on my extra goat milk, and I haven’t found a way to stop it. I put the calves in individual pens and feed them through the fence, only going in to clean, until they are close to weaned. Water buckets have to be clipped to the fence or they’ll butt them over too. They still suck on everything they can(fence, etc.), but at least it’s not the other calves! We’ve had horrible problems with that, which is why they are penned individually. 
Once they are weaned it quickly goes away.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Ranger1 said:


> Not really. I raise calves on my extra goat milk, and I haven't found a way to stop it. I put the calves in individual pens and feed them through the fence, only going in to clean, until they are close to weaned. Water buckets have to be clipped to the fence or they'll butt them over too. They still suck on everything they can(fence, etc.), but at least it's not the other calves! We've had horrible problems with that, which is why they are penned individually.
> Once they are weaned it quickly goes away.


Ok, I'm glad to hear that it will go away. I didn't know it was normal because we raised a male calf on the bottle and he was and is the sweetest and calmest cow I've ever met. It just confused me. Thanks for the reply!


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

Yeah, some are much, much worse than others but I've never had one continue after weaning.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

So she is butting with her head/horns, not the nose-butting to stimulate an udder that is not there?

I knew calfs can have a great "sucking need", but these ones are bottle fed, not bucket fed?

Thank you for sharing; I did not know that a calf could be anything else than a giant goatling ...


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Trollmor said:


> So she is butting with her head/horns, not the nose-butting to stimulate an udder that is not there?
> 
> I knew calfs can have a great "sucking need", but these ones are bottle fed, not bucket fed?
> 
> Thank you for sharing; I did not know that a calf could be anything else than a giant goatling ...


She does both. She would butt my horse with her nose, maybe she thought he was a cow 
And yes she is bottle fed, but we feed her calf starter pellets and some good hay.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

I guess she is strong enough to make the bottle fly a long distance when butting for more milk. mg: But the head butting has nothing to do with udder stimulation, or? Am I wrong?


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Trollmor said:


> I guess she is strong enough to make the bottle fly a long distance when butting for more milk. mg: But the head butting has nothing to do with udder stimulation, or? Am I wrong?


I think the butting is coming from frustration because she tries suckling and then kind of jumps around and butts me and snorts and tries suckling again. Hopefully it'll all go away once we wean! Anybody have any information on when to wean? We heard 7-8 months but that just seems like a longggg time.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> We bought a dairy calf who was a few days old to bottle raise and to eventually breed and milk. From the first day we brought her home she's been crazy. I tried sitting with her for a while, to see if she'd calm down, but she goes so crazy that she started kicking so I decided "I don't want to get kicked" and left. The problem is she's crazy for her bottle. She goes crazy and tries nursing everything she can including fingers, shoes, clothing, and other animals. Recently she's started butting me (and she's growing horns... ouch) And today I found marks on my horse and his mane and tail is coated in green saliva and is much shorter than it used to be. We will keep her in the stall for now, but of course that's not ideal because it's much better for her to be out in the sun and green pasture. I just don't know what else to do except raise her for meat and maybe breed her for that, but I'd hate to waste all that money we spent for a dairy cow. Especially an A2A2 (a dairy cow who dairy free people, like me, can drink from). Any suggestions??


Some calves will suck anything. Does she need more milk? Or the amount of milk divided into more bottles possibly. Can you get a not cut nipple and put a smaller hole in it so she has suck longer to get her full bottle? I know most already have the x cut in them.

The butting thing.... pop her on the nose and say a firm no every single time she does it. If you have a halter on her a firm snap of it and no may work instead of the nose. But that behavior cannot continue if you are going to eventually milk her.

Try brushing her. Maybe she needs more one on one attention. Mine rubs against me and will follow me round when she wants brushed. If i ignore her cause i am doin chores still she gets the no when she rubs too hard. It is not a butt really just a hard rub up and down my leg that does not feel great. but she knows that no means stop this nonsense cause we already went through the nose pop and halter snap phase. So all i need do now is no. She will still follow me round but will stop the rubbin hard against me. She lets me know when i have done my job well from the brushin by walkin away or occasionally she will give me sugars... ick gow slob lol! We call Hope the gow cause she thinks sheself a big goofy goat lol!

You said she is still wild. You need spend time just sittin quietly or readin or talkin out loud with her. When she comes to you sit still and let her explore you at first. Then try touching easily. If she is in a stall when you are doin chores talk to her. Put a halter on her and teach her to lead easily. When she stops keep the lead taught but do not pull. When she eases up on the pressure reward her with a treat even if it only a bite of grain or animal cracker... hope will do some sketchy stuff for animal crackers lol! Today she went up and down stairs for animal crackers. First time ever and yes it took a while to convince her but she did it for me. She needs learn how to get up in a trailer for us to take her to breed next year. So i am startin now while she is young. If you want to milk this heifer you have to get her tame and ok to be able to do anything to her. Hope will let us rub and touch any part of her. She lets me lift her feet and feel between her toes and mess with her hooves without flinching. I can clean her eyes and ears. Look in her mouth. Whatever. We recently gave her her second blackleg shot and all we did was hold her halter. But we touch and spend time doin this to all of our animals. We want to be able to do necessary tasks without a fight. Some are better than others about this but it is important for when somethin needs be done. Because one of us might not always be around to help the other.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> I think the butting is coming from frustration because she tries suckling and then kind of jumps around and butts me and snorts and tries suckling again. Hopefully it'll all go away once we wean! Anybody have any information on when to wean? We heard 7-8 months but that just seems like a longggg time.


Our friend that Hope came from and the vet told us to wean at four months.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> Some calves will suck anything. Does she need more milk? Or the amount of milk divided into more bottles possibly. Can you get a not cut nipple and put a smaller hole in it so she has suck longer to get her full bottle? I know most already have the x cut in them.
> 
> The butting thing.... pop her on the nose and say a firm no every single time she does it. If you have a halter on her a firm snap of it and no may work instead of the nose. But that behavior cannot continue if you are going to eventually milk her.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for all information! 
The thing is she isn't afraid of me. If she was I'd go in the stall and sit with her for hours, that wouldn't bother me. But she is wild as in she won't leave me alone. I have bruises up and down my legs from trying to be patient and wait for her to calm down. She just won't calm down. 
I will try brushing her. She will let me scratch her neck every once in a while but then she sticks out her tongue and tries to suckle. 
And I have done the halter breaking, she's pretty good with it although I haven't really started leading her around yet. I've just tied her up while I do the other animals. She kicks when she gets excited and I know that can hurt like crazy so I've been trying to wait until we wean her and she stops thinking milk every time she sees us.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> Our friend that Hope came from and the vet told us to wean at four months.


Is she weaned? If so did it help with her attitude?


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> Thank you so much for all information!
> The thing is she isn't afraid of me. If she was I'd go in the stall and sit with her for hours, that wouldn't bother me. But she is wild as in she won't leave me alone. I have bruises up and down my legs from trying to be patient and wait for her to calm down. She just won't calm down.
> I will try brushing her. She will let me scratch her neck every once in a while but then she sticks out her tongue and tries to suckle.
> And I have done the halter breaking, she's pretty good with it although I haven't really started leading her around yet. I've just tied her up while I do the other animals. She kicks when she gets excited and I know that can hurt like crazy so I've been trying to wait until we wean her and she stops thinking milk every time she sees us.


So if she does not wait patiently no bottle right then. Hold her against you and make her be still. Hope has always had to wait until i put down her bowl... she was two weeks old when her mom died and she came here. She refused a bottle. There is NO sense in you bein bruised and battered for her feeds! None.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> Is she weaned? If so did it help with her attitude?


Hope is eight months old now and yes she is weaned. She was not allowed to act like yours even before she was weaned. I have neck and back issues and there is no way i can have an animal pushin me like it sounds like yours does. I would get hurt quickly and badly. So she learned acceptable behavior early. I was not mean to her just firm in this is ok and this is not ok to do.

Does yours like her grain feed? Have you tried makin her eat some of her grain before she has her bottle? Just a bit so she is not so so starvin. Cause she still does need the milk if she is young.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> So if she does not wait patiently no bottle right then. Hold her against you and make her be still. Hope has always had to wait until i put down her bowl... she was two weeks old when her mom died and she came here. She refused a bottle. There is NO sense in you bein bruised and battered for her feeds! None.


I have tried that... she doesn't calm down and gets me even more bruised up. Do you know of any other way I could try? Oh and I forgot to answer your question of her maybe being hungry. We thought of that. She shouldn't be because she gets two 4 pint bottles twice a day and calf starter and hay. That should be plenty right?


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> Hope is eight months old now and yes she is weaned. She was not allowed to act like yours even before she was weaned. I have neck and back issues and there is no way i can have an animal pushin me like it sounds like yours does. I would get hurt quickly and badly. So she learned acceptable behavior early. I was not mean to her just firm in this is ok and this is not ok to do.
> 
> Does yours like her grain feed? Have you tried makin her eat some of her grain before she has her bottle? Just a bit so she is not so so starvin. Cause she still does need the milk if she is young.


We feed her before the bottle. And she seems to like it but isn't near as crazy about it


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> I have tried that... she doesn't calm down and gets me even more bruised up. Do you know of any other way I could try? Oh and I forgot to answer your question of her maybe being hungry. We thought of that. She shouldn't be because she gets two 4 pint bottles twice a day and calf starter and hay. That should be plenty right?


How old is she? So she gets half a gallon two times a day right?


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> Hope is eight months old now and yes she is weaned. She was not allowed to act like yours even before she was weaned. I have neck and back issues and there is no way i can have an animal pushin me like it sounds like yours does. I would get hurt quickly and badly. So she learned acceptable behavior early. I was not mean to her just firm in this is ok and this is not ok to do.
> 
> Does yours like her grain feed? Have you tried makin her eat some of her grain before she has her bottle? Just a bit so she is not so so starvin. Cause she still does need the milk if she is young.


She's almost 3 months old


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> She's almost 3 months old


Do you only go out when it is bottle time? Or in between? If only for bottle time... that might be part of the problem. She only sees you as feedin time. Not for anything else. So yes she will be nutty cause food is here and i mist eat now right now. But there is still no sense in her hurting you over the bottle.

You could try adding another bottle in there and see how she acts. If you feel like she is gettin enough milk with the volume she gets just split them to have the same amount in them. Hope got three bowls a day at three months. Then in the last month i decreased the amount of milk in one bowl every day until a bowl was gone. Then started on another bowl then the last. So by the time she was bout four and half months old no more milk.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> Do you only go out when it is bottle time? Or in between? If only for bottle time... that might be part of the problem. She only sees you as feedin time. Not for anything else. So yes she will be nutty cause food is here and i mist eat now right now. But there is still no sense in her hurting you over the bottle.


I'm out there for a long time before and after feeding but don't usually go in between chore times though. But I do every once in a while. I tried going out there in the afternoons to sit with her, but as I said I was just getting to beat up. I'll try the nose bop. Is it ok to leave a halter on her all the time?


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> I'm out there for a long time before and after feeding but don't usually go in between chore times though. But I do every once in a while. I tried going out there in the afternoons to sit with her, but as I said I was just getting to beat up. I'll try the nose bop. Is it ok to leave a halter on her all the time?


We leave the halter on hope. But it needs be snug so it doesnt get caught easily.

Maybe try the goin out more often even for five minutes at a time. Try an animal cracker treat for her bein good. Or fresh fruit. Hope loves apples too... you just have put it far enough back in her deposit slot so she can crunch it lol. She jus opens her mouth for the deposits. Hahaha. She is rotten! But when you go out if she is naughty... no treat and leave. Same with the bottle.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> We leave the halter on hope. But it needs be snug so it doesnt get caught easily.
> 
> Maybe try the goin out more often even for five minutes at a time. Try an animal cracker treat for her bein good. Or fresh fruit. Hope loves apples too... you just have put it far enough back in her deposit slot so she can crunch it lol. She jus opens her mouth for the deposits. Hahaha. She is rotten! But when you go out if she is naughty... no treat and leave. Same with the bottle.


She sounds like a sweet cow! I'll try that, thanks!


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> She sounds like a sweet cow! I'll try that, thanks!


She is. But she CAN be cantankerous lol! But we spent a lot of time with her to get her this way too. And when she did somethin naughty we let her know that was not acceptable.


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

I wean the calves at 3 months.


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## Chelsey (Dec 7, 2018)

We started weaning at three months and she was done by four. Another point, if you don’t start correcting her behavior, she may never stop. Grain at milking time, or hay at feeding can be just as exciting to a hungry cow. I raised a calf for my parents years ago, she wasn’t nearly as bad as yours and I worked really hard with calming her down and letting her know boundaries, but she still ended up slightly rude with food around.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Chelsey said:


> We started weaning at three months and she was done by four. Another point, if you don't start correcting her behavior, she may never stop. Grain at milking time, or hay at feeding can be just as exciting to a hungry cow. I raised a calf for my parents years ago, she wasn't nearly as bad as yours and I worked really hard with calming her down and letting her know boundaries, but she still ended up slightly rude with food around.


I spent a lot of time with her every day and she's just been like this from the start. I tried brushing her and she seemed to love that and slightly calm down but then I went out this morning and she was butting me none stop ouch! I tried bopping her on the nose and firmly pulling on her halter but it just got her attention for like two seconds and then she started butting again.


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## Iluvlilly! (Apr 6, 2019)

Alpine Crazy said:


> Is it ok to leave a halter on her all the time?


I halter train my claves and i leave it on! BUT make sure that it doesnt get to tight (while the calf is growing)!


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## Iluvlilly! (Apr 6, 2019)

Alpine Crazy said:


> I spent a lot of time with her every day and she's just been like this from the start. I tried brushing her and she seemed to love that and slightly calm down but then I went out this morning and she was butting me none stop ouch! I tried bopping her on the nose and firmly pulling on her halter but it just got her attention for like two seconds and then she started butting again.


My two Steers do that!


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Spades said:


> I halter train my claves and i leave it on! BUT make sure that it doesnt get to tight (while the calf is growing)!


I chuckled at this. Our son came for sunday dinner this week and saw hope (it has been a bit since we did sunday dinner here)... said oh she hasnt grown much. She was a bit far out in the netting. I told him to call her over to him and see just how much she has grown. But my guide to her growin Is her halter! I feel it every day to make sure that it is not crazy tight on her. . Soon she will need another new one. . I just need decide what color lol! Her first was a bright tealish blue and now it is a pink... it was neon for a whole day lol!


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Alpine Crazy said:


> I spent a lot of time with her every day and she's just been like this from the start. I tried brushing her and she seemed to love that and slightly calm down but then I went out this morning and she was butting me none stop ouch! I tried bopping her on the nose and firmly pulling on her halter but it just got her attention for like two seconds and then she started butting again.


Can you put her bottle in a bottle holder? So you can be outside the pen and slip in it. Then after she is done with her bottle go in for the love time. Just a thought that popped in my nog tonight.

Cause i think i remember that once she has had that bottle she is a bit better?


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## brenzinnia (Dec 27, 2018)

Ok, so let me start by saying that punishment at this age is pointless. She is jus a baby and doesn’t know any better, and won’t until she is weaned. It is instinct for calves to bunt, which helps with let down and and mastitis prevention. You will literally accomplish nothing with this. One day, you will walk out to feed, and viola! She will be over this bunty stage.Instead of getting beat up, (which I know does happen as I just finished raising a heifer of my own, and it hurt sometimes!)
feed through a gate or a fence or something like that. This works great, trust me. Do not withhold her milk because she is roudy, she can not reason like we can, therefore this to will be pointless. Instead, just feed through the gate. About her milk, are you in the process of weaning her? If not, she will need much more than a gallon a day, I’m not exactly sure about amount, it would be biased upon her weight. Technically, you can wean her at 12 weeks, but I like to go as long as I can. It’s better for them in the long run. She might be constantly aggressive because she is always hungry? Just a thought. I would be sure that the hole in the nipple of the bottle is big enough, I have had to enlarge every one that I have had. It is good that you are starting her young on halter training! I can not stress to you enough the beauty of a well halter broken cow. If you ever should decide to sell her, this could make or break a sale. I would do exactly as you said you are doing: feed her, then leave her tied while I did the rest of my chores. This is great, could even save her life if she ever got herself stuck on something. Work with her as much as you can, all of your hard work will pay off in the end. And, PLEASE! Please don’t think about beefing her or not using her as a milk cow because of what she is going through now. She WILL grow out of this, and with enough handeling, she could become the best cow you ever could dream of. And just for kicks, what breed is she?


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## brenzinnia (Dec 27, 2018)

Also, check out the forum Keeping a Family Cow. It’s the best cow info page out there!


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

I agree with brenzinnia. At least for me, punishment has never helped. I just have to wait for them to outgrow it, shortly after they are weaned.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Sfgwife said:


> Can you put her bottle in a bottle holder? So you can be outside the pen and slip in it. Then after she is done with her bottle go in for the love time. Just a thought that popped in my nog tonight.
> 
> Cause i think i remember that once she has had that bottle she is a bit better?


I thought about that... but a few days ago she was drinking from the bottle and the lid came off. Ughhh that's so annoying! But the milk spilled into her water bucket, and she immediately tried to drink it but obviously it probably tasted nasty so she didn't try for too long. But it got me thinking about pale feeding. I know that it's important for the rumen development to hold the bottle at the right angle, but since she's about a month away from weening I thought, "let's give it a try!" So I did and she immediately drank it all up! She's still a bit crazy and butts me when I go in there, but at least it's a time saver and doesn't get everybody covered in cow slobber. And I have noticed that she goes to the bowl instead of me when I come in with the milk. So that may be a step in the right direction...? 
And she's good UNTIL the bottle comes out. After she gets fed she's crazy because she wants more but usually the best time to be able to pet her is in the afternoon.


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

brenzinnia said:


> Ok, so let me start by saying that punishment at this age is pointless. She is jus a baby and doesn't know any better, and won't until she is weaned. It is instinct for calves to bunt, which helps with let down and and mastitis prevention. You will literally accomplish nothing with this. One day, you will walk out to feed, and viola! She will be over this bunty stage.Instead of getting beat up, (which I know does happen as I just finished raising a heifer of my own, and it hurt sometimes!)
> feed through a gate or a fence or something like that. This works great, trust me. Do not withhold her milk because she is roudy, she can not reason like we can, therefore this to will be pointless. Instead, just feed through the gate. About her milk, are you in the process of weaning her? If not, she will need much more than a gallon a day, I'm not exactly sure about amount, it would be biased upon her weight. Technically, you can wean her at 12 weeks, but I like to go as long as I can. It's better for them in the long run. She might be constantly aggressive because she is always hungry? Just a thought. I would be sure that the hole in the nipple of the bottle is big enough, I have had to enlarge every one that I have had. It is good that you are starting her young on halter training! I can not stress to you enough the beauty of a well halter broken cow. If you ever should decide to sell her, this could make or break a sale. I would do exactly as you said you are doing: feed her, then leave her tied while I did the rest of my chores. This is great, could even save her life if she ever got herself stuck on something. Work with her as much as you can, all of your hard work will pay off in the end. And, PLEASE! Please don't think about beefing her or not using her as a milk cow because of what she is going through now. She WILL grow out of this, and with enough handeling, she could become the best cow you ever could dream of. And just for kicks, what breed is she?


Thank you for the detailed reply! 
I have noticed the discipline hasn't helped much... it gets her attention, but as soon as I let go of the halter she's back at it. I would sit down and she'd butt me, then I'd give her halter a firm tug and hold pressure on it until she stopped fighting back, then I'd let go and give her a good scratch and tell her good girl (as if that does something lol) and she would be fine for like 30 seconds maybe but then would start butting me again. The thing is, I had to put her in the stall because she was so food driven that she started eating my horse. Literally EATING. Poor guy no longer has much of a tail or mane. And so now she's in a stall. Our stalls are made of wood and don't have any way to get to the animals unless you open the top door and reach over. That's too high for nursing, so we had to go in. But as I said previously, we've recently switched to pale feeding. 
She gets 4 pints twice a day and a coffee can full of calf starter. (Half a can twice a day) and then some good 'ol Timothy hay. I don't think she's hungry... she seems to be healthy and in good shape. 
She does really well with the halter, doesn't fight back until she's bored and then she'll have a temper tantrum that doesn't last long. 
Her father is a polled A2A2 jersey and her mother is a 1/2 short horn, 1/2 half jersey. She's got tiny horns that I don't think will turn into much, they may end up falling off.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Sounds as if you may have a good pack goat in a couple of years lol... No, what am I saying, a goat, well ... Pack animal!

Feeding through a fence sounds intelligent. But what do goat spot members know about eating hair? Who remembers?


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## brenzinnia (Dec 27, 2018)

You should be fine with the pale feeding, there are lots of people do this instead of using a bottle. It teaches them to come to a bucket, that’s really handy if they get out! It is normal for them to be really rough and rowdy after feeding, just take your leave as soon as she is done. She will calm down after a few minutes. She is being aggressive only after feeding, correct? As to the eating the horse’s tale, I think that she actually is hungry, or she is just really bored. Is she alone? If she is, she might be reacting to the stress of being alone. Do you know how much she weighs? That sounds like a beautiful combination!


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

We have had good luck when we tie them up then feed them. Then they learn that being tied to a post isn't a bad thing and it really does help with a lot of issues. You will be amazed at how fast she will pick things up. But don't feed her if she isn't tied, she will start associating being restrained to feeding and maybe it will help with her other issues.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

If she still has horns, maybe dehorning will help. Nothing worse than an aggressive cow with horns!


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## Iluvlilly! (Apr 6, 2019)

Goats Rock said:


> If she still has horns, maybe dehorning will help. Nothing worse than an aggressive cow with horns!


:nod::up:


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

brenzinnia said:


> You should be fine with the pale feeding, there are lots of people do this instead of using a bottle. It teaches them to come to a bucket, that's really handy if they get out! It is normal for them to be really rough and rowdy after feeding, just take your leave as soon as she is done. She will calm down after a few minutes. She is being aggressive only after feeding, correct? As to the eating the horse's tale, I think that she actually is hungry, or she is just really bored. Is she alone? If she is, she might be reacting to the stress of being alone. Do you know how much she weighs? That sounds like a beautiful combination!


She is alone, now. She used to be with my horse and two other goats. Although I don't think she was very popular once she started eating their hair, yuck! 
I don't see how she could possibly be hungry, she gets more than twice the amount of food my halflinger horse gets and he's very healthy. 
She is aggressive most of the time, but mostly once the food comes into view. Or it's feeding time. She is sometimes calm enough to go in and pet her in the afternoon (between meals). 
I don't know how much she weighs. She's almost twice the size she was when we first got her! It's funny how they grow so fast without you realizing it! Lol


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

lovinglife said:


> We have had good luck when we tie them up then feed them. Then they learn that being tied to a post isn't a bad thing and it really does help with a lot of issues. You will be amazed at how fast she will pick things up. But don't feed her if she isn't tied, she will start associating being restrained to feeding and maybe it will help with her other issues.


So I could do this with pale feeding as well?


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Goats Rock said:


> If she still has horns, maybe dehorning will help. Nothing worse than an aggressive cow with horns!


I thought about that... I'm not sure if we can afford that size vet bill at the moment, and even though they are small I don't think we could hold her down. They'd probably have to sedate her to do it.


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## brenzinnia (Dec 27, 2018)

Alpine Crazy, I strongly recommend that you check out the forum that I mentioned earlier, Keeping a Family cow. They would be able to tell you exactly what you need to do. It truly is a blessing, and has saved my cows several times. When I first posted, I was under the assumption that her aggression was isolated to feeding time, which is normal for a bottle baby. However, outside of that time, it is important to have boundaries. She should not swing her head around you, butt you, push you or do anything of the kind. If you don’t think that she is hungry, I would say then that she is bored. We’re you planning on getting another cow? Cows need others of their own kind to keep them company. Again, please check out Keeping a Family Cow, you won’t be sorry!


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

brenzinnia said:


> Alpine Crazy, I strongly recommend that you check out the forum that I mentioned earlier, Keeping a Family cow. They would be able to tell you exactly what you need to do. It truly is a blessing, and has saved my cows several times. When I first posted, I was under the assumption that her aggression was isolated to feeding time, which is normal for a bottle baby. However, outside of that time, it is important to have boundaries. She should not swing her head around you, butt you, push you or do anything of the kind. If you don't think that she is hungry, I would say then that she is bored. We're you planning on getting another cow? Cows need others of their own kind to keep them company. Again, please check out Keeping a Family Cow, you won't be sorry!


I will definitely hop on there! 
And no, we weren't planning on getting another. We have a steer, but he's down with a bunch of young bulls that don't belong to us. (We let our neighbor keep his cattle on our 10 acre lot to keep the grass down)


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Put a rope halter on her. Tie her up tight by the halter, take the dehorners (most farms and ranches have a set), lop off the horns and watch her attitude change real quick. There might be blood, but, it usually stops pretty quickly. 

If she stays aggressive, you are going to have a 1000# + nasty cow. That would not be good!


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Goats Rock said:


> Put a rope halter on her. Tie her up tight by the halter, take the dehorners (most farms and ranches have a set), lop off the horns and watch her attitude change real quick. There might be blood, but, it usually stops pretty quickly.
> 
> If she stays aggressive, you are going to have a 1000# + nasty cow. That would not be good!


Oh so dehorning can help with the attitude as well? We have a iron we use on goats, do you need a bigger one for cows?


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Probably one of the local farmers or ranchers should have a calf or cow dehorner. Best of luck to you in changing her attitude!


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Goats Rock said:


> Probably one of the local farmers or ranchers should have a calf or cow dehorner. Beat of luck to you in changing her attitude!


Oh we live in cattle county lol there are so many herds of cattle around us.


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## brenzinnia (Dec 27, 2018)

At this age, I would definitely talk to a vet about dehorning options, if that is even possible at this point. DIY dehorning at this point could be dangerous and VERY (VERY!!!) painful for her. It is TOTALLY possible for you to have a cow with horns, they just have know their manners.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Goats Rock said:


> If she still has horns, maybe dehorning will help. Nothing worse than an aggressive cow with horns!


I think an aggressive cow will be very dangerous also totally without horns! I say, either you get her friendly, or you put her in the freezer! There must be other cows for you to make a backyard cow out of!


Morning Star Farm said:


> Yes, you would need a bigger one because goats have much smaller horn buds. And if cows are anything like goats, dehorning will definitely help with the attitude.


Cows and goats have different kinds of horns.


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## Iluvlilly! (Apr 6, 2019)

BTW If you make her friendly she can still be a pain, so dont make her to tame, i learned from my two steers! BUT i also trained my heifer from when she was little little, and (knock on wood) she hasnt been a HUGE pain but just now and then! So what i am saying is be careful!!


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Trollmor said:


> I think an aggressive cow will be very dangerous also totally without horns! I say, either you get her friendly, or you put her in the freezer! There must be other cows for you to make a backyard cow out of!Cows and goats have different kinds of horns.


I don't want to butcher her. She's an expensive dairy cow who's milk is something I (dairy free) may be able to drink.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Alpine Crazy said:


> I don't want to butcher her.


I know. But it is not worth it risking your life!


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## Alpine Crazy (Jul 14, 2019)

Trollmor said:


> I know. But it is not worth it risking your life!


I'd rather just wait and do what everybody has suggested and see how she is after she's been weened in about a month or so.


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## healthyishappy (Mar 6, 2019)

I agree with trollmor and goatsrock. Chop those horns off. A mean cow with horns is dangerous.


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## healthyishappy (Mar 6, 2019)

In fact my moms friends husband was playing with theyre tiny nigis and the buck accidentally swiped him with his horns and he caught him in the stomach.
He had to go to the ER for a few days.
This was a nigi buck who did it on accident as they were playing.
A #1000 mean cow is a way worse situation.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Alpine Crazy said:


> I'd rather just wait and do what everybody has suggested and see how she is after she's been weened in about a month or so.


That is what I meant, whatever I might have typed!


healthyishappy said:


> I agree with trollmor and goatsrock. Chop those horns off. A mean cow with horns is dangerous.


Just to make things very clear: I agree on being careful with a grown-up cow who does not submit (subserve?), _*horns or no horns*_.


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## healthyishappy (Mar 6, 2019)

Trollmor said:


> That is what I meant, whatever I might have typed!Just to make things very clear: I agree on being careful with a grown-up cow who does not submit (subserve?), _*horns or no horns*_.


I agree but if the cow is not submitting it is more dangerous with horns than without.


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

There is a difference between a bratty cow and a dangerous cow too. That said, if bratty calves get away with it, they might grow up to be dangerous cows. 
I’d rather have my cows fear me a bit, but still be able to be handled just fine, than if they are too tame and pushy. I take my Border Collie(s) with me every time I enter the bottle calf pen and those calves are not allowed to come smother/chew/suck/butt me or they get a dog on their nose. They stay back out of my personal space and we are friends, and I will lay the dogs down and approach the calf and give it some scratching, etc. If they start getting spunky I have a dog start slowly approaching, and once the calf backs off a bit, lay the dog down and start over. Using the dog as a threat, they begin to come to an understanding with me. And once they are past the spunky calf age, I don’t need the dogs anymore.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Hi, Ranger1, nice to see you again. Excellent advice - provided one has a well trained herding dog!


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## Ranger1 (Sep 1, 2014)

Trollmor said:


> Hi, Ranger1, nice to see you again. Excellent advice - provided one has a well trained herding dog!


Just putting it out there! And I know where folks can get one, if they want one. 
But more, I put it out here for the idea behind it. You can use a whip instead of a dog.


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## brenzinnia (Dec 27, 2018)

Again, PLEASE DONT JUST “ lop those horns off”! IT COULD GO REALLY BAD!


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

brenzinnia said:


> Again, PLEASE DONT JUST " lop those horns off"! IT COULD GO REALLY BAD!


Thank you!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

We always dehorn full grown cows. Our replacement Holsteins have never had a problem. They get run into a squeeze chute, head locked, dehorner applied, horn off, do the other side and done. Sometimes a bleeder, but it stops pretty quickly. They get over it pretty quickly and any aggression is pretty much gone. 

Out of a group of 200 calves weighing around 500-600 #, there are always 10-20 with horns. Dairy farms don't want horns, so we dehorn them. None have ever died or been off food.


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## brenzinnia (Dec 27, 2018)

Aggression is an attitude thing, it doesn’t have anything to do with them having horns or not. You can have a very aggressive cow that doesn’t have horns, or a hornless cow that is as docile as can be. It is all about discipline and temperament. Mostly discipline. Removing horns is not something I would EVER attempt on my own. I would consult a good cattle vet.


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