1 1/2 Month old Bottle Baby Won't Eat......

[robertwhite]

Have a 1 1/2 month old bottle baby that in the last few days has started to become more and more listless.

He now has liquid diarrhea that is basically green.

Calf was always a little skinny and he was getting 2 bottles a day plus a mid day diluted bottle to make sure he got water. Now he doesn't even want to drink this afternoons bottle. (he used to come running for his bottles). Recently switched to a different brand of milk replacer, but I can't see that having this effect, no?

He is in with the rest of the herd and on pasture grass

Starting to get fairly concerned.

Thoughts?

 

[snake67]

Sounds like you were starving him

Might want to give the vet a call soonest on this one

Best of luck

Bez

 

[robertwhite]

Sounds like you were starving him

Might want to give the vet a call soonest on this one

Best of luck

Bez

Sorry, but no way was he being starved. Milk replacer company says 2 qts, twice a day. He has been getting that, plus another 2 qts water with 4oz of replacer.

I think he got scours from switching formula brands, even though both are medicated.

Got him to drink 2qts of scours powder and a little milk. Put him in a pen with hay and will give scours powder for a couple days.

 

[snake67]

Fair enough - but I posted this a while back

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=83429#p1010428

Might think on it a bit

And still call the vet

Best to you

Bez

 

[hillsdown]

Sounds like you were starving him

Might want to give the vet a call soonest on this one

Best of luck

Bez

Sorry, but no way was he being starved. Milk replacer company says 2 qts, twice a day. He has been getting that, plus another 2 qts water with 4oz of replacer.

I think he got scours from switching formula brands, even though both are medicated.

Got him to drink 2qts of scours powder and a little milk. Put him in a pen with hay and will give scours powder for a couple days.

Switching brands can be very hard on them Robert , especially if you move them to one that is not all milk and has soy . Soy is not a good baby formula for calves , wish they wouldn't even make that crap. Keep up the electrolytes to his schedule and of course his good milk. You can also give him a shot of a broad spectrum antibiotic like nuflor or resflor to fight off any secondary infection he has gotten from the scouring and being dehydrated(malnurished for a few days) .

 

[mjnetex]

Take fecal sample to vet to check for coccidiosis asap.

 

[chippie]

What brand of milk replacer are you feeding him? Check the ingredients and make sure that it doesn't have soy in it.
Ditto on getting a stool sample checked and maybe even take the calf to the vet.

If he has access to fresh water, he will drink it on his own. Stick to two bottles twice daily of a good quality milk replacer. Personally, I do not use the medicated. I would rather medicate when needed, not all of the time. You might want to give him some Probios paste also.

I have a little fresh hay available for our bottle calves when they are almost a month old. They don't eat much, but sometimes will nibble on a stem or two. They always have water available in a sheep trough. Good luck with him.

 

[robertwhite]

About the milk replacer.......... I was using Duro (?) from Tractor Supply as it was the only store open when he was born, and I just stayed with it. The problem started when I switched to the replacer from the farm Co-Op last week. Now, heres the kicker. This morning I read the label of both bags. The tractor supply has some soy, the Co-Op does not. So yes, he got scours when I switched from soy to all whey.

The good thing is he is up and about since I started the electrolytes and he even ate some grain tonight. (Must be really hungry, lol) Little guy is a fighter.

I am going to cut back on milk replacer when he is better and I figure the hungrier he is, the more he will take to the grain.

 

[chippie]

give him the Probios paste too. It is indicated for calves and will help replace the gut flora that he lost because of the diarrhea.

Tractor Supply sells an all milk based non-medicated milk replacer. DuMOR® Ultra Milk Replacer, 25 lb. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/dumorreg;-ultra-milk-replacer-25-lb It is expensive. $44 for 25 lbs. I use it and it works well. Our little angus/jersey steer is thriving on it.

Some stores are bad about keeping their stock updated.

 

[robertwhite]

give him the Probios paste too. It is indicated for calves and will help replace the gut flora that he lost because of the diarrhea.

Tractor Supply sells an all milk based non-medicated milk replacer. DuMOR® Ultra Milk Replacer, 25 lb. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/dumorreg;-ultra-milk-replacer-25-lb It is expensive. $44 for 25 lbs. I use it and it works well. Our little angus/jersey steer is thriving on it.

Some stores are bad about keeping their stock updated.

Thanks, I will check into it.

 

[Nesikep]

I heard of a milk replacer called "Big fat Momma", which my friend swears by (he used to raise 300 dairy steers a year), he says he's had great luck with it, it tastes good, and dissolves in 2 shakes...

Glad to hear he seems to be doing better