3 wk old Jersey calf with shaking legs- help!

[mitz1]

We have 2 Jersey bull calves, 3 wks old, that we are bottle feeding. (Got from a dairy farmer who didn't want them, raising for meat) This morning, I noticed one of them while he ate his bottle. His hind legs were shaking violently, almost like a spasm. It continued even after he finished. Otherwise, he seems normal. He is running around, playing, bucking, ate with his usual gusto, bright eyed, no temperature, no weakness...just shaking hind legs. I have never noticed this before and I am usually the one who feeds him, so I am sure I would have.

The closest cattle vet is an hour away, so I am wondering if there is a simple explanation or if I need to call him.

Both calves get 2 qts milk replacer, twice a day, though a week ago, I did start supplementing with a quart of store bought whole milk in the middle of the day because they were painfully skinny, like concentration camp cows. Now they are just normal skinny. I did just switch to a new brand of milk replacer two days ago as the first bag had run out.

Could this be a vitamin issue? I try to mix it thoroughly but there is always little clumps left!

 

[chippie]

Skip the store bought milk. If you want to feed them more, give them a bottle of milk replacer. The clumps don't matter, but it is important to mix as directed. RE: feeding them. You can tell when a calf is full by looking at the top of it's left flank. It should look full (filled out). If you can, be sure to use a milk based replacer. All milk replacers are not created equal.
I can't help you with the shaking legs.
Good luck with them. Jersey meat is delicious.

 

[Anonymous]

The milk replacer should have all the vitamins the calf needs. But.... A shot of BoSe or multimin wouldn't hurt for sure.

 

[mitz1]

I was worried about overfeeding them milk replacer as everything I read warned against it. Everyone says 4 qts of milk replacer is more than enough, especially for Jerseys, but these guys seriously looked they were going to fall over dead of starvation! I also have been cracking a couple of free range eggs in with the milk to give them some extra protein as the temps have dropped to near freezing here at night. The calves are in a 3 sided shed with deep straw. Other than the shaky legs, he seems better than ever!

 

[chippie]

Feed what the bag recommends. They should have access to fresh water. You are correct that you can overfeed and cause problems. You want them to be hungry. If the calf was with it mother, it would eat small amounts frequently. If you want, split the amount you feed in between 3 or 4 feedings per day.

It would be a good idea to band them while they are young. It's less stressful for the calf.

 

[mitz1]

Thank you for the replies. This bag of milk replacer says t.o feed 2-3 quts, 2-3 times daily, so I guess I will substitute the replacer for the whole milk and just keep a close eye on them. We planned on cutting them at 5 months to maximize their growth potential before they got too mean! Anything about the shaky legs?

 

[TexasBred]

We have 2 Jersey bull calves, 3 wks old, that we are bottle feeding. (Got from a dairy farmer who didn't want them, raising for meat) This morning, I noticed one of them while he ate his bottle. His hind legs were shaking violently, almost like a spasm. It continued even after he finished. Otherwise, he seems normal. He is running around, playing, bucking, ate with his usual gusto, bright eyed, no temperature, no weakness...just shaking hind legs. I have never noticed this before and I am usually the one who feeds him, so I am sure I would have.

The closest cattle vet is an hour away, so I am wondering if there is a simple explanation or if I need to call him.

Both calves get 2 qts milk replacer, twice a day, though a week ago, I did start supplementing with a quart of store bought whole milk in the middle of the day because they were painfully skinny, like concentration camp cows. Now they are just normal skinny. I did just switch to a new brand of milk replacer two days ago as the first bag had run out.

Could this be a vitamin issue? I try to mix it thoroughly but there is always little clumps left!

Are you giving them access to a good calf starter feed??? At three weeks they should already be eating it well. Forget the store bought milk, feed milk replacer as directed, get them on feed asap.

 

[mitz1]

We aren't planning on giving them grain. I know this is a controversial subject, and I really am not interested in debating the grassfed/ grainfed topic, but helpful advice is appreciated. They have had access to fresh hay and clean water every day. They never touch the water unless we stick our hands in it and they suck our fingers. Did that for 3 days in a row and finally gave up for now. If they get thirsty, they know where it is. As for the hay, today is the first day I have seen try it. They have been nibbling the grass and weeds in the pasture however.really my concern is the shaking legs, which seem to have stopped for now.

 

[dun]

The milk replacer should be 20% protein and 20% fat and be from milk and milk by-products not soy. If you aren;t going to feed any grain you will need to keep them on milk replacer till they're 6-7 months old. Their digestive system isn;t functioning well enough to get the nutrition they need from just grass until they're around that age. Simply put, and this applies to the soy based milk replacers too, they could starve to death with a full belly. Milk from the store doesn;t have adequate nutrition for a healthy calf either. Whole milk straight from the cow does and the non-soy based milk replacers do. That's why they are formulated the way they are. I know it's hard to belief that the folks making the milk replacer would have a more thorough knpwledge of calf nutrition then someone just starting out raising calves, or even someone that's been doing it for 20 years.

 

[chippie]

Okey dokey. IMO a handful of grain at this early age would not jeopardize your grass fed program and it would benefit the calf. They will drink the water when they are ready and need it.

One thing that is important is that the pasture you are raising them on has good grass and not weeds. The hay that you feed them should be top quality too.

Jerseys are naturally a small breed and since it is a dairy breed it will never get the amount of meat that a beef breed will get at the same age. An animal will only grow as large as it's genetics dictate. Whether you cut them now or later probably won't make much difference in maximizing their potential, except that it is easier on the calf to do it when they are small. We have Jersey cows and have eaten a lot of Jersey beef. My husband bands our calves when they are about a week old. They do a little dance and go about their merry way.

At what age are you planning to harvest them?

 

[mitz1]

Check on the milk replacer. I will not give them any more store milk- that was just out of fear that they would get too much milk replacer. The previous bag said to feed no more than 4 qts a day. We have good quality hay,but wanted to possibly introduce alfalfa cubes at a very slow rate. I do know you have to be careful with alfalfa. On bottle feeding them, I had planned already to continue through the winter- which would be 7 mos. I have learned a lot from this forum and others- I have bee havn lurking for some time! Our friend raises Jerseys for beef- we have bought a half beef every year and the taste is beyond compare to other breeds. There is definitely a distinctive flavor, and we have come to be a bit addicted to "Jersey Beef". I know they will not produce much according to their size, which is why we have two! As for pasture...there I am a bit lost. We have 12 aces of grass, about 1/3 of which is weeds. I have no diea what kind of either. We raised goats on it for several years and it seems very fertile, all I know. If the cattle don't seem to be flourishing, then we will have to supplement throughout the grazing months too. We planned to butcher at around 24 months- longer if need be. The castrating I really went back and forth on....seems to be a lot of conflicting opinion on when and how. The flies are still active here now, so I don't want to cut yet. My husband has seen a lot of bandings go wrong and isn't keen on that (tho it seems the easiest way to me! Also...for whatever reason, they are NOT getting horns yet. We had the dehorning paste ready, but no nubbins, nothing at all. I spose it is possible they are both polled, but seems unlikely. But by 3 wks- nothing???

 

[mitz1]

The milk replacer is 22% protein, 20% fat, first 5 ingredients are milk derivatives (I.e. whey protein, etc) 6th ingredient is soy flour. What is your opinion? It was the only CMR sold at the farm store I bought it at.

 

[clayknob]

We cut all of our bull calves at 4 weeks of age.....only reason we wait that long is because we run the calves through when we work the cows. Opinions differ, but I would ONLY castrate by cutting and give them a spray on disinfectant (which has a numbing agent as well). We never have had a fly issue just keep the calves dry for the 1st 24 hours. I would STRONLY reccomend giving the calves a coffee-can of supersweet (just basically a pelleted oats and grain mix with mollases, available at all farm stores) for at least a little while, then grass-feed only if you like.....any extra fat they can add right now will really help them get through the winter (if your a southerner, you probably can disregard the cold weather advise). Also, we grain finish........I have no problems with grass finishing, but I would assume you will need to feed a high protein hay to them to truly get a "finish" on them. Last thing, good goat pasture and good cattle pasture are not necessarily the same thing.......goats thrive on weedy brushy pasture, and cattle need quality grass to thrive. If you do not know what the poisonous weeds are and look like in your area, talk to a local universty extension specialist. They probably have a nice quick sheet with pictures. I know people who have lost cattle because of "curiousity" grazing.

Edit: Whey protien is fine, and make sure it is medicated....I usually use pig milk replacer for the calves (not saying it is right, but its convient for my situation). As far as the shaking, its probably just a spasm.....it happens, if it gets to be an issue on a regular basis then calling the vet could be a wise idea. Be sure to keep up with their mineral and vitamin needs.

 

[suzorse]

what temp is the milk you are feeding as it needs to 101 , if it is to cold they will shiver while drinking it, they warm up from the inside out a lot of times, and you do not want to see soy anywhere in the ingrediants ,as these calves grow they will need more milk as a 4 month old needs more than a 1 month old but never up more than a pint, I do feed real milk and not replacer
Suzanne

 

[mitz1]

Thank you. I will check with extension office. I have no idea what is out there, just that in the 9 yrs we have been here we grazed goats on it for 3 of them, otherwise it has sat, unused. Don't know if it is high quality or not as the goats would eat anything.

 

[dun]

That replacer is fine. Theonly problem people have with banding is some of them apparantly can't count all the way up to 2. Count 2 then let go the handles then with the band in place, count 2 again. If you don;t have both below the band, cut it off with a pair of Dykes and start again.

 

[mitz1]

Suzanne, so in your opinion, get a different CMR? I make it very warm, I don't know the temp, but its almost hot, just not too hot for them to drink. I also give them warm electrolyte solution before bed to take the chill off.

 

[suzorse]

I would next bag you buy as you want all milk replacer,as they can not digest soy very well
and I do think some calf starter would be good till they are 4 months old at least,that is if you want them to grow well and not be pot bellied , then you can stop feeding grain, I only give grain to bottle babies and the last 90 days before slaughter ( I like grain fed beef ) if I raise them on a nurse cow they do not get grained , I have fed replacer in the past , and I always have a bag in a sealed container just in case I need it Suzanne

 

[chippie]

The temperature of the milk should be lukewarm, like for a baby - not hot.

 

[mitz1]

Its not hot. Its ALMOST hot.