have a 4 week old, born with contracted tendons that pretty much have straightened out, but now, in the last week has become really emaciated. Wrangled it last week and gave it some suggested LA 200, no improvement. Looked like it was going to fall over on Sunday, so i wrangled it again and put it in the pen and started 2 quarts of maxi lac 2 times a day...mother seems great, very protective, but dry teats and back quarter of her bag big...has she just dried up? She obviously had milk at one time or this calf would not still be alive. Anyway, how long do you think i will be bottle feeding? i have calf starter in the pen with him but he is not the least bit interested in that...he looks a little better, day 5 now,still a bag of bones, and poop is at least mushy now, not like deer scat..no scours...drinking water...do i need to figure on bottle feeding him for 4-6 weeks even though he is 4 weeks old? I put mom in the pen with him the first day to see if she indeed was nursing him but she jumped over the gate when i separated them to feed the little one...so she will definately dry up now if she wasn't already ...i gguess this is a multi-part question...what happened...and i have looked at all the posts regarding bottle feeding...anything else you suggest...momm will only leave the pen to drink and graze a couple times a day...very good mom, just no milk...
4 week old emaciated
- Thread starter fishgirl4
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
Bottle for 6-8 weeks and eating a couple of pounds a day of a quality calf starter grain. Then it will have to stay on a grain diet till it's 6-8 months old along with hay.
Ship the cow! (and the calf too unless you want to dump a lot of money in it)
Ship the cow! (and the calf too unless you want to dump a lot of money in it)
If you think that is the reason the calf is skin and bones, then separate the two and begin bottle feeding it, as well as supplying it with grain, water, and hay like you already are. Ship the cow if she can't produce for you.
fishgirl4":npke77f7 said:
Did you turn the calf out on pasture despite the contracted tendons? Was the mother a first time heifer? Did you monitor the mother to make sure her calf was nursing? If the answers to the above are yes, yes, and no, that could be the answer to why the mother dried up. A calf with contracted tendons has a hard time following his mother, a heifer does not usually have the 'experience' to 'know' when something is not right and go back to her calf, and a calf that is not nursing will obviously result in his mother drying up. Calves with contracted tendons usually do better when they are penned with their mother until the tendons stretch, and the calf is able to move around freely. The exception to that is if the mother in question is very maternal(even then the calf should be checked regularly), or if the the calf is being closely monitored to make sure he is nursing as he should be.
mnmtranching
Well-known member
The calf was weak, unable to keep up with an impatient on the go type mother. A cow like that would probably be OK with an aggressive strong calf. The cows utter may have been a little sore to, making her stomp around and move away from the weak calf. Good job at tying to save the calf, and continue, what else? Calf is worth 0 at the market.
I would sell the cow for kill, or make burger. Just to many good cows around to take another chance with her.
I would sell the cow for kill, or make burger. Just to many good cows around to take another chance with her.
mnmtranching":1jwhmh4y said:
I disagree with this statement. Contracted tendons are usually the result of a calf that is too large for the mother's frame size, and that is generally a result of using the wrong bull. True, contracted tendons require a little extra management for a few days, but it is are not a valid reason to sell a perfectly good cow - it is a management issue rather than an indicator of the cow's ability to do her job.
regolith
Well-known member
Does she have mastitis?
If the quarter is firm (and sore) but there's nothing coming through the teats - then no, she hasn't 'just dried up', though by this stage she might as well have done.
Either way, even though the calf is four weeks now the 6 - 8 weeks bottle-feeding Dun suggested is more likely than four weeks - if its emaciated now there's a lot of catching up to do before it'll be anywhere near fit for weaning.
