5 day old calf question.

[Frankie]

I have a 5 day old calf that just isn't thriving and would like some of your thoughts on what to do. She was born on Sunday and since then has done very little other than lay in the grass. I have seen her look like she was nursing from across the pasture for only a minute or two. The mother has a huge bag and is very protective. I do not think the calf has grown any and was very small at birth. Thanks for any advice.

This doesn't sound good at all. She's pretty young to actually be sick from anything. She just hasn't been alive long enough for an infection to really take hold and some of them just don't thrive. But I'd get them up where I could watch and be sure she's nursing. Check the cow's udder and see if she really has milk or it might be swollen from something else. Did this cow raise calf last year?

 

[tapeworm]

The big long blah...blah...blah paper attatched to the nuFlour bottle says not to use in pre ruminant animals. How old does the calf have to be before you can use it then?

:?: I started using it on the advice of my vet. I have good luck with it. Quick turn around, especially when the calf has already progressed and LA would be too slow acting (worse cases). I have used it on very young calves, prior to them getting started on grass.

1848 sounds like you and I are blessed with some of the good old fashioned vets. My vet is not scared to try something that is not on the label....if it works for him then he is always good to tell me about it...at the same time, he always likes to know what I try on things that work for me. In my book that is a good relationship

 

[Workinonit Farm]

When you saw the calf nurse only for a minute, was it because the cow kicked at it? Is it possible that the cow's udder is "sore" or sensitive and not allowing baby to nurse? It has been my experience that by a week old the little ones are up and running and bucking. Sounds like it isn't eating enough. Another possibility would be constipation as fellars noted. Check the calf's butt, does it look as though "stuff" has been coming out that end? Have you spoken with a vet? Is this her first calf?
If possible put them up in a lot/pen where you can work with them, get a good close look at baby and mom's udder. Will this cow allow you to milk her out? If so milk her and put in a bottle and try to get that into baby. Mother's milk is always best.
Good luck, and let us know what happens.

Katherine

 

[jerry27150]

katherine, never seen one you couldn't milk

 

[Pharmer]

Today I gave the calf a B-12 shot and a shot of penicillin. I worked with it all afternoon and tried to get it to take a bottle. I did notice today some rattling of her lungs and mucous in her nasal passages. I brought her home after dark and offered her a bowl full of milk replacer and she downed it---hooray!! What do you all think I should do next, more of the same?? or take her back to the pasture after she regains some strength

 

[TheBullLady]

If you want to try and get her back on the cow, I would suggest bringing the cow up and penning the two together, where you can keep a close eye on the calf and determine if she's actually nursing the cow. Otherwise it looks like you'll be raising a bottle calf.

 

[milkmaid]

If it were mine, I'd probably do like TheBullLady suggests, and keep her with the cow but supplement her a little - doesn't have to be a lot, just so you have an idea of the minimum amount of milk she's getting right now. Then I might give her a shot of something a little stronger to take care of the respiratory problem. They can go downhill really fast.