Blue Albion calf

Help Support CattleToday:

Definitely feed her an All Milk Replacer.! Also the calf looks to skinny. But if your replacer is part soy, switching her to an All milk Replacer will fatten her right up. Also feeding her 4 hours apart isn't going to hurt her, since that is what she is used to. I believe it's in New Zealand they feed their calves once a day,. So you feeding her 4 hours apart doesn't concern me. Your vet may do an over the phone consultation about the calf. ?
 
blue albion said:
I have a 2 1/2 week old Blue Albion. The mother is very old and she is not able to give milk sufficiently to her calves. The calf always goes to the mother after she empties the 3 quart bottle. If she was getting enough milk from the mother she would not drink the 3 qts to begin with.

I have been feeding her every day with milk replacer. She is the tamest calf, but most of this breed is. She does not have the right energy that a calf should have. Yesterday she had a hard time getting up. She is kinda a loner too. Never follows the herd. Hangs out alone and seems to sit to much. I feed her about 6 quarts a day. All she can drink. But I do not live at the farm, so her feedings are when I get there and then few hours later, before I leave. If it was more spread out over the day maybe it would be helpful? Or is there something else besides milk replacer I should feed her? Since milk replacer cost about the same as milk from the grocery store. A 50 pound bag cost me almost $70. A gallon of milk cost $2.19 at the grocery store. Thats like 32 gallons of milk vs 1 bag. I was thinking of mixing real milk with water and milk replacer that I have. Would this be helpful? Is there something else I could be adding to her feed?
Click to expand...
I would get some Multimin which has selinium plus all the minerals she needs. She is getting plenty of milk it sounds like.
 
blue albion said:
Looks like the temp should be between 101 - 104. I will pick up a thermometer tomorrow.

This is a picture from today. She was doing good today. She was up walking around when I got there. Had her follow me around for a while. She knows its time to eat when she sees me. She drank 3 qts then a few hrs later 3 more qts. I made it a little stronger than before.
Click to expand...
Switch milk replacer-
 
No soy or plant based milk products, needs to be "real" milk. Once you get that corrected you can add a little light syrup to the milk . Here we use Karo brand . Not to much to start with . Will give her some added calories for energy .
 
I took her temp twice first late morning then late afternoon. She was 101.9 first then 102.9 later. That is in the normal range but is it normal to jump like that? The second time I took the temp I noticed she had some dozen worms under her tail from the flies. I sprayed her down and killed all the worms and to keep the flies off her.

I am in wisconsin.
 
If she has worms around her anus, they are probly coming from within, when she poops.

At this point, I'd load her up, and run her to the vet to be worked and checked out.

The vet bill WILL be cheaper than a lost calf.
 
I figured it was from the flies from some poop there. I never thought of them laying eggs there. Mother does not clean it up. You really think its coming from inside and not from the flies outside? They are not in the poop. I plan to call a vet to come out tomorrow morning.

She has been drinking good. Today drank 3 qts then later 3 qts again and after gave her a qt of water which she didn't care much to drink any more but did.
 
certainly fly larvae. Ugly little maggots like you would see on a dead animal or something. If they were inside her wouldn't they be in her poop? But could they go inside her, from the outside, and stay there?

I am going to start washing her with a bucket of water and soap every day. And putting powder on her to keep flies away. I didn't do that originally because I was afraid the cow would not lick her then.
 
Just talked talked to a retired vet. He said spout is the worst you can use. So getting a diff brand at a feed mill today. He said temp should be under 102. Maggots will not go inside her, but just need to keep her clean. I called a diff vet and they are coming out this afternoon.
 
Vet looked at her. Said she is fine, just a little undernourished. The temp he got was like 102.5, he said that was fine for a warm day. My thermometer read 103.4 So mine might be a big high. Every test he did said was normal.

He suggest a diff milk replacer, and I got some medicated milk replacer from the local feed mill. Same size as the cheap sprout but ten bucks cheaper. Costed me $85 to tell me shes fine, just feed her better milk replacer.
 
work worm? Was fly maggot worms. They have not appeared again since.
 
blue albion said:
Vet looked at her. Said she is fine, just a little undernourished. The temp he got was like 102.5, he said that was fine for a warm day. My thermometer read 103.4 So mine might be a bit high. Every test he did said was normal.

Cost me $85 to tell me she's fine, just feed her better milk replacer.
Click to expand...
$85 tuition in hard knocks school of learning about calves.
But now you know for future reference.

As for worming. The calf is only 3 weeks old.
Rule of thumb: worms aren't a problem until 3 weeks after calves start grazing.
aka 60 days
Stocking rate and pasture condition plays a big part, dry conditions reduce
the number of worms in a pasture.

Stomach worms are the main culprit when talking about worms in cattle.
Even after deworming all cattle on pasture will still have at least a few stomach worms. Adult worms lay thousands of eggs in the stomach which are then passed out in the manure. The dormant eggs and immature worm larva migrate onto grass by rain and other means. Cattle eat the grass consuming immature worms which grow into adult worms laying eggs in the stomach and the cycle repeats over and over.

Mature cattle handle worm loads better than young cattle.
Improved performance from worming is greatest in the first year of life.
Calves are typically wormed between 4-8 months of age.
 
Last edited:
her temp has been pretty lower yest and today. yes was 101 and later 101.4 today was 101.8. Also her poop is turned from green yellow to yellow with the diff milk replacer.

I feed her 6 qts a day. 3 and 3. Is that a normal amount for a 2 week old.
 
blue albion said:
her temp has been pretty lower yest and today. yes was 101 and later 101.4 today was 101.8. Also her poop is turned from green yellow to yellow with the diff milk replacer.

I feed her 6 qts a day. 3 and 3. Is that a normal amount for a 2 week old.
Click to expand...
Yes, for calves over 100 lbs under 90 lbs a gallon a day 2 and 2.
 
blue albion said:
her temp has been pretty lower yest and today. yes was 101 and later 101.4 today was 101.8. Also her poop is turned from green yellow to yellow with the diff milk replacer.

I feed her 6 qts a day. 3 and 3. Is that a normal amount for a 2 week old.
Click to expand...
That's the correct amount. Lots of old timers will still say 2 quarts twice a day, but that's a starvation ration. Sounds like you're on the right track.
 
She has what I think they call Crooked calf or cleft feet? Her front feet do now straighten up enough. She can get up and walk but she does not go far. This is the main reason why she does not move much with the heard. Other wise she seems go be doing ok.

I had a neighbor look at her. He said as she gets older it could get better that his brother had some that were much worse than this and supposedly they turned out ok.
 

Similar threads

tom4018
Calf issues...
Replies
6
Views
365
gcreekrch
G
D
Sick calf
Replies
4
Views
297
Dave Clarkson
D
coachg
Droopy calf
Replies
6
Views
456
TCRanch
TCRanch
M
dummy calf article
Replies
0
Views
195
moses388
M
G
scouring calf
Replies
3
Views
365
sunnyblueskies
sunnyblueskies

Latest posts

Top