calf can't drink more than a pint of milk

[beckykrise]

i have a calf that is now 9 days old! from day one a had trouble with her not eating ! she would drink a pint, 2 if i'm lucky and grunts and cry in pain! theres alot of noise coming from her stomach when she eats and appears bloated ! i tried gas ex before feeding it helps some but she now spits up milk after a few swallows ! i was told a cow can't throw up but thats what it looks like to me ! so im feeding her a pint of milk yogurt mix 4 times a day ! ( vet said to give yogurt) manure is normal looks like a healthy calf in every other way ! i also give her a mouthfull of calf starter when i feed her but i havn't seen her eat on her own yet ! any ideas what might be wrong with her ?

 

[regolith]

If you want to keep her, get a vet to look at her.

It's not uncommon for calves to be born incomplete or blocked in the intestines/anus and usually the first sign of it (apart from not seeing any poop) is that the calf will suckle once and never willingly feed again, remaining bloated from that first feed.
I can't imagine a calf like that ever drinking two pints in one go, from the ones I've seen, so maybe it's something else. Is she your first calf or have you raised others before?

 

[beckykrise]

i have been raising calves for 15 years and worked on a 250 cow dairy farm for 10 years ! her manure is normal , she is hungry and ready to eat ! i tried charcoal once and she drank the hole bottle that night and the next morning without problem, the next feeding she drank a pint and was in pain again ! tried gas ex and a beano (gas pill) before bottle and she drank hole bottle tried that again for next feed and it didn't work back to the pint of milk and thruwing up after she drinks the pint ! i did call 2 vets and both said theres nothing they can do and i should get her on feed as soon a possible, and she most just have a small stomach ! so they were not any help at all ! she runs around and plays with other calves looks great ! this morning i mixed rice baby food in with pint of milk she drank that well, offered her plain milk and she spit up after a few swallows ! i'm completely puzzled with her !

 

[Nite Hawk]

You said she was pooping, so she isn't totally blocked, but it sounds like there is something wrong. Maybe a partial blockage?? Is the yogurt helping at all?
About the throwing up, I have seen full grown cattle throw up, so it can happen, but don't think it is too common.
Is she losing weight from lack of eating?
That could indicate if she is getting enough to eat or not.
If you go the vet route you may have to weigh how much money you want to put into her, as you don't normally want to put more money into an animal than it is worth.
Hope things work out for you..
Nite Hawk

 

[beckykrise]

i don't know if yogurt is doing anything ! she not losing weight might be gaining just alittle ! vet said theres nothing i can do ! so i'm just gona keep feeding her several times a day and hope she grows out of this !

 

[regolith]

I had to ask sorry - can't always tell with a newb if they're experienced or no.
Well if she's not blocked and not being overfed, it's something I haven't come across either. Let us know how she goes.
I hope it wasn't one of the vets that told you cows can't throw up - they certainly can.

 

[Nite Hawk]

I know it is a bother to have to feed more often, but maybe smaller more frequent feedings might be the "ticket", and hope that her stomach stretches and grows.
Maybe she she swallowing alot of air as she sucks why she looks bloated, and why she is crying. I wonder if you bucket fed instead of bottle fed if it might reduce some of the air swallowed??
Some lamb bottles have a "flutter valve" on the nipple which allows the air to escape instead of the lamb swallowing piles of air, but I have never seen calf nipples with "flutter valves", and some calf bottles/ nipples become "air locked" and you have to pull the nipple out of the calves mouth to "burp" the bottle so the calf can continue to suck properly.
Only a thought that she might be swallowing piles of air why she is bloating up, because true calf bloat, ( bacterial bloat) from what I have seen and heard is usually fatal, and it doesn't seem this is the problem with your calf.
Nite Hawk

 

[regolith]

you have 'shoof' over there nitehawk?
They make a calf feeder bottle with an air valve, you can increase or restrict the air for younger or older calves so that they're not getting fed too quickly. That's what I use if I'm using a bottle at all.
I've seen some weird calf bloat but not in my own calves. One farm had a couple of bulls on milk and one of them would swell vastly along his left side after every feed, apparently he'd always done that.

 

[beckykrise]

thanks for the info ! it is all very helpful ! i'm going to keep doing several smaller feedings and hope she makes it ! so far so good ! had her out in pasture last night and she loved it , just like any calf does ! stuffed some grass in her mouth and she ate it so good start i think ! will keep you all posted ! apparently my little girl has a odd disorder !

 

[E in PA]

is she drinking water? just a thought i have, i brought a week old calf home that had been bucket fed, went to give him a bottle that night(i know, i should have kept him bucket fed), he only drank about half the bottle. i checked his water bucket and had drank about 4 gallons already. the next morning and from then on he drained his bottle and was looking for more and drank water at a more "normal" rate. my thought was he just saw a bucket and tried his best to empty it which is why he didn't finish his bottle. is this possibly going on with yours? if its on grain and otherwise appears normal i'd skip the bottle feedings and call it weaned. just my thoughts.

 

[beckykrise]

she has a bucket of water infront of her at all times but don't think she drinks much ! i have given it to her with bottle and she drinks some of it ! i havn't tried teaching her how to drink out of bucket yet ! with bottle i know how much shes eating and i don't want to stress her out even more ! she is eating alittle grass and feed !

 

[Nite Hawk]

Regolith,
not sure what you are refering to, what is "shoof"??
I have seen lamb nipples with valves with them, but never calf nipples with valves over here.
Concerning your calf, Beckykrise, watch her body condition to see if she is getting enough to eat. If she will eat some hay, a very small amount might help with her digestion by providing a bit of roughage, and help her stomach to develope, but she still primarily needs her milk for all the goodies that are in it to help her grow.
Also, are you feeding milk or milk replacer?? There may be a milk replacer that is real good out there, but from the calves we have raised, in general they just do not do as good on milk replacer as on real milk. They survive on replacer, but do not thrive. I have seen calves and lambs do fine on real milk and bloat up on replacer.
Hope this helps.
Nite Hawk

 

[regolith]

Regolith,
not sure what you are refering to, what is "shoof"??
I have seen lamb nipples with valves with them, but never calf nipples with valves over here.

The valve is on the bottle, not at the teat. This is the one I use: http://www.crt.co.nz/Shopping/Products/ ... ices=False
I think this page is for US, found UK pages as well by googling shoof easy feeder http://www.agriviv.com/shoof/calf
It won't stop them swallowing air, the trick is to take the bottle away when it's empty so they don't. I don't find it a problem though, with the group feeders the calves just carry on sucking till I take the feeder away, and with the compartment group feeder that won't happen till the slowest calf has finished their share.

Body condition/shine of coat with this calf, yup :nod:
I had one last year was a slower drinker for some reason and I started bottling her while the others were at the group feeder to make sure she got her share. Within two days she was up to speed and looking much fatter, let her feed with the others again and only about three or four days later pulled her out of the group and kept her in a pen on her own till about six weeks old. The body condition/coat shine was sliding backwards or improving noticably within about 48 hours even though she *appeared* to be getting enough milk when she was feeding with the group.
I was making and mixing in yoghurt both years that I reared calves on replacer ('04 and '05) which I'm sure does help, but they do altogether better on whole milk.

 

[dun]

Are you feeding milk or milk replacer? If replacer insure it's not the crap with soy in it and that it is made form milk and milk byproducts with at least 20% protein and fat

 

[Nite Hawk]

Thanks for clarifying what a "shoof" is, we call them flutter valves in our neck of the woods, and like I said, never saw one in a calf nipple, only lamb nipples.
they are much better than the standard nipple that is for sure.
Nite Hawk

 

[beckykrise]

i am feeding her whole milk from her mother ! she has made great improvement past 2 days ! drinks almost a full bottle now no bloat and isnt in pain ! past few days ive been giving her fresh cut grass, and leaving her outside in pasture ! she runs around with rest of calves , looks good! hope i'm over the hump now !

 

[Nite Hawk]

If she has a tendency to bloat in the future, maybe give her a little hay instead of grass, as hay tends to be stiff and scatchy, and tends to "tickle" and bulk up in the inside of the cows stomach more than wet green grass.
Hope she continues to improve..
Nite Hawk

 

[beckykrise]

update! she is doing much better ! drinking out of a bucket now still has some discomfort when she drinks alot but is eating 2 quarts of milk now at a feeding ! started eating feed ! growing good , think i'm out of the woods now ! thanks for all the advice !

 

[rnh1]

what's the best advice for raising bottle calves? what's the economics?

 

[beckykrise]

guess it would depends on how you do it ! i have 3 cows i milk and feed to calves, 1 bag of milk replacer is 60$ and feeds 1 calf for 6 weeks! mine being milk fed get milk for months! saves me alot of money on feed ! i'm raising 7 steers and 5 pigs on my cows now all nice and fat !