Calf is done and not nursing well....

[winddancer]

I'm very new to all of this.I've been around horses my whole life.not cows...Where i live the owners have a herd.One of the mothers rejected the calf...9 days ago..The first night the calf took a full bottle.Since then we can't get her to suck much at all.We literallly have to squeeze the nipple and get the milk flowing down her throat...Her right front leg is also swollen at the knee.and it's very painful for her to stand on.....I think she was kicked by the mother..Can I wrap her leg..to give her more support on it.She refuses to stand .I mean she is just dead weight.almost lifeless..The vet came out the night before last for her.he showed me how to get her up on her feet....He said I was actually doing a good job keeping her alive.Her weight was good..But he said the longer she stays down the weaker the muscles get.He didnt think it was broke just a bad bruise to the bone.where she probably went to nurse.and mother kicked her..The mother also had mastitis..That is all taken care of.I just can't get her to stand at all.....she goes limp all over....The owners are going to try and rig up some kind of harness to get her up some...........Any suggestions on wrapping that leg and getting her to stand? I know she must be in alot of pain...The mother actually has started showing interest in her.we have them in large pen together.We put th emother up for milking twice day.......but to get any milk down the baby we literally have to squirt the milk into the babies mouth.The mother has shown more interest in the calf ...She will come in and lick her all over.tyring to get her to stand....In a 12 hour period I saw her stand once......This morning she was in a different spot in the stall.so she had moved last night.....any suggestions?? She also doesnt suck her bottle very well...I need all the help I can get..Shes now 9 days old...right now i can see her just laying there....can she be given anything for the pain? Or something to take the swelling down?..Like I said I've never had much to do with cows.but i'm getting a crash course this past week..

 

[farmer rich]

When we have a calf that wont drink we use a stomach tube to feed it.
I assume that the calf hasnt suckled from its mother so probably has not had any colostrum. This is the first milk produced by the cow and contains antibodies that confer immunity to any infections the calf may be exposed to. Unfortunatley this has to be drunk by the calf within the first six hours of birth. A calf which has not had colostrum will be prone to health problems and may forever be a poor dooer.

 

[jerry27150]

sounds like she is sucking mom when you are not there. do her teats feel a little slimey when wet or one or two quarters smaller? does calf's belly feel empty? tube works good if you are sure she is not eating

 

[Bez]

Put green food colouring on her tits - if the calf is sucking it will come off.

Bez

 

[TheBullLady]

Check with your vet and see if he'll prescribe Banamine for a couple of days. That will help her with the pain and swelling in the leg.

 

[flaboy]

Can you get the mom and milk her? Like others have said you need to make sure she is not sucking her mom when you are not around. Can you get your hands on the teats? If so are they tight or real firm? If so she is not getting sucked. Check them all. Sometimes the calf has a favorite one or two. Look to see if any are limber/floppy. If so the calf is sucking those.

If you can get the mom's milk, tube her if she won't take it from the bottle.

Have you guy's noticed the bottles these days need to be modified? The vent hole is almost always not punctured. I have to take my pocket knife to it. I also take my knife to the nipple opening to make it larger. Weak calves will not have enough strength to suck on a non or poorly vented bottle. For the beginners when feeding make sure the vent it facing up and not down.

 

[winddancer]

update on the cow..We have been milking her every morning.. we use that milk to feed the baby with.Shes still not up much.she's down most of the day.If you try and help her up she just goes to dead weight..gives up.won't even try to stand...She may get up once or twice through the whole day.Her right front leg is still swolen at the knee..I'll check on the banamine for her today.....Do you know the dose for her? the vet started her on shots of antibiotics 3 days ago for 4 days...Bottle feeding her is even a chore.....I've been having to press the nipple inside her mouth to get her to suck and swallow..She's still just so weak.. She did nurse a bit earlier today once..and i saw her trying yesterday afternoon once on her mom.
I'll try the green food coloring also.She's 10 days old today.....but so weak still....

 

[ctlbaron]

That's it Bullady. Banamine is the answer for pain. I would tube that baby to make sure it is getting as much sustanance as possible.( add at least 1 raw egg to the bottle.) If he's scourie go get a bag of Opti-Meal milk replacer and feed that to him by label recomendations. They will usually have a little tighter stool each feeding. I always start bottle babies on it. If you start them on Opti-Meal they won't usually scour or get sick at all. Rare if they do. I'm generally talking sale barn calves.You might consider giving it a bag of clostrum also.

 

[Medic24]

Too late for colustrom to be of any good....... Banamine should help greatly for the knee..
As far as the feed etc, decide now how far you are willing to go with this calf as far as expense and effort.... the nstick with it.

You can boost the apitite a bit with some of these commercial blood cell builders... how well they will actually work for you ...who knows..

My advice to to also rig up a confortable sling for the calf to be hung in for at least a while every day...keeps the blood circulating, and allwos it to test the knees a bit........


lastly I think it is important to find out if the calf is sucking mom, then judge how much milk you will have ot get down the calf by hand.

Good Luck! And welcome to the boards! :cboy:

 

[jt]

Put green food colouring on her tits - if the calf is sucking it will come off.

Bez

i like that idea. will have to remember this one..

jt

 

[msscamp]

Have you guy's noticed the bottles these days need to be modified? The vent hole is almost always not punctured. I have to take my pocket knife to it. I also take my knife to the nipple opening to make it larger. Weak calves will not have enough strength to suck on a non or poorly vented bottle. For the beginners when feeding make sure the vent it facing up and not down.

Yes, I have noticed that the vent hole is not punctured, but I'm curious as to why you would suggest the vent hole be up and not down? If I have the vent hole up, I end up with milk in the babies nose which usually is annoying to the calf and they don't want to suck. I always put it down and have much better results. With the bottle tipped upwards, the vent hole stays clear, they get the milk, and they aren't aspirating it.

 

[Beefy]

i normally have the vent hole up so i dont get milk all over me and everything else and i partially cover it with my index finger while holding the bottle. after the calf gets a little bit out i can tilt enough so that the milk doesnt come out of the vent hole and get all in his nose.

 

[flaboy]

Yes, I have noticed that the vent hole is not punctured, but I'm curious as to why you would suggest the vent hole be up and not down? If I have the vent hole up, I end up with milk in the babies nose which usually is annoying to the calf and they don't want to suck. I always put it down and have much better results. With the bottle tipped upwards, the vent hole stays clear, they get the milk, and they aren't aspirating it.

I thought maybe I just had bad luck with the bottles. Also the nipple is not open enough so I slice it open a little more. The reason I turn the vent hole up is like Beefy said plus I seem to not loose as much by covering the vent hole with my finger as needed.

 

[Farmhand]

I do like Beefy also. Works far better than the vent being down. At least for me. Have placed it to a side for problem calves but get it back to the top as soon as possible.

 

[Beefy]

i too thought i was the only one with bottle problems. i dont know why someone cant come up with a better designed bottle.. finally upgraded to the screw on nipple as opposed to the rubber flip over the top type. that was another reason for me pointing the hole up, lost so much milk out of it (on me).

 

[msscamp]

Yes, I have noticed that the vent hole is not punctured, but I'm curious as to why you would suggest the vent hole be up and not down? If I have the vent hole up, I end up with milk in the babies nose which usually is annoying to the calf and they don't want to suck. I always put it down and have much better results. With the bottle tipped upwards, the vent hole stays clear, they get the milk, and they aren't aspirating it.

I thought maybe I just had bad luck with the bottles. Also the nipple is not open enough so I slice it open a little more. The reason I turn the vent hole up is like Beefy said plus I seem to not loose as much by covering the vent hole with my finger as needed.

Ok, I see where you are coming from. Thanks! The only bottles we really have are the big 2 quart ones with the screw on tops that fit over the nipple. It's difficult to hold that bottle in one hand, the calves chin in the other and still cover the vent hole. That's why I put the vent hole down. Once they get going, I don't lose a lot of milk.

 

[flaboy]

i too thought i was the only one with bottle problems. i dont know why someone cant come up with a better designed bottle.. finally upgraded to the screw on nipple as opposed to the rubber flip over the top type. that was another reason for me pointing the hole up, lost so much milk out of it (on me).

Yeah and one more thing. They are making the slip on nipples harder and harder to get over the lip. My poor dad really has a hard time. I told him to Vaseline the lip first. ;-)

 

[winddancer]

update on calf.........she was up this morning.she went from the chute and back to the barn by herself.the leg is still swollen and sore....but it looks alot better...
The problem is I saw like 4 places she had diarrhea.<scours?>The foreman said he thinks its the thick creamy milk he gave her last night...He said the bottle had alot of cream in it...
we also devised a sling for her from the rafters........I put her in yesterday and massaged her all over....It got her off the ground...she really looked alot better this morning..acept for the diarrhea.I'm going back out to check her in awhile....reading up on what to do for that next....thanks for all the help she is 12 days old today.....

 

[flaboy]

update on calf.........she was up this morning.she went from the chute and back to the barn by herself.the leg is still swollen and sore....but it looks alot better...
The problem is I saw like 4 places she had diarrhea.<scours?>The foreman said he thinks its the thick creamy milk he gave her last night...He said the bottle had alot of cream in it...
we also devised a sling for her from the rafters........I put her in yesterday and massaged her all over....It got her off the ground...she really looked alot better this morning..acept for the diarrhea.I'm going back out to check her in awhile....reading up on what to do for that next....thanks for all the help she is 12 days old today.....

Give her some vitamins and electrolytes just in case.

 

[winddancer]

ok one more silly question.when you speak of the vent hole on bottle,you're not referring to the hole in the nipple? we've had to enlarge that a bit....