Calf will not nurse!

[Perry]

I have a calf 3 days old that will not nurse. I put teat in the calf mouth, squirt milk on nose and mouth. Calf acts like it don’t know what to do. It will drink some from a bottle. Are some calves just to dumb to nurse? Any suggestion?

 

[Kelly]

Just keep trying ! Also it may be nursing( when you don't see it) and isn't hungry when you are trying to get it to nurse. If it seems hungry or you know it hasn't nursed then supplement it with a bottle. Some calves just are slow to figure it out!

 

[Beefy]

yes, some calves are too dumb to nurse.

 

[jt]

I have a calf 3 days old that will not nurse. I put teat in the calf mouth, squirt milk on nose and mouth. Calf acts like it don’t know what to do. It will drink some from a bottle. Are some calves just to dumb to nurse? Any suggestion?

i dont know any 3 day old calves who havent nursed. imo if it is still alive 3 days later it has nursed, unless you put some colostrum down it and have been giving it a bottle to keep it alive. you didnt say how much you are giving it, so just a guess on my part.

jt

 

[Campground Cattle]

Is the calf crapping if so it's nursing, I have never had a problem with dummies but my neighbor has. He had a couple of older cows that had dummy calves two years in a row, they now reside at Jack in the Box.