Hello All, I'm new here and fairly new to calves. Could use all help i can get. I bought a calf at the sale and it won't eat or drink anything. I've had it over 24 hours now. I thought it was a bottle calf but my brother did get it to take a couple bites of feed from his hand and that has been all. How do i get it to eat, it is so skinny and wobbly. Not sure ,but it looks to be about a month old. Not sure how long away from mama since it was bought at sale barn. I have not noticed any sign of it having any type of BM only notice it to urinate once. Have tried to bottle hand and bucket feed and can't get it to eat or drink either way. Have gave it a shot of penicillan yesterday and today. It looks like it has been starved. It is alert and it gets up and walks around, wobbly and slowly, but walking.
calf won't eat or drink
- Thread starter Cole
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mdmdogs3
Well-known member
the experts will need more info -
how old
how long from mama
any diarrhea - if yes, what does it look like - any blood
is it drinking water
etc. etc.
:?: :?: :?: :?: :?:
how old
how long from mama
any diarrhea - if yes, what does it look like - any blood
is it drinking water
etc. etc.
:?: :?: :?: :?: :?:
I would tube feed it, if it won't take the bottle, just to keep him going. Give him some probios also. with pen and no food, he'll have an upset gut for sure. I would guess that is the reason someone took him to the sale barn, is exactly what your dealing with. keep food and water infront of him, and try tubing him a couple times, he'll learn that the full belly feels good, then maybe he'll take the bottle. Good Luck!
D.R. Cattle
Well-known member
He's likely a doby calf if you got him that small from the sale barn.
born2run
Well-known member
Beefy":2skv4v5m said:
Good idea ;-)
Try the sheep nipple on the two liter coke bottle- be sure to punch a small vent hole. Sometimes those nipples on the plastic calf bottles are too big and not close to what the calf is used to. If it getting in bad shape you better go ahead and tube feed it. Good luck
Texan
Well-known member
Milkmaid is our resident miracle worker for walking-dead babies. Ain't nothing she can't do. ;-)Cole":1c6gta78 said:
dj
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Take it's temp. To see if the penicillan is doing any good.Cole":2moe1mv6 said:
Trying to get it to take the bottle. Are you able to hold the nipple in it's mouth for any length of time? Backing them into a corner always helps. You might have to resort to tubing to get back to a starting point with the bottle.
Cole":aqcrzmbw said:
Start with a high quality milk replacer - at least 22% fat and protein - no soy. Don't make it so hot that it burns his mouth - I don't mean to talk down to you or insult your intelligence, but you would be surprised at the number of people that make this mistake. Back the calf into a corner and straddle him - generally it works better if you're right about his shoulders or slightly in front of his shoulders as you can grip with your thighs and control him depending on his size and vigor and your size - if this is not feasible put him in a corner with one leg in front of his shoulder and one leg behind his butt. Stick your thumb in the side of his mouth to open it and put the nipple in his mouth. I would suggest a lambs nipple on any kind of bottle that can accommodate it as it's a closer replication of his mothers tit than a calf nipple is, might also want to think about coating it with molasses or Karo syrup - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. As far as that goes, might also want to consider bottling him with plain old whole milk for a time or two. If he's been on his mom, plain old whole milk will taste more like what he's used to and he just might accept it. Once you get him to nursing, mix it with milk replacer a pint at a time until he's transitioned to straight milk replacer. With one hand holding the bottle, place your fingers on the other hand under his jaw and your thumb on top of his nose. Squeeze your fingers and thumb together to make his mouth close on the nipple and cause the milk replacer to flow into his mouth - take it slow as you don't want to drown him. I personally do not use a vent hole for the same reason - usually one can get the milk to flow by tipping the bottle up and down to allow air in and the milk replacer to flow. Depending on how hard the calf fights this procedure, it might be necessary to put your arm next to his head to prevent him from throwing his head and spitting out the nipple. You might also want to consider giving him some vitamins as they will sometimes help. I wish you the best with your calf and I hope this helps.
