Calf won't suck bottle but will Mom

[langecattle]

Okay this is new to me I have been around cattle all my life have not seen this. I have a heifer that doesn't produce enough milk so I started feeding the calf milk replacer, but he refuses to suck the bottle. Tonight after I got done tubing him he went right over to mom and started sucking . I try the bottle every time and he just will not have anything to do with it???? Any thoughts on how to get him to suck the bottle?

 

[randiliana]

Maybe mama has more milk than you think? Otherwise, you're just going to have to remove him from mom and let him get hungry.

 

[sizmic]

Try a goat nipple. Happens a lot, and when he gets growing more he will rob other cows. We had one this year that was exactly the same as you were describing, he was robbing cows before they calved and stealing the colostrum. After a while he wouldn't even take the goat nipple, so we got him up and made him a bottle calf for good.

Sizmic

 

[backhoeboogie]

This discussion has been beat to death throughout the forum over and over. There are some lengthy threads with a lot of good info on getting calves to take bottles. You may want to try the search features.

 

[KNERSIE]

Cash them both in while the price is good and then you don't have to deal with it any longer.

 

[msscamp]

Okay this is new to me I have been around cattle all my life have not seen this. I have a heifer that doesn't produce enough milk so I started feeding the calf milk replacer, but he refuses to suck the bottle. Tonight after I got done tubing him he went right over to mom and started sucking . I try the bottle every time and he just will not have anything to do with it???? Any thoughts on how to get him to suck the bottle?

What makes you think the mother doesn't have enough milk? On to your question, though. It is quite common for a calf that has been nursing his/her mother for a day or so to refuse an artificial nipple, even if they are very hungry. Do you honestly believe they don't know the difference between a rubber nipple and their mother's tit? If you do, you have read too many articles about how dumb cattle are!

 

[Nesikep]

in my experience, the instant they have the real teat in their mouth, they won't want anything to do with a rubber nipple

we have one calf wiht a cow who doesn't have much milk, and in the same pen a cow who has a bum hind leg and can't walk well... that calf was SO persistent at getting some free milk from the other cow that she's given up on chasing him and just lets him suck now... I've had to separate them though since I think he's stealing a bit much and i want to see just how much his mother really has

 

[Gators Rule]

Cash them both in while the price is good and then you don't have to deal with it any longer.

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