Calf's tongue sticks out to the side

[Anne_C]

Hi all,

We're pretty new to cattle. Three days ago we had a calf born. When it was born, it's tongue hung out and to the right. After a while it was able to keep it's tongue in it's mouth, but when it tries to nurse the tongue goes out and to the side again, always the right side. It does try to wrap it's tongue around the teat, but I don't think it's getting proper suction, and I'm worried that it's not getting enough to eat. It's 3 days old now and looking a bit weak. It's still walking around and nursing (or trying to) but it does spend a lot of time lying down. Shouldn't they be running around by 3 days old?

Is this tongue thing a common problem? If so, what causes it?

Thanks!

Anne

 

[hillsdown]

Swollen tongues are not uncommon in calves, usually have to do with a tight, prolonged delivery. I would just keep an eye on it and make sure it does not go down hill. New born calves still sleep alot at that age and usually with mine the more milk they get, they sleepier they are.

 

[mjnetex]

It could be genetic, I have had it happen several times, rarely kept the calf. Years ago had a dairy-cross
calf that took twice as long to finish her bottle as the other calves because of this. And I made the mistake
of keeping her and her first calf had the exact same problem, she could nurse but not normally. If it doesn't go away, and in my
experience, it rarely does, it's genetic.
I always cringe when I see a new calf's tongue over to one side, I consider that a major
defect. I guess if it is just swelling then it does go away quickly
but if not, nothing you can do, it will get better with time and might not really show when the calf is older
but that tongue will always be off and that trait can be passed on.