Couple of questions

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Camp-BellRetreat

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Picked up a one day old brangus cross bull calf today. Rancher said the cow went down after birth. He has been given colustrom since yesterday and seems to be in good health. I am getting conflicting advice on how often to bottle feed him. One says twice to three times day. Another says every 2 hours. Which is it? Also about the cow, Rancher says that she is 6 years old and this is not her first calf. He thinks that she just doesn't have the strenght to get up. He says that she is eating and drinking well. He offered us the cow for beef. What could have happened to her to cause her to go down. He says that if we want her that he will postpone putting her down for a day. Thank You :help:
 
She more than likely had trouble calving and is paralyzed in the sciatic nerve. She may get up or she may never get up. It would be best to go ahead and shoot the cow and be done with her. Secondly, you dont need to feed it every two hours just two to three feedings per day. Someone with more experience bottle feeding should be able to tell you how many pints they need etc.
 
Camp-BellRetreat":78wzmbeu said:
Would there be anything wrong with the meat?


Absolutely not. Unless she was stressed then it might be a "dark cutter" from the adrenaline and the meat could be tough.
 
Camp-BellRetreat":jw5wvvpt said:
Great. So back to the calf, I don't have to get up for a two Oclock feeding? :banana:

No, not unless you go to bed at 9 and don't get up until 9 - that would be a bit long to expect a day old calf to go between feedings. :lol: Because the calf is so young, I would suggest you break down the feeding in 4 feeding per day - reason being is that he is dependant on the milk, and to only feed 3 times a day carries the risk of causing scours due to too much milk at one time. The first as soon as possible when you get up in the morning, the last as late as possible before you go to bed, and the other 2 spaced out as evenly as possible between the first and 2nd. When the calf hits a week or 2 of age, and is eating hay fairly well you can eliminate one feeding. Simply divide that amount of milk and add it to the other 3. Once he gets started on grain pretty good, do the same thing. You now have him down to 2 feedings per day, plus grain and hay.
 
Camp-BellRetreat":ims6f2w5 said:
Would there be anything wrong with the meat?
If she's been down she's stressed from pain or injury. She probably wouldn;t make all that good of eating.
 
dun":2kia9q0a said:
Camp-BellRetreat":2kia9q0a said:
Would there be anything wrong with the meat?
If she's been down she's stressed from pain or injury. She probably wouldn;t make all that good of eating.

I agree bullet in the head and buzzard bait. Secondly don't think you are going to grow that bottle fed calf off as beef calf in the same amount of time. It is just not the same as momma I have seen very few that you couldn't recognize at a bottle calf.
 
Bottle calves should be fed twice a day, 2 quarts per feeding.... unless it is a small calf and then I would feed it a quart to a quart and a half. It is not a human baby.

If I am not mistaken, it is illegal to sell downer cows for human consumption. He is trying to take the easy way out and get you to take his problem off his hands, He should either treat her or shoot her.
 
Msscamp just posted the most sensible feeding of a baby/bottle calf. Most babies don't go all day without nursing so why mess with mother nature by only feeding twice daily. Yeah I know some of you are to busy 'or just don't have the time', but how long does it take to break it up to 3 feedings per day? Afterall, you're dealing with a potential $1,000 +/- calf. An extra 20 min. a day for a couple of weeks ain't gonna hurt to many of us to save or make a 1,000 bucks.
 
You can get by with 2 feedings a day. Go by msscamps advice and the calf will do very well.
Depends on the condition of the cow? if she was in good health other wise and is down because of a difficult birth the meat will be safe. [taco, chili, pizza topping etc] If the cow is a downer for other health reasons I wouldn't touch her. Actually I wouldn't touch her anyway.
 
Thanks to all for your quick responces. As soon as I can I will get some photos up here of "Cocoa". Our 10 year old son says that even if the calf is going to be food he still needs a name. :kid: What could I say?
 
Looks like a nice calf. If I was going to take the trouble of bottle feeding it I would use the correct amount of powdered milk but mix it strong. In other words, don't give it 2 quarts of liquid but give it 3 pints of liquid. This, I've found, will keep down on problems you could have from scouring. As the calf takes the milk better with time and the calf is still hungry after a feeding, then increase to the 2 quart rate. JMO
 
Camp, you didn't mention if this is your only calf, but if it is then it will not do well alone, being a herd animal it needs a companion.

J+
 
I had a similar experience with one of my older cows recently. Talked to the vet and he suggested to give her a CMPK IV. Basically it was a mineral defeciency in the cow and this IV contains Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Pottasium. Injected needle into the pouch in front of the hip bone on the right side. This cow was 14 years old, had the calf and then couldn't get up. She was up 20min after the IV. Good luck, if it's not to late.
 
I agree with KMacGinley about the feeding. I have bottled fed several calfs and kept them and no one can tell they were bottled fed. The secret is bottle feed every 12 hours, 2 quarts each time, I think the secret is the timing.
 

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