cow died, calf wont take bottle

[sbusby]

I have a four day old orphaned calf that I cant get to take a bottle. Does anyone know of any tricks I can try

 

[dun]

Cant or wont take a bottle? With calves that have sucked the cow it's frequently hard to get them on a bottle, but if it will suck on your fingers you can generally get them broke to drinking from a bucket. Get it started on your fingers and lower them into the bucket. Gradually remove your fingers. With straight bottle feeding, a lot of patience and kind of pumping the ilk into it's mouth by working it's jaws, or holding it's nose shyt so that it swallows (I've heard that one but never tried it). You might want ot try a different sized nipple or one that is softer till it gets the hang of it.

dun

 

[cherokeeruby]

Covering up the nostrils works, they eventually will swallow and then they get the idea. After the first swallow take your hand off the nose or they will inhale milk.

Four days old not sucking sounds like he needs to be tubed.

Cant or wont take a bottle? With calves that have sucked the cow it's frequently hard to get them on a bottle, but if it will suck on your fingers you can generally get them broke to drinking from a bucket. Get it started on your fingers and lower them into the bucket. Gradually remove your fingers. With straight bottle feeding, a lot of patience and kind of pumping the ilk into it's mouth by working it's jaws, or holding it's nose shyt so that it swallows (I've heard that one but never tried it). You might want ot try a different sized nipple or one that is softer till it gets the hang of it.

dun

 

[txag]

i agree w/putting the nipple in his mouth & working his jaws up & down. one thing to check on is to make sure the hole in the nipple is big enough. newborns (& especially calves that don't want to nurse) need the milk to flow pretty easily & usually the holes that are in the nipple when you purchase them aren't big enough. you don't want too much so it runs out but big enough so that it almost drips out when you hold the bottle upside down.

 

[Scotty]

Get it healthy and switch to a bucket. Same trick bassically to get it to suck a nipple. HAve the milk in the bucket and let it suck the nipple to the top of the milk(stick your hand in it too) and it will figure out the rest.

Scotty

 

[milkmaid]

With the bottle calves I get from the nearby dairy I usually keep them on a bottle for about a week, and then break them to the bucket.

My nurse cow died last week and left me with four orphan calves, all around a month old, one had never had a bottle before, the other three had only been fed colostrum from a bottle for their first two feedings before going to the cow. It took a day or two, but they all learned to drink from a bottle, and they'll be going to a bucket soon.

It just takes patience. Usually if you back the calf into a corner and/or straddle its neck, you can put the nipple into its mouth quite easily, and then if you put your other hand under his jaw to help support him and keep the nipple in place...the calf should figure it out pretty quick. Should. There's always those ones that don't want anything to do with the bottle. Where he's had colostrum and milk he'll be OK if he misses one feeding.

 

[NY-JB]

if it goes another day i would tube it and get it fed and keep trying the bottle like dun said if it will suck on your fingers it will drink it will just take some time straddle your legs around her neck facing the same way as her her let her suck on your fingers and then get the bottle in there at the same time she will start sucking final word have patience good luck

 

[NY-JB]

if it goes another day i would tube it and get it fed and keep trying the bottle like dun said if it will suck on your fingers it will drink it will just take some time straddle your legs around her neck facing the same way as her her let her suck on your fingers and then get the bottle in there at the same time she will start sucking final word have patience good luck

 

[MR3]

You might want ot try a different sized nipple or one that is softer till it gets the hang of it.

dun

The last calf I bottle fed wouldn't take the nipple and I tried a few times till my back would give out. When I put a small goat type nipple on, she went right to town on it.

Rod