> I haven't checked the Cattle Today
> board in a while and I noticed
> that there was more advice from
> you. The calf didn't make it,,,,,,
> but I have a plan to prevent it
> from happening again. The whole
> problem began with me not having a
> place to hold the cow still long
> enough to let the calf suck or to
> milk her myself and bottle feed.
> I'm in the process now of building
> a chute with a head gate that will
> allow me to hem the cow up and do
> whatever I need to do. I've been
> wanting to do this for a long
> time, but it's sad that I waited
> until I lost a calf to do it. Next
> time I'll be ready,,,, thanks
> again for all the helpful advice.
> Tommy
For future reference: If you don't get that colostrum (first milk out of the cow after calving.. the yellow colored milk) into the newborn calf within the first 24 hours of life..at least one gallon in the first 24 hours, then you will likely have immunity problems with the calf...their immune system comes from the natural antibodies in the mothers milk. there are studies that have shown longterm negative effects in calves that did not get colostrum as a newborn. i have even tube fed it to the calf before, when they wouldn't suck. i am not suprised that the calf did not survive for this very reason. also, i will comment on what someone else said about exposing the calf to other cows. this is true. however, the most important part of this is that when a young calf is exposed to other cattle, they get inoculated with certain bacteria (transferred from the other cattle) that are important for proper rumen development and digestion. if they are not inoculated with certain bacteria, they will have a hard time digesting solid feeds. if you cannot expose them to other cattle, you can buy a probiotic paste from the feed store that contains the bacteria that you need to inoculate the rumen of the young calf. this paste is also good for cattle that have gone of feed for several days due to sickness. the bacteria population in the rumen starts to die down when animals don't eat much. starting calves on a roughage at a young age (as soon as they will eat it) is also a very good idea. if the calf is not offered any roughage, the rumen will not develop properly or may be stunted in development.
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