This is not really a question. Just going to relay my personal experience in hopes it may help someone since I have seen hundreds of bottle calf questions on this board.
My neighbor (who really shouldn't have cattle) called me Saturday and told me he had a three day old calf that he didn't think had every nursed (cow had huge teats).
Anyway, cow turned out to be tiger so we took her to the sale barn and my wife (being the compasionate kind) wanted to bottle feed the calf.
Now we have had many bottle calves over the years, so we are not really what I would call a novice. This calf would not suck and showed zero interest in eating. In fact, if you tried to restrain him (head between your knees) he would thrash around like a fish out of water. It was so bad, my wife fed him most times while he was laying on the ground. Anyway, long story short, it took five days but he has finally learned that the bottle is his friend and if he sucks good things will happen.
The calf did a complete 180 overnight. Last night he was up to his old tricks, flopping around, refusing to swallow, clinching the nipple between his teeth so the milk wouldn't come out of the oversize hole I had made figuring he would learn to swallow or drown.
This morning when I walked out of the house, he came running to the gate and I no more got the bottle close to him and he went to town, sucking like and old pro.
Anyway, who knows what might the light come on, but it did. So I guess the real lesson here is to be patient.
ekyle
My neighbor (who really shouldn't have cattle) called me Saturday and told me he had a three day old calf that he didn't think had every nursed (cow had huge teats).
Anyway, cow turned out to be tiger so we took her to the sale barn and my wife (being the compasionate kind) wanted to bottle feed the calf.
Now we have had many bottle calves over the years, so we are not really what I would call a novice. This calf would not suck and showed zero interest in eating. In fact, if you tried to restrain him (head between your knees) he would thrash around like a fish out of water. It was so bad, my wife fed him most times while he was laying on the ground. Anyway, long story short, it took five days but he has finally learned that the bottle is his friend and if he sucks good things will happen.
The calf did a complete 180 overnight. Last night he was up to his old tricks, flopping around, refusing to swallow, clinching the nipple between his teeth so the milk wouldn't come out of the oversize hole I had made figuring he would learn to swallow or drown.
This morning when I walked out of the house, he came running to the gate and I no more got the bottle close to him and he went to town, sucking like and old pro.
Anyway, who knows what might the light come on, but it did. So I guess the real lesson here is to be patient.
ekyle
