Help with cow

Help Support CattleToday:

I had a cow with a kidney infection that presented the same way. Take a good look at the urine when she passes it, mine had small chunks of pus in it. It didn't end well with treatment sadly.
 
Update: Cow wasn't doing good yesterday evening and this morning was dead. I didn't think she was going to die this quick. I don't know if it was infection and the LA didn't get it or what. I did forget to get to a magnet but I don't guess it wouldn't have mattered if she was that bad off. I hate it and it has put me in a bad mood all day.
 
Sorry you lost her. Don't beat yourself up about not putting a magnet in her. Based on your first post it appeared she was on borrowed time regardless.
 
Oooh, so sorry to hear that! And I know it's a helpless feeling when you're surrounded by mud, can't get her loaded, vet not available and of course the holiday weekend.

You could have her posted but that would likely not happen for another couple days.
 
Now I'm trying to get this calf to take a bottle. Its about to big to handle for one person. I did get and it just sulled and wouldn't suck. I held it in the head gate first and it wouldn't even try. I thought it may have too much pressure so I caught it and straddled and try to put it in a more natural position still nothing. I poured the milk in a pan this evening but so far nothing. It will nibble on sweet feed so maybe it won't starve to death. I did see it poop a good solid turd and pee
 
You didn't cut her open for a look? I can't bear not to know what caused a death in cases like that when you will often find a really obvious cause. I had one like yours and it turned out she had a necrotic bladder, possibly from trauma during a too-long delivery several weeks beforehand; or maybe it was just infection and it wrecked her bladder. She too got really thin but her belly was full of fluid. Really interesting to cut her open and have a look around, make sure it wasn't the uterus, etc.

I've had to get three or four big calves feeding over the years, the biggest was 11 weeks old. I got in the race with each one, shoved him against the side and held the bottle and teat in his mouth until he swallowed - making sure always the milk was the right temperature, so it didn't put him off. To begin with more went down the outside than in but by the time I'd done that in the race two or three times, the calf was feeding and by the fourth or fifth time only needed to be penned in a small yard to make him see the bottle and by the end of the week would run across the paddock to me at feeding time.

I've never left a calf to work it out for themselves: I've lost a cow, I'm not going to lose a calf as well! All these gained weight about the same as their peers and went off to sale with them when they were weaned. In recent years we've been milking a cow for the house (and these emergencies), so there was "free" milk.
 
It takes a lot of persistence to get an older calf to latch on to the bottle. You may want to try backing it into a corner & straddling. Molasses on the nipple. Goat nipple. Stimulate the behind with a damp washcloth, just like mama would do. Stick your finger in its mouth, see if it latches on then switch to the nipple. Put the nipple in its mouth, hold it in place & stroke its throat.

I would drench a calf before I let it work it out for themselves. And eventually, it will probably rob off another cow.
 
A lot of persistance!
How old is the calf? Weight?
When was he last seen nursing mama?

If hes big enough ya might be able to get him straight to a good calf starter and not have to fool with milk.
When he gets hungry tho, it's usually much easier to get that bottle down him.

Sorry for loss on the cow. That stinks!!
Best of luck with the orphan.
Gotta keep on, keeping on!
 
MurraysMutts said:
A lot of persistance!
How old is the calf? Weight?
When was he last seen nursing mama?

If hes big enough ya might be able to get him straight to a good calf starter and not have to fool with milk.
When he gets hungry tho, it's usually much easier to get that bottle down him.

Sorry for loss on the cow. That stinks!!
Best of luck with the orphan.
Gotta keep on, keeping on!
Click to expand...
The calf sucked Friday. Its a month and half old and freaking strong. She wore my butt out just now. My brother and I worked with her for 30 minutes. We forced a pint down here by squeezing the nipple in her mouth and making her swallow. When I crammed my fingers down her throat she would suck but when the bottle when in she didn't do anything. I don't have one of the tube feeders but I will get one from a neighbor and pour it down. I hate messing with it a whole lot because I know it can get sick but it can also die if it don't eat. I just want to keep it alive and sell it. Bottle calves can get 200 around here
 
bulldog04 said:
MurraysMutts said:
A lot of persistance!
How old is the calf? Weight?
When was he last seen nursing mama?

If shes big enough ya might be able to get her straight to a good calf starter and not have to fool with milk.
When he gets hungry tho, it's usually much easier to get that bottle down him.

Sorry for loss on the cow. That stinks!!
Best of luck with the orphan.
Gotta keep on, keeping on!
Click to expand...
The calf sucked Friday. Its a month and half old and freaking strong. She wore my butt out just now. My brother and I worked with her for 30 minutes. We forced a pint down here by squeezing the nipple in her mouth and making her swallow. When I crammed my fingers down her throat she would suck but when the bottle when in she didn't do anything. I don't have one of the tube feeders but I will get one from a neighbor and pour it down. I hate messing with it a whole lot because I know it can get sick but it can also die if it don't eat. I just want to keep it alive and sell it. Bottle calves can get 200 around here
Click to expand...

Bottle calves are 300 and up here! Lol
I know. I'm looking....

I dont think you are in any danger of the calf starving yet.
Pen it up, if you havnt already. If shes wearing you out, shes got plenty of strength and isnt terrible hungry yet.
If you keep working with it, a light bulb will come on in that calves head. O yeah, that's milk!
Dont let her fill up on hay!! U want her hungry, so when the milk comes, she will decide to suck.
Sometimes it takes a couple days.
Do you have the milk temperature right?
Feeding twice a day? Or thrice?

I agree. Should be no reason to tube feed it.
Sometimes a bucket of milk works too
 
I've dealt with several calves before but they were only a day or two old. These 40 day calves are a completely different animal
 
So the fresh milk replacer I put in the pan was gone. Can't tell if she drank it or my dogs because they got in the corral yesterday. I saw one of my limousin cows letting her calf and another suck her so lightbulb went off. I put her and the calf in the corral with the orphan and thought if she don't mind letting other calves suck maybe she will let this one. Gave them some cubes and poured some sweet feed in the pan. The cow went to eating the cubes and the orphan went after the sweet feed.
 
The calf might try to suck the cow when her own calf goes on her. They have to be hungry enough to do it. If you are planning to sell the calf then make sure it will eat the sweet feed and get it gone. If you are thinking of trying to let the cow try to feed both, then let them stay together for a week or more. Each one is different and that age is a tough one.
It may also be eating the feed because the cow had little or no milk towards the end and the calf was smart enough to realize that the feed was filling an empty belly.
 
I hope the calf takes the cow or bottle for you. I've found with month old calves, if you lock them in a shed for 12 hours, without any food or water,,,as long as it's not over 70 hot out,, then they will take a bottle every time..
 
It wouldn't suck and after 30 minutes of fooling with it I tubed it. Gave it some sweet feed and it went to town on it. I may just put it on grain and be done with it
 
I wouldn't tube feed milk. If it's six weeks old and eating good starter feed it might not grow as good as you want, but it will survive and still make beef.
 

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