I fell for something I don't usually fall for. I got a lead on a dairy that was selling bull calves for a good price. I talked to the guy and he started calling me with every bull calf that hit the ground. The first ones I got from him were the stuff. Eat well, fiesty, good calves. Then the last five I got started off great and then started getting sick. Lost 3 so far. I have raised 96% of all the bottle calves I've had. I started thinking why can't I raise these calves anymore? I was really wearing myself out over it. I was about to quit raising bottle calves when someone who knew him told me that the calves I was buying never saw the cow. He was giving them 1 feeding of store bought colostrum. I am sure that is the problem. I think the store bought crap don't have everything they need to begin with, they don't get it fed to them enough in the first 12 hours and then it plays out on them in a weeks time. I have only lost one I bought at the sale barn in the last 18 months. What do you think? Can I be right about this or is it something I'm doing wrong all of a sudden?
I got stupid
- Thread starter ctlbaron
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Crowderfarms
Well-known member
I'd say the Calves not getting Colostrum was a lot of the problem. The dried Colostrum, in my opinion, is for emergencies, and not near as effective as the Cow's. I don't quite understand why dairies don't let the Calves get a little more from the Cows. I've always been told they are'nt supposed to milk a Cow that just had a calf, for a short time, but I've seen it done. I know they want to get the Cow back into production right away, but it would help the calf to let it stay on the Cow for a little longer, instead of collecting them the minute they hit the ground. Just my opinion. I'm no dairyman.
ctlbaron
Well-known member
He ain't either Crowder. If I thought he was milking the colostrum into the holding tank I would have to consider turning him in. Nobody has to be in that kind of a hurry to get a cow back on the milk line. I was buying them from a man who wouldn't let you have them until they were 4 days old. He said they needed at least 3 days with the cow and he could be sure the milk was cleaned up good. I never lost a calf from his farm. I probably got 30 from him last year. Never gave a shot or a scour tablet.
Dusty Britches
Well-known member
I wouldn't say you got stupid. I'd say you got had. What did this guy do with heifer calves?
ctlbaron
Well-known member
He's got a field full of heifers about 500lbs. The baby heifer calves are in a shed near the calving lot. I'll check back with the man that gave me the info about the store bought colostrum and see if he keeps them on the cow.
bigbull338
Well-known member
ive milked cows for 28yrs. ive always left the calf on cow 3 or 4 days. but it slowed getting the cow online. so it takes 8 days to get them going in the bulk tank. scott
preston39
Well-known member
ctlbaron,
Sounds like you have a good hook up.
Have you told him the problem you are experiencing? Ask the dairyman for some of mom's milk as a calf starter. See what he says. Why wouldn't it be available.She can't hold the milk for five days...the milk has got to go somewhere.
I probably wouldn't want a calf until he is 4-5 days old unless I KNEW the first 24 hr history. Give a vet the history...you may have picked up a bug.
I remember from my child days when we sold grade A milk...a freshened cow kept the calf for 5 days. What milk he didn't take we strip milked and fed to the hogs. That was the rule for new milk...I don't think it has changed.
Sounds like you have a good hook up.
Have you told him the problem you are experiencing? Ask the dairyman for some of mom's milk as a calf starter. See what he says. Why wouldn't it be available.She can't hold the milk for five days...the milk has got to go somewhere.
I probably wouldn't want a calf until he is 4-5 days old unless I KNEW the first 24 hr history. Give a vet the history...you may have picked up a bug.
I remember from my child days when we sold grade A milk...a freshened cow kept the calf for 5 days. What milk he didn't take we strip milked and fed to the hogs. That was the rule for new milk...I don't think it has changed.
ctlbaron
Well-known member
I'm not so sure its a good hook up anymore. I'm not used to loosing them. I've been on a farm just about all my life and pride in raising them with great results. When you have a run like this one it gets you so disgusted to lose 1 let alone 3 it makes you question the source. I haven't changed a thing about the way I raise them.
I get mine as soon as they've had their second feeding of colostrum. Might mean they're only a little over 12 hours old. I haven't lost one that I bought this way.
My boss doesn't keep the calves on the cow...sometimes that cow's bag is so big (and low) there's no way the calf could find where to drink. Just isn't going to happen. We bottle feed all of them to make sure they've had their colostrum, even if we've seen them nurse. Usually give the cow time after calving before milking her, then milk goes in the bucket - not the milk tank - for a few milkings until her milk clears up.
As a side note, if the calves are allowed to drink off the cow sometimes they won't drink from a bottle for several feedings. It's fine if they're going straight to a nurse cow, but if you want to bottle feed them...look out. You've got your work cut out for you. That's part of our reason for bottle feeding/tubing every calf rather than letting them nurse.
My boss doesn't keep the calves on the cow...sometimes that cow's bag is so big (and low) there's no way the calf could find where to drink. Just isn't going to happen. We bottle feed all of them to make sure they've had their colostrum, even if we've seen them nurse. Usually give the cow time after calving before milking her, then milk goes in the bucket - not the milk tank - for a few milkings until her milk clears up.
As a side note, if the calves are allowed to drink off the cow sometimes they won't drink from a bottle for several feedings. It's fine if they're going straight to a nurse cow, but if you want to bottle feed them...look out. You've got your work cut out for you. That's part of our reason for bottle feeding/tubing every calf rather than letting them nurse.
...oh, we're talking dairy cows here. :lol: I wouldn't buy an cow for a nurse cow whose bag was that low, but some of the really high producing dairy animals do have a bag that gets below their hocks...and then lower, and lower... Drops lower each lactation. They are more prone to mastitis, but don't appear to be any more prone to getting their bags cut up than those cows with a tiny bag. Seen a few lately that cut themselves; maybe the cows with a tiny bag forget it's there. LOL. Cows with a really big bag don't ever forget, and most seem really really careful.
I agree with pretty much everyone here..my first job was on a dairy and when the cows had a calf we put them in the bucket right away then fed her milk to the baby for 3 days is what i want to say but it might have been 4 days either way theres no reason to buy store bought colostrum when its free from the cow...just my 2 pennies
TheBullLady
Well-known member
Just for the sake of argument.. it could be that one of the last calves brought a "bug" of some sort into your barn when you got him. Once you get one in, they are very hard to get rid of. I raised bottle calves for years in Illinois.. from the auction barn and from dairys. I agree they should be getting colostrum, and don't understand why the dairyman wouldn't be letting them have it for a couple of days, but still something to consider.
ctlbaron
Well-known member
I considered that Bullady. I completely sanitized the shed from the ground to the cealing. Used bleach and 99% IPA alcohol. Kept them out for 3 days and did it again. I had them in a different shed. I put the next batch of calves in a shed that had been sanitized and had never had a calf from that farm in it. Same results, fine for a few days and then the same problem. I lost another one last night. I'm done with that farm. Vet says he thinks it is "rhodacorona virus." I don't have a clue how to spell it. He said calves that are pulled from the cow that way should be vaccinated with that and ecoli within 12 hours of birth or most of them won't make it on synthetic colostrum. He did say that the colostrum from cows varies greatly from cow to cow. Some is good and some might as well be pure milk. At any rate I never had this problem before.
