i'm new here - Please help - Down calf -

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She nursed the bottle really really well yesterday had 2 full bottles milk and 1 bottle water, a lot more active, but her tummy has a lot of gas - rumbles when she eats, she did poop and pee this morning but ..... her tummy is tight. She ate almost a full bottle this am. I'm honestly a little worried about the gas ?????? seems I go from one problem to another. Thanks for any help.
 
This may sound dumb but has worked for me in the past. I had a calf that was down, bottle feeding him. He would blow up like a balloon and not want to take the bottle because his tummy was full of gas he couldn't get rid of on his own. When this would happen I would load him up in the back of the truck and drive to town and back and the bumping around got the gas out and he would nurse when we got back home.
 
sidney411":3hy3j2ki said:
This may sound dumb but has worked for me in the past. I had a calf that was down, bottle feeding him. He would blow up like a balloon and not want to take the bottle because his tummy was full of gas he couldn't get rid of on his own. When this would happen I would load him up in the back of the truck and drive to town and back and the bumping around got the gas out and he would nurse when we got back home.

My brother suggested doing this to a young man just starting out in the calf buying/selling business. The kid would buy calves at the sale for clients then hold them at our farm for a day or 2. He brought a couple of calves out that were bloated up, not a lot but still bloated somewhat, to the farm and was in a panic about what he was gonna do with them. My brother told him that when he picked them up in the morning to put them in his trailer and drive down our caleche (sp) road from hades and hit every hole and washed out place there was. I never laughed so hard in my life watching that kid fly down that rutted road, his trailer and big old pick up bouncing to high heaven. Later that week the kid thanked my brother for the advice. Said it worked like a charm. Go figure.

Alice
 
OMG!!! Well I knew that getting her up and working her legs might help. but thanks for the tip, it does make sense, when we humans get bloated - LOL - if we move around it always helps. I'm game to try at least. Doesn't cost a lot, well at the price of gas today, maybe that's not so true.

today's update:

She does seem less bloated today, very active, trying to get up on her own. I stood her up and she actually beared her weight and stood up while I let go of balancing her. Not for very long but about 30 sec, or so. That is still a definite improvement. She did nurse 1/2 bottle this am, I'm trying to be careful and just not let her give too much fluid at a time causing more gas.

I can't thank you all enough for your help. She just might make it in spite of ME yet.
 
Had that happen a few times when we first started in the business.... We would have a calf all bloated up and try to fix it and that wouldn't work so we would load it up and take it to the vet. The vet would come out to the trailer and look at the calf and he would say... There ain't nothin wrong with that calf.... and i'd try and tell him how bloated this calf was when we left home, but i'm not sure he ever believed me... But it seemed to be the trailer ride to town that fixed them, not the vet.. gas is cheaper than the vet most days...
 
\\Hi Bevie, That riding them around in a trailer hauled behind a pick-up, sounds pretty good idea. When people have surgery, sometimes they get gas/ WE give them meds for that, but if they can move or walk that can also help Merry
 

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