milk replacer

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It is a bit of a coin toss I think. Some nurse cows seem to take to their jobs rather readily. Some may require coaxing. Hobbles may be needed or maybe hold in place/stanchion, with a rear leg tied ,till she gets the idea. Sort of like what you might do with an ornry milk cow (at least to you get fed up and send her down the road). The trick is to get them to bond if at all possible. Try to work out a routine, as we know, cows like routines. I do not know if I was just plain lucky or the cow had a sense of humor but I wiped a nurse cow down real well with a bath towel then rubbed the calf all overl with the same towel. I was trying to transfer some recognizable smell to the calf. Anyway, the calf didn't miss any meals. I have read of folks skinning a stillborn calf and layin the hide on an orphan calf...same basic idea I suppose. Good luck.
 
If you have the orphan calves already, get some afterbirth and rub them down with it when the new calf comes.

Otherwise, milk the cow out of all excess milk and put the milk in a bucket. Get a sponge, put it in the milk bucket, rub that milk all over the orphans. Let it dry well such that the cow doesn't mistake an orphan for her natural calf.

Personally I think its best to make a nurse cow right from the beginning. The nurse cow I have was forced to take on additional calves right from the get go. She accepts it.

I have an angus cow who calves in the fall, right about the time you are weaning spring calves. She does not have much of an udder at all and will let anything nurse her. If she loses a calf (which has been about 50% of the time) I can put another on her. No problem, except I have to isolate her in her own pasture to keep her from hursing several. I wish she had an udder. I wish she didn't have so many still borns.
 
Just to give an update on my original question....

I decided to go ahead and use up the Nurse Chow #200, since I already had it. Sure enough about 4 days into it, I started noticing loose brownish-white stools in their stalls. I then switched over to the Nurse chow #100 - no SOY!, and within 48 hours no more loose stools. It is now this stinky black tar s**t, but I guess that is better than scouring. So i am now definitely going to stay with the non soy.
 

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