Momma and baby update. Cows.

[TheBurningRedRose]

Thank you Farmerjan for the list of mastitis pathogens and symptoms.

Be careful of leaving any objects around that a calf can 'taste'. They are curious and have a one way mouth. They will eat baling twine in a New York minute that can clog them up and kill them. Is the bottle calf with the cow or separated now?

She is still with momma.

 

[TheBurningRedRose]

Also a awesome update on the calf. I went out this morning and saw baby calf up and about, trying to nurse off momma. She didn't get any milk sadly, but she was also spunky and running around, she even pooped! If she is trying to nurse, maybe she will take the bottle this time rather then having to tube her! We will see.

 

[TheBurningRedRose]

Very nice!
She looks a bit thrifty in that pic!

Yeah, she was sleepy. Lol

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Oh. You've been tubing her. That's good. What kind of milk replacer are you using? Milk based or with soy powder in it?

 

[TheBurningRedRose]

Oh. You've been tubing her. That's good. What kind of milk replacer are you using? Milk based or with soy powder in it?

Milk Based.

 

[TheBurningRedRose]

Yeah, she was sleepy. Lol

Wait I just reread what you wrote. What do you mean she is looking Thrifty? Sorry. :)

 

[Katpau]

Don't tube her any longer than is absolutely necessary. Tubing is hard on them. If she is mouthing things like the plastic you mentioned, it should not be to difficult to convince her to take a bottle. She may take it if you slip the nipple into her mouth and squirt a few drops in, so she recognizes it as food.
With a little calf like her, that is actively searching for food, you can usually get them sucking on your fingers, and then slip the nipple of the bottle in along side your fingers, before pulling your fingers out. There are other tricks to force them into taking the bottle, until they figure things out, but usually those are only necessary on a calf that has lost their mother after sucking on her for a while. It sounds like this calf has never successfully nursed on the cow, so teaching it to take the bottle, should be really easy. Don't try to get her to suck when she still has a full stomach from being tubed. I would separate her from the cow while you work on teaching her to take a bottle.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Katpu has good calf teaching advice. The dairy were I get my bottle heifers said when calves are tubed a lot it sets back their suck reflex because they get hunger relief without sucking. Also, I would not want a calf sucking a mastitis cow. Seems like they don't need the pathogens, especially when they probably did not get much if get any colostrum in the first 12 hours of life and their immune system is not working yet.

 

[wobbie1775]

A sheep/goat nipple might work. And for my bottle calves that struggled to stay latched, I straddle the calf and "more than gently" hold their mouth closed around the nipple. If given the option they sometimes spit the nipple out. This holding method forces it to stay in there a few seconds so they know to start sucking.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

It helps to back the calf into a corner held between your legs and hold their chin.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

If you rub the roof of their mouth with 2 fingers during this it can help trigger the suck reflex.

 

[MurraysMutts]

@TheBurningRedRose

Thrifty=doing well!

Backed into a corner....

 

[TheBurningRedRose]

Suddenly our calf is going downhill. We tried to get milk from momma, and couldn't get any, but her bags are full. They will take momma and calf to the vet today and then go from there. I fear though...sadly, that it may be too late for the calf, today is day three of it being in the world. I guess though that I should have in a sense seen this coming, she did not do well with her first calf. Did okay at first with the second one, cleaning it right away and everything. She cleans it, moos at it, and doesn't lift her leg unless the calf touches her two back teets, and I mean it makes sense, her bag is really big. I hope they can figure it out...but I'm not having my hopes up anymore.

Last update for momma and baby:

Today after they take momma to the vet to drain her, my sister and her wife have decided to let nature take it's course. We will see if baby nurses when momma gets back. Reason being for this is they will be gone for a week on a cruise. We will see what happens, I don't have a lot of hope though sadly, but I can't intervene.

I want to thank everyone giving me the advice, and helping me though. It has taught me a lot and I will use it in the future to the best of my ability for other calves!

 

[MurraysMutts]

Last update for momma and baby:

Today after they take momma to the vet to drain her, my sister and her wife have decided to let nature take it's course. We will see if baby nurses when momma gets back. Reason being for this is they will be gone for a week on a cruise. We will see what happens, I don't have a lot of hope though sadly, but I can't intervene.

I want to thank everyone giving me the advice, and helping me though. It has taught me a lot and I will use it in the future to the best of my ability for other calves!

I seriously hope your not gonna abandon this thread and effort. My god

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

The cow has mastitis in all four. Please offer to buy the calf from these two and bottle raise her yourself. I seriously doubt the calf will live with 'nature's way'.

 

[GoWyo]

Sounds like a dead or nearly dead calf by the time they get back from their cruise. Don't seem like good people to me.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

I hope they have a good time on their cruise while a calf is dying.

 

[TheBurningRedRose]

I seriously hope your not gonna abandon this thread and effort. My god

I'm not, baby is nursing and getting milk. We are in the green.

 

[TheBurningRedRose]

I'm not, baby is nursing and getting milk. We are in the green.

My sister just wants me to step back and let momma and calf have some peace. The last few days has been tube feeding baby twice a day until we took momma to the vet to get her checked one more time. Now we are finally letting momma and baby do things naturally.

 

[wbvs58]

Last update for momma and baby:

Today after they take momma to the vet to drain her, my sister and her wife have decided to let nature take it's course. We will see if baby nurses when momma gets back. Reason being for this is they will be gone for a week on a cruise. We will see what happens, I don't have a lot of hope though sadly, but I can't intervene.

I want to thank everyone giving me the advice, and helping me though. It has taught me a lot and I will use it in the future to the best of my ability for other calves!

Is your sister a lesbian?

Ken