new born calf will not drink from bottle

[Anonymous]

HI , I have a new born calf , that I am not sure if it has drank off of its mother . they both were out in pasture and as soon as we found the calf we tried to get it to drink but it just plays with the bottle and nipple . We bought a feeding tube and need some suggestions on how to use it . We are worried about dumping milk into the lungs . It has a bag attached on the end and a long tube with a blue ball at the end that goes into the calf's mouth .Any suggestions would be helpful . Thankyou.

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[Anonymous]

Why would you assume the calf hasn't nursed? Has the mother got a poor udder, swing bag or baloon teats? If the udder is normal the calf has likely nursed. A new born calf that rejects milk from a bottle almost always has already nursed.

If the cow has a bad udder then tube the calf if you really feel he hasn't nursed. Keep the tube to the left side of the calf's mouth and slowly push it into the stomach. Let the calf swallow or chew it's way down.

Jason Trowbridge Southern Angus Farms Alberta Canada

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[Anonymous]

The ball at the end of the tube is there so that you can feel the tube going down the calf's throat. You will want to push the tube down the CALF'S left. You should be able to feel the ball going down. If you can't feel it, or if you are feeling resistance, like the tube's not going down good, pull up and try again. You may also want to lubricate the tube with water, or some other water solyuable (sp) product. And also, if the calf is coughing, you are most likely in the lungs..some people don't attatch the milk to the tube until after they're sure of not being in the lungs..if you try doing it like that, just put the tube down the throat, and once it's down, listen/feel for any breathing, air, coughing ect. and then attach if you don't. Good luck