New Mom Cow... Need to know When to bottle feed?

[cah]

Hi ... we are very new to the cattle business. First time with baby's . We have done very well in the past with momma's taking care of their babies but this time not so sure. We have a male calf that is pretty big. He is a week old today, seems to be nursing a lot. When he nurses he seems to really dry out the udder. I just can't tell if he is getting enough. Is there anything out there to make the momma have more milk.? I put a call into our vet but have not heard back yet. The calf is active, but looks really skinny. Just seems to not be getting enough milk. How ofter should a week old calf nurse?

Thanks

 

[Alice]

What breed of calf is it? If it's holstein, then they tend look a little thin anyway. And if the calf is a week old and has nursed mom this whole time, I'm afraid you might have a bit of a hard time making it take a bottle.

You might feed the mother cow more.

Let us know what the vet says when he calls back, will ya'?

Alice

 

[cah]

The breed is Angus. It is 82 degress here today and I have noticed the momma has not ate as much as ussual. I will try to give her some more feed tonight and see how that goes. Thank you for your replys

 

[Ryder]

How does the calf look? Does he look well fed or very thin and dehydrated? I would go by how he looks.

 

[Bez>]

Available option - sell them as a cow calf pair and be done with the trouble and expense. Use the funds to buy something that works.

Otherwise spend additional money, time, effort and trouble to bottle feed. Bottle feeding can be done at anytime you chose to do it - provided the little pain in the asss decides to co-operate.

Regards,

Bez>

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

A cows genetic potential for milking determines how much milk she should be able to produce. But, nutrition plays a major role in her being able to meet her genetic potential. What are you feeding the cow. Is she on good green pasture?
What body condition is she in? Can you see her ribs, hip bones, spine? Or if she's still carrying winter hair, can you FEEL her spine? If so, she may be too thin to produce much milk. That is the biggest thing with "newbies". They cannot look at the beautiful animal and realize that she is thin.
If she is not thin, and she is getting normal adequate nutrition, she's a cull. The only reason to have a cow around is for her to provide enough milk to raise a good calf. If she is not providing the milk, she should be shipped & replaced with something else.