new mom, new calf

[kckattle]

I am a complete newbie here on raising a calf. He mother had a medical problem and was unable to nurse her so our neighbor knew we were interested in having cows on our 10 acres and this calf is just the begining. So here we go.....

When I got this calf on Sunday during her transport which was like 5 mins, she pooped and it was of green/brown and had texture to it. We feed her milk replacement starting that evening, and on Monday morning and night feed her 2 quarts twice a day. Well, my question is her poop has now changed to a yellow/orange cream with no texture other than it looks kind of sticky/slimy.

Is this normal? I am all hyped up and scared that I don't want her to ge scours. From what I was told if she had scours we would know it, there would be no question.

But my main question here is her poop suppose to look like this on milk replacer? Also, I am going to pick her up some calf starter and feed her a coffee cup at lunch time each day to see if she will eat to get her started on grains. Does that sound about right?

She did get a little bit of milk from her mom for the 1st day and 1/2. Also she has been having a very good attitude and has been spunky now that she is settled in her new pen. My husband said she tried to milk of our dog (cute) but dog didn't like it LOL and today when my husband went to go feed her she came to him and wanted the bottle. so all sounds like good signs and she seems to be feeling fine.

Sorry this is long,, being a new mom to a calf is kind of like being a new mom to a child ( i have no kids yet either)

Thanks!

 

[sidney411]

Yes, that sounds like normal milk poop. As long as it's not squirting (yes, I know - sick) out her back end she should be fine.

 

[3MR]

Sounds normal.

Be sure she has access to water as well. I know some people say if she is drinking milk she doesnt need water, but thats not really true.

As far as the starter grain, just put a little out so she has access to it. She wont really eat it for a while and you will just wind up throwing it away. Once she starts to actually eat it you can put more out. Just remember to increase it slowly. Give her some yogurt as well.

I know its late for colostorum, but in hindsight I think I would have given her some right when I got her just to be sure. Hopefully she got a good dose of it from her mother before she had her problems.

As far as I am concerned "Alice" is the resident bottle calf expert. She is always willing to help. I would send her an e-mail with any questions or concerns you might have as the calf develops. There are also several other people on here with vast amount of bottle calf experience that are always willing to assist so I think you are in good company as far as getting your questions answered.

 

[kckattle]

You guys are great here. Thank you for you quick replies.

I did try and give here a supplement of colostrum on the 1st day, I was finding it was hard to get mixed so I decided to use my blender, and darn it, the bottom feel from the blender and the colustrum ended up all over my kitchen. My floor is still sticking to my feet. LOL

I also did some searching on the threads here and came across one that seemed to indicate that orange/yellow poop was a good sign of colosturm passing thru the calf.

I will keep an eye on here for the next few days and make sure she stays health. Also I guess I should be shoveling out this poop so she doesn't walk in it etc. (her pen is about 20x25)

Should I wash her behind where it is attached? or just let if fall off on its own?

Any suggestions are welcome... Thank you all!

 

[3MR]

You can clean her all over. Use a corse wash cloth. It will cut down on the flies and she will like it as it would be what her mother would do.

Definitely need to keep her paddock clean and dry or you will have all kinds of little bugs growing.

 

[Joy in Texas]

I agree with the rest of them. Keep her pen as clean as possible. I always keep a bucket and shovel close by. Go ahead and put plenty of fresh water out, some hay and feed. To help start feeding pellets,put a few in her mouth. She'll get the hang of it.
Her poop is normal. When it starts squirting thats a problem. We can fix that if it happens. Just have some electrolytes on hand. And I would suggest getting some just to be ready. I like to use RE-SORB. It can be fed with the milk replacer.
Good luck !
Joy

 

[Alice]

This is what I would do...and it's just my 2 cents worth.

Don't wait until there is a problem if you can prevent it. Give the calf a shot of vitamin A,E&D and a shot of vitamin b complex.

Keep probios on hand and squirt a dose in his mouth or mix it up in his bottle at least once a day. If probios isn't hand, like 3MR said, use yogurt. I mixes easily in water and/or milk replacer. In fact, I'd mix it in the milk replacer.

Mixing the replacer: The bag says to mix a certain amount of replacer with a certain amount of water. Usually it's 16 oz of replacer (2 cups) with 4 pints of water. I've had really good luck with mixing 2 cups of replacer with between 2 and 3 pints of water. The calf can get whatever other water he needs from what you provide for him...and when he starts drinking water he'll more than likely start nosing around in the calf starter grower which should be available per 3MR's recommendation. The sooner he starts nibbling the calf feed the better for him and the less you'll need to worry about scours. Also, put some hay, like coastal, out for him.

If, God forbid, the calf should scour, immediately give electrolytes, but DO NOT stop giving the replacer. The electrolytes should not be mixed into the replacer...give it at about 2 hour intervals with the milk replacer. Keep the electrolytes going until the calf quits scouring, which could be several days. If the calf balks at the electrolytes, mix some jello powder in it.

If the calf, God forbid, begins to start to cough or gurgle excessively while it's drinking it's bottle, call the vet and see if he'll sell you a small bottle of nuflor. Ask him how to administer it. It's injected, dangit.

And, as 3MR pointed out, keep that pen clean and dry. If you have a way of doing it, move the pen if it should get to a point that you can't clean it properly. Hog panels are wonderful for this kind of thing.

Make sure that calf has shelter out of direct rain and has plenty of shade.

Again, my 2 cents worth...and good luck!

Alice

 

[cattleluvr18]

also, to get him really goin on the grain, hand feed him some. they really enjoy that. but they tend to bite. it just hurts for a little while.