Tom D":3nihdryy said:msscamp":3nihdryy said:Sounds like you've got problems. A cow does not produce colostrum past about 48 hours after calving and a calf cannot utilize the antibodies in the colostrum past 24 hours. Based on your post, I'm thinking this calf has not received any colostrum and the chances of he/she doing well are substantially diminished because of that. The sooner you can get colostrum down them, the better they can utilize the antibodies in it.
Well, thanks for telling me so I know at least. I did get her to feed off her mother today. It only took 10 minutes to get her in the chute using a cube or two as bait vs. over an hour of trying to force her in like yesterday.
You're welcome, I'm just sorry to be the bearer of such news. I would imagine each time will get easier, as there is a reward system of sorts - Cow goes in chute, pressure is relieved in her udder. She'll figure that out fairly quickly.
Watching that tail wag while she sucked the milk down was almost rewarding enough to make up from being peed on and pooped on while helping her nurse.... almost.
That tail wagging goes a long ways towards making a lot of things worthwhile! ;-) :lol:
One day old calf can't walk
- Thread starter Tom D
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
Tom D
Member
Sorry to bump this but I just wanted to post an update. I work my "day job" Friday - Sunday and I am gone from 5am to 7pm so no time for computer, calf or much more of anything other than sleep. Luckily dad took care of her while I was gone.
From what dad says, she is a lot stronger and can stand and drink from its mother at will. It can even walk/run, but it is still bunny hopping (both back legs moving at the same time). I am wondering if that is so much because of a physical problem or if that is gone and the calf does that cause that is how it learned to walk in the first place. From what he says, she can really go fast like that so it doesn't appear to be slowing it down anyfor now.
She also seems to be pretty tame. That is a good thing. It makes handling her much easier.
From what dad says, she is a lot stronger and can stand and drink from its mother at will. It can even walk/run, but it is still bunny hopping (both back legs moving at the same time). I am wondering if that is so much because of a physical problem or if that is gone and the calf does that cause that is how it learned to walk in the first place. From what he says, she can really go fast like that so it doesn't appear to be slowing it down anyfor now.
She also seems to be pretty tame. That is a good thing. It makes handling her much easier.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
If you didn't see her born, they may have had a long birth, damaging some nerves.
But, like Dun, I am a broken record - I STRONGLY recommend selenium. (BoSe for babies - MuSe for older - same product just different concentration.)
I give 4 cc of BoSe per/100#. Cornell once tried to OD an animal with selenium and COULDN'T!
Now, I'm not saying it isn't toxic, you do need to be careful. After giving the 4/100# at birth, if I have a slow calf, we give another 1cc SQ every day until the calf is acting normal.
Also, we give A&D at birth and dip the naval.
This calf would be a candidate for an early vaccination program, because it did not get the colostrum prior to 24 hours old - this is the only way they get immunities is colostrum prior to 24 hours (1 hour is BEST). Doesn't mean they are going to up & die on you, but their resistance to ANY disease is nil.
But, like Dun, I am a broken record - I STRONGLY recommend selenium. (BoSe for babies - MuSe for older - same product just different concentration.)
I give 4 cc of BoSe per/100#. Cornell once tried to OD an animal with selenium and COULDN'T!
Now, I'm not saying it isn't toxic, you do need to be careful. After giving the 4/100# at birth, if I have a slow calf, we give another 1cc SQ every day until the calf is acting normal.
Also, we give A&D at birth and dip the naval.
This calf would be a candidate for an early vaccination program, because it did not get the colostrum prior to 24 hours old - this is the only way they get immunities is colostrum prior to 24 hours (1 hour is BEST). Doesn't mean they are going to up & die on you, but their resistance to ANY disease is nil.
Cdavis
Member
Hiya, everyone...I'm TJ's ("Tom D's") little sister :roll:, and I just wanted to say thanks for all the concern and advice you gave us on our little calf. I didn't have much to do with her until March so I don't know how many of your suggestions that he looked into, but still I appreciate it. She was just a little calf doomed from the start, I guess. All of the people we asked around here told us to euthanize her and get it over with, that there was no healing to be done in the poor thing. We didn't have the heart to do it. We loved her very much -- she was my "little sister" -- and we just couldn't. Despite almost no improvement, we had hope for her up until the end. She was four months old when she passed away the day before Easter. We never knew why -- there weren't any obvious reasons. She had seemed just as alert and healthy as she ever did just the day before. One of our guesses was that it had something to do with her right side, which had grown irregularly because she was lying on it for at least 20 hours a day for four months. But we'll never know for sure, I guess. All the same, nature had the courage to do what we didn't. But that doesn't mean I miss the little bugger any less.
TJ said she was tame. Hehe, she was a bit more than that -- she loved us!! She would always rub and scratch her head against our legs, but when her horns started coming in that got painful. :shock: And you could scratch her right flank and rub her navel stump and she'd get this really distant look and start licking her lips. She would lick your face if you got close enough to her, and her tail would start wagging whenever she saw us coming to her.
She was a good little girl and a very special experience for all of us here. She will be missed always.
TJ said she was tame. Hehe, she was a bit more than that -- she loved us!! She would always rub and scratch her head against our legs, but when her horns started coming in that got painful. :shock: And you could scratch her right flank and rub her navel stump and she'd get this really distant look and start licking her lips. She would lick your face if you got close enough to her, and her tail would start wagging whenever she saw us coming to her.
She was a good little girl and a very special experience for all of us here. She will be missed always.
We all go through these trying times. I had an orphaned calf that I bottle fed for a few months. During a bad storm all the cows got in the barn and since she didn't have a mother to protect her she got crushed. It is a sad time, but amazingly we get over it and continue, especially when the next calf is born. Good luck in the future. Continue to love and cherish them.
Nursed a calf for months and it turned out he had a bad valve/hole in his heart. Wife called him Malcolm (no idea why). At the old farm there is a place we refer to as Malcolm flats. That's one of the drawbacks to nursing them. If they kkep trying you can;t help but get attached to them.
dun
dun
