Orphan Calf

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CWT Angus

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Okay Experts.. I need your help.
I have a 2 week old bull calf & mom died today. Of course we found her after the feed stores were closed so we milked a couple of the other cows & fed it a bit with a bottle. Wasn't able to get a bunch, but some. He does pick around at the grass & any hay we give him, but probably not enough to sustain him. I'll get the milk replacer tomorrow 1st thing, but how long do you guys figure he needs it?
Mom was vaccinated but had a difficult delivery so something went wrong. ( that's a whole different topic)The calf is strong & healthy & has been the whole time. He had access to all the antibodies we want him to get. He's trying to nurse on a really quiet yearling heifer we have so I think that will be his new buddy. I also have a very docile cow that has a 4 month old calf herself. She tolerated him sniffing around tonight while I had her tied up. Hopefully she will let him get closer tomorrow in the daylight. Do you guys & gals think there is any chance she will mother him?
Thanks so much for your advice.
 
sounds like he is strong enough to steal milk to me. I always feed milk to 8 weeks of age with my bucket calves. most people just go 4-6 weeks. if you feed him 6 weeks that will take him to 8 and he should be fine with just grain and grass at that point. If the cow you are talking about has enough milk, he will steal enough to survive. You can feed him on the bottle and observe to see if he is getting other milk also---good luck
 
also have a very docile cow that has a 4 month old calf herself. She tolerated him sniffing around tonight while I had her tied up. Hopefully she will let him get closer tomorrow in the daylight. Do you guys & gals think there is any chance she will mother him?

Good chance she'll mother him...big question is how's she producing? where she's 4 months post calving, I doubt she's giving enough now to support two calves of those ages/sizes. I'd just figure you have yourself a bottle calf - he probably wouldn't get near enough milk from that cow to grow right. That older calf will get most of the milk and the little guy'll be shorted.

When I put calves on my nurse cow I don't like a wider age difference than 2 weeks between oldest and youngest. Even that's pushing it, and if I don't watch the youngest/smallest one gets shorted. I'll run 4 calves to a cow, so it's important that they're all the same size. An age difference of over 3 months between calves is too much IMO - or at least if they're with her 24/7...if you separated cow and calves you could make sure the younger one got his share, but that'd be more work than just bottle feeding that orphan.
 
I don't see any harm in bottle feeding the calf, and letting him get some of the "mothering" he might need. Seeing as the calf had a rough start, more then less is better at this point.
 
The cow might take him, but I'd bottle feed him to make sure he got what he needed. We usually split the difference in the six to eight week bottle plan by reducing them to one bottle a day at six weeks. You will see the calf starter intake increase dramaticly in the first week of one bottle a day. We also let them out on pasture a few hours a day at six weeks to get them aclamated to the grass. They won't grass scour as bad when you start them out slow. We have good pasture with a lot of clover and they love to pig out on it. They can squirt through a screen door if they get too much. He should be fine.
 
We had a twin that the dam would not take. We bottled him for a little while until he was used to it then we turned him out and would call him up with the bottle twice a day. Noticed that he was stealing from several of the cows and quit feeding him. He was the smallest calf that year but made $350, more than enough to pay the up keep of one cow for a year without to much hassle.
 
Thanks Everyone,
They have been on nice green pasture this whole time so he is already used to eating some grass. So supplimenting him with replacer & getting him on starter will work great. Just looked down there now & he is up & grazing. so he made it through the night o.k.
 
Can any of you suggest what type of milk replacer I should get? I know there are different protein & fat levels.
 
I would get the best that the farm store in your area has to offer and make sure it is medicated. It has been discussed here by many people that with milk replacer, you get what you pay for and you never gain ground with a cheap replacer---good luck
 
I like Nutrena. It mixes well and the calves do great on it. The price is good but not cheap. Good quality replacer.
 
Another thought, one of what I do when I have a orphan calf, is I go to a neighboring dairy, and ask for their waste milk. Amazingly enough, all they will do is feed their calves with it, and throw the rest out. I like it because protein and fat content is not a issue! If they agree, remember that excess has to be kept refrigerated until the next feeding. At that point, I warm up the bottle by leaving it in hot water for abt 5-10 minutes. Recommendations: if you have more then one bottle, fill them all up with the milk, and put them in the frig -- this helps you cut down on prep time. (you will need to shake the bottles up a bit to mix everything back up) I have raised quite a few calves like this, and they had less problems health wise in the long run compared to those fed on a milk replacer mix, and seemed to grow better. Good luck!
 
Hey CWT , sorry to hear about your cow dying.
But I hope I am not reading between the lines here..... you keep mentioning that he is eating alot of grass.....well thats fine and good, that means he's hungry.
BUT, underno circumstances thing that will in anyway sustain him for some time to come. The ruman of a 2 week old calf is just no where mature enuogh to be able to convert grass into feed. You ar looking at weeks and maybe even months before he will beable to get a good conversion of grass to protein etc.

The calf stomach is just not set up for anything like that yet. YOU MUST INSURE HE IS GETTING PROPER MILK, either from other cows or bottle or both.
As far as getting milk replacer, I am sure most will agree, buy the very best...gees, for the price that good cattle are bringing today, you would be a fool not too. Buy replacer that has dry milk protwin, and fat in it, NOT soy or vegtable protein, the usual givaway is the tag will state 12percent fat, 20 percent protein= soy. at least 20 percent fat, and at least 20 percent fat, is usually all milk replacer.

Good Luck! :cboy:
 
Yes, I completely understand that he was in need of proper milk, that's why I was so concerned. And you all know these things happen at night when everything is closed. From now on we will always have a supply on hand. All of our cows are out on green pasture & he does pick at it while the others graze.

He is actually doing great, had no problem taking to the bottle & chased me down for it this morning. He is at good weight. Tell me this, the instructions say no more than 4 pints (1 bottle) twice daily. Does this sound about right to all of you? He still wants more when it's empty. I was concerned about giving him scours. He also knows how to drink his water from the trough.
 
1 bottle twice a day is enough for him an its great that he is so easy to bottle id keep him on the bottle 8wks or untill he is eating 5lbs of feed a day or weans himself from the bottle scott
 
milk replacer wiil draw moisture and turn rock hard if you arent using it. i dont bottle feed calves anymore except for when i have a problem. i have found a very good way to keep the calf starter is to get a cooler at walmart----one of those red or blue or whatever color coolers, heavy plastic coated, not just the light styrofoam. get one that has a hinged lid that shuts and snaps shut so that it is air tight. you can pour a 25 lb bag of milk replacer in it and the air doesnt get to it and neither do the insects or dogs or varmints. it will keep a very long time in a cooler without spoiling.
 
CWT Angus":xxqmdifd said:
Tell me this, the instructions say no more than 4 pints (1 bottle) twice daily. Does this sound about right to all of you? He still wants more when it's empty. I was concerned about giving him scours. He also knows how to drink his water from the trough.

If you gave a bottle calf all of the replacer it wanted you'ld have to be Ted Turner to afford feeding it. They're con artists and will alwasy try to mooch. I think it has to do with two big meals a day instead of a dozen little ones, but I'm just surmising.
Belief it or not, the companys that make milk replacer, reputable ones anyway, know what they're doing. It's probably a awaste of money to give them more per day then is called for. Dairys have been raising calves this way for years and tehy're calves turn out well. Just keep in miond that he's going to need grain that a calf nursing his mother won;t need. And that runs well past weaning time.

dun
 
stocky":3m7zouc7 said:
milk replacer wiil draw moisture and turn rock hard if you arent using it.

Hmmmm, haven't had that problem, but then again, Wyoming is not known for its humidity. I have about a 1/3 - 1/2 of a bag of milk replacer sitting in my entry room from the summer of 2004 that is just like it was the day it was bought. I wonder if that is the exception to the rule or if it's just the climate? It sure came in handy with our miracle calf this spring, so whatever the reason it didn't get hard, I'm glad it didn't.
 
We have been in this shape before when we had no milk replacer in the middle of the night to feed a calf who was needing it. We always keep some on hand now. To our suprise our local walmart carries milk replacer for calfs. We live by a small town which has alot of cattle people to cater to.
Greenwillows Wife
 
thats one thing i like about home depot over lowes. we just got both in my small town (booming apparently) and i was pleased to see home depot carrying livestock supplies.
 

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