Orphaned Calf Help!

[marksmu]

We lost our first cow yesterday...she got her head caught in a land plane and we were not able to free her before she died....she was nursing a 3 week old heifer calf. The calf is about 150lbs or so now. We caught the calf and I trailed her back to the house....I dont live on the ranch, and cant be there to feed her daily...I have a small catch at my office where I am currently feeding out 2 steers...I brought the calf here, and I tried to give her milk replacer....no dice. She wont touch the stuff, and will not stay calm enough for me to try to just let her give it a try. I tried feeding her in the trailer as well without me being in there with her...she would sniff the bottle, but would not drink...I drizzled some on her nose and all over the nipple, but she wont drink. I tackled her and held her down and shoved the nipple in her mouth, but that panicked her too much to drink...She is now out of the trailer again in the small round pen with the two steers.

She has free choice hay, and I am currently feeding a dry mix to the steers that consists of corn/alfalfa pellets and oats...I am contemplating going to get a 20' chainlink dog run that I can hold her in so that I can try to feed her again....

Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle this? I have a round pen, 2 extra panels, 2 trailers with dividers...and access to anything I need to buy.

Can she be weaned now, should I split her off from the other two during feeding time so she doesnt eat any grain? Should I try to tube her to get more milk in her? I am at a loss for things to do at this point...its the first time anything has gone majorly south on us...

Any suggestions are MORE than appreciated at this point...

She is drinking water, and she nibbled some hay and some alfalfa pellets this morning, but I am afraid that the grain is going to scour her quick.

 

[I luv herfrds]

When we started to bottle feed a calf the little stinker will fight you hard, but if she is hungry enough she will start to drink.
I back them in a corner get a hold of their heads shove the nipple in their mouths then I push on their chin to mimic the sucking motion. Tip the head up so the milk runs to the back of her throat, they swallow.
The nipples we have the holes are too small so I cut a "X" in the top bigger so the milk comes out quicker.
also see if there is anyone around you that might have a milk cow or a dairy. Real milk is better then the replacer, but if that is all you got then it will work.

Yes she can be weaned, but she will not grow as well.
I wouldn't tube her if she is at least drinking water.

 

[cmf1]

I've had good luck straddling them over the shoulders pulling the head into my gut and shoving the nipple in.
Make sure you're back is to a wall or obstacle so that they can't back out of your grip if they're real gamey.
One hand shoving the bottle in and the other under the chin or jowls.

 

[marksmu]

Should I keep her away from the grain/dry mix that the steers are getting? I am going back there every couple hours and just walking into the pen to get her used to me coming/going without hurting her...

I am going to try again with the bottle this evening...the morning feeding was another failure.

 

[Suzie Q]

The easiest would be to get a milking cow and put her on that. I do that with the crush (squeeze chute). I can open the bottom and get the calf to drink on the udder. It is even easier if the cow has its own calf as the other calf sucking will start them off. Do this for a couple of days to get the calf to have her smell. Lock the calves away from the calf and feed twice a day so as they are hungry when you are there.

Then move to a smaller yard and keep the new calf on the older teat, be there to stop her turning around, but make sure you are safe. If all goes well you then let them out and she will nurse both calves.

Other than that how about offering it the milk in a bucket and by pass the bottle?

 

[1982vett]

The easiest would be to get a milking cow and put her on that. I do that with the crush (squeeze chute). I can open the bottom and get the calf to drink on the udder. It is even easier if the cow has its own calf as the other calf sucking will start them off. Do this for a couple of days to get the calf to have her smell. Lock the calves away from the calf and feed twice a day so as they are hungry when you are there.

Then move to a smaller yard and keep the new calf on the older teat, be there to stop her turning around, but make sure you are safe. If all goes well you then let them out and she will nurse both calves.

Other than that how about offering it the milk in a bucket and by pass the bottle?

Easiest way is to make her someone elses problem....get her a salebarn as fast as you can. Put only the time it takes to keep it alive till you can do so. Your time is more valuable elsewhere than the time you will spend on her.

 

[mridgecattleco]

Easiest way is to make her someone elses problem....get her a salebarn as fast as you can. Put only the time it takes to keep it alive till you can do so. Your time is more valuable elsewhere than the time you will spend on her

I agree. But if you wanna keep her, get her on feed. I've had good luck with orphans in the past by putting them on starter feed within 30 days. It's a pain in the rear though!

 

[GMN]

i assume this is a beef calf? Real milk would be best over MR, but if she wont drink bottle tube her until she gets the hang of a bottle, she has to drink, too young to wean

 

[marksmu]

Dont have any other cows I can put on her, they are all the ranch which I do not live at...she is at my office now with only two steers that I have been feeding out....I went out there about 5 yesterday with a friend and I tried everything mentioned above...I caught her, held her down and drenched her with milk from the bottle...she would not take that...I sprayed milk on her, held the nipple in her mouth and moved her jaw up/down...nothing...I plugged her nose and held the nipple in her mouth, nothing...finally I just pried her jaw open and poured about 1 pint down her throat...she did swallow, but she fought the whole process and was bawling the whole time. She got the two steers real worked up too...

Came in this morning and she was eating hay off the large round bale with the two steers....I did not try to force feed her again this morning...she is petrified of me at this point...she bolted as soon as I got out of the truck...I bought some non-medicated milk replacer last night that I am going to put in a bucket to see if she drinks it that way. She ate a bit of grain again this morning...Saw her pee - it was clear, so she is continuing to drink water, and she does not appear to be weak at all...there is still quite a bit of fight in this little girl....

If I cant get her to drink from the bucket I'm out of ideas other than just weaning her completely or sending her to auction....her mom was a real good cow, so I would prefer to keep her, but if she is going to be a runt that can't breed then I might as well ship her...at this point I am going to keep trying everything mentioned...

I figure if I leave her be for a few days and just offer food, she will trust me enough to get near me again...then maybe I have a better chance...Also looked at my paperwork, and she was born 6/1...so she is about 4.5 weeks old, not 3 as I mentioned before.

 

[Caustic Burno]

The easiest would be to get a milking cow and put her on that. I do that with the crush (squeeze chute). I can open the bottom and get the calf to drink on the udder. It is even easier if the cow has its own calf as the other calf sucking will start them off. Do this for a couple of days to get the calf to have her smell. Lock the calves away from the calf and feed twice a day so as they are hungry when you are there.

Then move to a smaller yard and keep the new calf on the older teat, be there to stop her turning around, but make sure you are safe. If all goes well you then let them out and she will nurse both calves.

Other than that how about offering it the milk in a bucket and by pass the bottle?

Easiest way is to make her someone elses problem....get her a salebarn as fast as you can. Put only the time it takes to keep it alive till you can do so. Your time is more valuable elsewhere than the time you will spend on her.

Amen to that unless you have a nurse cow to graft her to. BS to the bottle those days are long gone. I would give one away and have rather than bottle feed one.

 

[alisonb]

I caught her, held her down and drenched her with milk from the bottle...she would not take that...I sprayed milk on her, held the nipple in her mouth and moved her jaw up/down...nothing...I plugged her nose and held the nipple in her mouth, nothing...finally I just pried her jaw open and poured about 1 pint down her throat...she did swallow, but she fought the whole process and was bawling the whole time. She got the two steers real worked up too...

You will get absolutely no where fighting her, the key words here are 'patience' and gently does it - you have to win her trust! I can't see where anyone advised you to hold her down, drench her, spray her, plug her nose or pour the milk down her throat. Pouring milk down the throat could lead to milk on the lungs and other complications. I luv herfrds and others gave good advice.
Try and get her to take to a bucket (of real milk) or sell her.

 

[djinwa]

What seems obvious to us is not to the calf. We understand what the bottle and nipple is for. She sees someone shoving a rubber thing in her mouth. Doesn't make sense to her especially if she's used to what a real udder feels like.

She should be able to drink, so as you mention, maybe see if she can drink some milk replacer.

Also, get grain/pellets with high protein, designed for baby calves, like Calf Manna.

The better quality the milk replacer (all milk ingredients) and grain/pellets, the better she'll do.

 

[marksmu]

She drank a very small amount of milk replacer from the bucket this morning...she is eating the ration that I am giving the steers though, and she is consuming hay. While out this morning she had a bowel movement, and the consistency was good...there were detectable amounts of digested grass, and remnants of corn...she is not quite as scared of me at the moment, so maybe in a few more days she will have calmed down enough to let me approach with the nipple again.

For the time being I guess I am going to keep giving the bucket of milk replacer, and feed. I can not give anything medicated because I do not have the facilities to separate her from the steers, so anything I give her must not have any slaughter withdraw period...the steers only a month or so from slaughter at this point.

 

[alisonb]

Here are two links on rumen development that you may find interesting.
http://www.heifermax.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/rumen-development1.pdf
http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2000/April/Cattle_Today88.shtml.

 

[marksmu]

Probably my final update unless something changes...the little heifer calf has made it now for over a week. She lost weight for a few days, but she is now gaining again....she appears to be filling back out,and is eating well...

She still does not totally trust me, but she no longer freaks out when I come in to to feed them....I think she will make it at this point. Whether or not she ends up severely stunted only time will tell....I am going to keep her in this small pen with free choice hay/water and twice daily feedings for a couple more weeks...She came into the pen on the 4th, and I think Ill release her from the pen as officially able to fend for herself on the 23rd....

She never did take any milk replacer, and she never did drink much from the bucket when I tried that route. A tough start in life for sure, but she is going to make it, and that makes me feel good....she probably would have made it if I just left her at the ranch, but that was not a chance I was willing to take.

 

[backhoeboogie]

The easiest would be to get a milking cow and put her on that. I do that with the crush (squeeze chute). I can open the bottom and get the calf to drink on the udder. It is even easier if the cow has its own calf as the other calf sucking will start them off. Do this for a couple of days to get the calf to have her smell. Lock the calves away from the calf and feed twice a day so as they are hungry when you are there.

Then move to a smaller yard and keep the new calf on the older teat, be there to stop her turning around, but make sure you are safe. If all goes well you then let them out and she will nurse both calves.

Other than that how about offering it the milk in a bucket and by pass the bottle?

Easiest way is to make her someone elses problem....get her a salebarn as fast as you can. Put only the time it takes to keep it alive till you can do so. Your time is more valuable elsewhere than the time you will spend on her.

Amen to that unless you have a nurse cow to graft her to. BS to the bottle those days are long gone. I would give one away and have rather than bottle feed one.

If I am going to do one, I am going to put up chutes and do ten of them. Drop bottles in the racks, run them in their chutes, and close the gates. Its a twice a day commitment that goes on forever it seems.

Like others have said, I get them in a chute, straddle them, back them up to a chute wall, hold their heads up and they either swallow and we have a day long stand off. I am more stubborn than the worst of 'em. I've done hundreds and never tube fed one yet. Once she does start to nurse, gradually relax the pressure you have on your hold. She'll be your best friend in no time.