sickly moma cow & injured calf

[Anonymous]

Hi. I have a Charolais cow who is very skinny and shows very little interest in food. she calved about 4 months ago & has looked this way since the birth, although her milk sack looks ok. this past weekend, her calf scraped its leg up and is limping. now, the mother cow will not let the calf nurse. So, I have a 2 part question. how to help the moma & the baby... please help with any advice.
<br>
<br><hr size=4 width=75%><p>


[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

First you have to rule out sickness with the cows poor appitite. Take her temperature and medicate if required. If she is not fevered it's likely a mineral imbalance or rumen upset. A blood test can help in the case of certian mineral deficiencies.<p>As for the calf, if the cow has enough milk you'll need to physically restrain her for the calf to suck. If she is short on milk because of her condition, bottle feed the calf and let her dry up to speed her recovery. <p>Not knowing how you feed, or where you are located limits the information I can suggest, but I would assume this is a nutritional problem, or at least agravated by one.<p>Jason Trowbridge<br>Southern Angus Farms<br>Alberta Canada
<br>
<br><hr size=4 width=75%><p>


[email protected]