Tooth knocked out

[GrandeMadre]

My two month old black Angus calf got one of her teeth knocked out…long story. Prior to, she was eating about 1.5 lbs of grain a day and a good handful of hay twice a day. We were beginning to wean her off the bottle, two feedings a day at about 3/4 of a 2 quart bottle plus grain and hay. We have now gone back to three- 2 quart bottles a day with no grain or hay out of caution. There was no chance of placing the tooth back in like is sometimes done in people. She’s acting like her normal self. Maybe a wee bit lethargic but still up and at it while I’m cleaning her bedding area.

My questions are:
1. Does she need an antibiotic as prophylaxis to prevent infection given how dirty the mouth is?
2. How long should we wait before reintroducing grain and/or hay?

 

[SBMF 2015]

Welcome to CT.
1) no antibiotics needed
2) don’t take anything away from her. She’s fine. Cattle chew with their back teeth not the fronts. Sounds like she is making good progress weaning. Don’t make sudden changes to her diet.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

they fall out starting about one year anyway. watch for actual signs of infection before jumping to antibiotics - they can cause a lot more problems than they help if not needed. calf will be fine with missing tooth as long as there isn't a sharp edge left that might cut tongue or something like that.

 

[GrandeMadre]

they fall out starting about one year anyway. watch for actual signs of infection before jumping to antibiotics - they can cause a lot more problems than they help if not needed. calf will be fine with missing tooth as long as there isn't a sharp edge left that might cut tongue or something like that.

Thank you so much for the reply! I’m new at this and learning something daily! People I can manage medically, but the bovine party is a whole other shindig.

 

[GrandeMadre]

Welcome to CT.
1) no antibiotics needed
2) don't take anything away from her. She's fine. Cattle chew with their back teeth not the fronts. Sounds like she is making good progress weaning. Don't make sudden changes to her diet.

Thank you! I’m gonna try to transition back to where we were in terms of food. This just happened Monday evening. She had three bottles yesterday and three today. Any thoughts on the switch back to what we were feeding prior to Monday night? Should I just flip her back to where we were or make a more gradual change over a couple days?

 

[Hippie Rancher]

is this a full size animal or one of these dwarf pets? jumping from two not-full bottles to 3 full bottles may give a bit of a problem. if she gets too loose or goes to full on diarrhea, get some electrolytes ready and feed that ONLY, for 24 hours before going back to milk (follow package directions).

 

[kenny thomas]

Feed it just like before. Taking solid food away is more likely to cause a problem.

 

[GrandeMadre]

is this a full size animal or one of these dwarf pets? jumping from two not-full bottles to 3 full bottles may give a bit of a problem. if she gets too loose or goes to full on diarrhea, get some electrolytes ready and feed that ONLY, for 24 hours before going back to milk (follow package directions).

Full size once grown.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Those are just her temporary milk teeth. The heifer will gradually grow in her larger adult teeth starting from the center two.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Thank you! I'm gonna try to transition back to where we were in terms of food. This just happened Monday evening. She had three bottles yesterday and three today. Any thoughts on the switch back to what we were feeding prior to Monday night? Should I just flip her back to where we were or make a more gradual change over a couple days?

I’d probably go back to how you were before Monday with the feed but gradually cut the bottles back.