What would you do ?

[Hippie Rancher]

sure marked like one :lol:

gallon of water is way too much for a bottle baby - how is she getting it? bottle or free choice

 

[msscamp]

I got a call Tues. evening. A friend said she has this calf that is not hers. They own around 150 head of angus, brahmas and herefords. Here is this little longhorn heifer out in her pasture trying to nurse off of any cow that will let her. She said it showed up there sunday evening.It still has it's umbilical cord So I know it's just a few days old.
She asked if I would take her . Well,I didn't say yes ,yet. Some of my other friends went looking for any cattle with in 5 miles of her property. There are none. One guy has 2 angus heifers he's feeding. But they are in a pen.
So the question is would you take the calf ? I've been going to house twice a day to feed it. The calf is in fairly good shape.

Yes, I would take it. But I would also do everything I could to find it's rightful owner while I was taking care of it. A newborn calf gets spooked, it can run for an amazingly long time and cover a lot of ground doing it. It could also be a twin that was rejected, and the owners don't know it even exists. There are a lot of possible reasons why it ended up in your friends pasture, but it needs to be taken care of.

 

[Andrew]

Have you considered the remote possibility that the calf actually belongs to the cow?
I have an angus cross cow and a Brangus bull. The cow must have had some longhorn but she's solid black so you couldn't have deduced from looking at her.
She recently had a little longhorn calf. Looks just like yours except its black where yours is brown but the color and frame is deifnitely that of a longhorn.

Had I not seen the cow with her placenta hanging and the calf nursing immediately after birth, I would have guessed it was a lost calf as well.
BTW: There are absolutely no longhorn bulls or even cows in the area. So it must be a genetic mutation or one of those missing genes that shows up once in a few generations as all her previous calves were solid black.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[Joy of Texas]

sure marked like one :lol:

gallon of water is way too much for a bottle baby - how is she getting it? bottle or free choice

She is drinking it free choice. I have a gallon bucket I keep in her pen. That away I know more or less what she's drinking.
I did start putting a half a gallon out. She still refuses a bottle.

 

[Joy of Texas]

I got a call Tues. evening. A friend said she has this calf that is not hers. They own around 150 head of angus, brahmas and herefords. Here is this little longhorn heifer out in her pasture trying to nurse off of any cow that will let her. She said it showed up there sunday evening.It still has it's umbilical cord So I know it's just a few days old.
She asked if I would take her . Well,I didn't say yes ,yet. Some of my other friends went looking for any cattle with in 5 miles of her property. There are none. One guy has 2 angus heifers he's feeding. But they are in a pen.
So the question is would you take the calf ? I've been going to house twice a day to feed it. The calf is in fairly good shape.

Yes, I would take it. But I would also do everything I could to find it's rightful owner while I was taking care of it. A newborn calf gets spooked, it can run for an amazingly long time and cover a lot of ground doing it. It could also be a twin that was rejected, and the owners don't know it even exists. There are a lot of possible reasons why it ended up in your friends pasture, but it needs to be taken care of.

We are still looking for the owners. In the last week I have met people from all over with lease land and cattle. We did find some longhorns about 10 miles away. But they were all steers. I don't know ,but we are still looking and asking alot of questions.

 

[Joy of Texas]

Have you considered the remote possibility that the calf actually belongs to the cow?
I have an angus cross cow and a Brangus bull. The cow must have had some longhorn but she's solid black so you couldn't have deduced from looking at her.
She recently had a little longhorn calf. Looks just like yours except its black where yours is brown but the color and frame is deifnitely that of a longhorn.

Had I not seen the cow with her placenta hanging and the calf nursing immediately after birth, I would have guessed it was a lost calf as well.
BTW: There are absolutely no longhorn bulls or even cows in the area. So it must be a genetic mutation or one of those missing genes that shows up once in a few generations as all her previous calves were solid black.

Thanks,
Andrew

Thats a good thought,but they do not have any calves that age. They have a solid black bull calf about a month older. This longhorn calf still had its cord. It bothered my friend Kay so bad.She got a vet out to palpate all of her cows. Nothing,the ones that had calves are to old to have this one as a twin.
I know she had to come from somewhere,so we will keep looking.

 

[bigbull338]

ok i just had a brainstorm.put her milk in a bucket an put it in the pen.since she drinking water from a bucket.she might drink the milk the same way.she might not like the smell or taste of the powdered milk.

 

[dun]

ok i just had a brainstorm.put her milk in a bucket an put it in the pen.since she drinking water from a bucket.she might drink the milk the same way.she might not like the smell or taste of the powdered milk.

Now you're going to get into trouble with the "feeding a calf from a bucket is all wrong and you'll kill it" school of thought

 

[bigbull338]

well dun ive been in trouble before.an ive fed calves both ways bottle an bucket.an bucket is easier if you can train the calf.an have it in its own pen.

 

[dun]

well dun ive been in trouble before.an ive fed calves both ways bottle an bucket.an bucket is easier if you can train the calf.an have it in its own pen.

Couldn;t agree more.

 

[bigbull338]

if you want to really kick the hornets nest.a nipple thats open to much will strangle a calf.esp if the calf sucks to fast or the milk flows to fast.an the milk will go in the calves lungs.but all new nipples have to small of a hole in the nipple.an that has tobe opened up.so the calf can get milk.but you have to know how to open up the nipple.

 

[angie2]

ok i just had a brainstorm.put her milk in a bucket an put it in the pen.since she drinking water from a bucket.she might drink the milk the same way.she might not like the smell or taste of the powdered milk.

Now you're going to get into trouble with the "feeding a calf from a bucket is all wrong and you'll kill it" school of thought

OK ~ Since it was my post you are refering to, I'll bite. No one is going to get into trouble, I don't think so highly of my opinions that I'm going to raise cane with someone for not agreeing.
Yes, is easier to feed from a bucket, but its not about what is easiest. The information I put up was legitimate, and from a source refered to on here often (Storey/Heather Thomas). It is not something I pulled out of a hat.
If she drinks water from a bucket, I have to assume she knows how to drink from a bucket without killing herself, and milk presented in a bucket is much better than no milk at all. Your suggestion was, in my opinion, a very good option.
And yes on the point of opening nipples ~ seems like every year I end up throwing away a couple before they are ever even used because I over did it.

edit ~ when I say "killing herself" on this post, I am being facetious. I don't think I threatened death on my other one...

 

[Driven]

ok i just had a brainstorm.put her milk in a bucket an put it in the pen.since she drinking water from a bucket.she might drink the milk the same way.she might not like the smell or taste of the powdered milk.

Now you're going to get into trouble with the "feeding a calf from a bucket is all wrong and you'll kill it" school of thought

OK ~ Since it was my post you are refering to, I'll bite. No one is going to get into trouble, I don't think so highly of my opinions that I'm going to raise cane with someone for not agreeing.
Yes, is easier to feed from a bucket, but its not about what is easiest. The information I put up was legitimate, and from a source refered to on here often (Storey/Heather Thomas). It is not something I pulled out of a hat.
If she drinks water from a bucket, I have to assume she knows how to drink from a bucket without killing herself, and milk presented in a bucket is much better than no milk at all. Your suggestion was, in my opinion, a very good option.
And yes on the point of opening nipples ~ seems like every year I end up throwing away a couple before they are ever even used because I over did it.

edit ~ when I say "killing herself" on this post, I am being facetious. I don't think I threatened death on my other one...

Wasn't Dun referring to Boogie and msscamp's posts on using a bottle versus a bucket? They've discussed this many times.

 

[angie2]

ok i just had a brainstorm.put her milk in a bucket an put it in the pen.since she drinking water from a bucket.she might drink the milk the same way.she might not like the smell or taste of the powdered milk.

Now you're going to get into trouble with the "feeding a calf from a bucket is all wrong and you'll kill it" school of thought

OK ~ Since it was my post you are refering to, I'll bite. No one is going to get into trouble, I don't think so highly of my opinions that I'm going to raise cane with someone for not agreeing.
Yes, is easier to feed from a bucket, but its not about what is easiest. The information I put up was legitimate, and from a source refered to on here often (Storey/Heather Thomas). It is not something I pulled out of a hat.
If she drinks water from a bucket, I have to assume she knows how to drink from a bucket without killing herself, and milk presented in a bucket is much better than no milk at all. Your suggestion was, in my opinion, a very good option.
And yes on the point of opening nipples ~ seems like every year I end up throwing away a couple before they are ever even used because I over did it.

edit ~ when I say "killing herself" on this post, I am being facetious. I don't think I threatened death on my other one...

Wasn't Dun referring to Boogie and msscamp's posts on using a bottle versus a bucket? They've discussed this many times.

Could be, maybe not. I don't know. I can only speak for myself, and I have thrown in an opinion on the issue.

 

[Joy of Texas]

Ok, guys what would you say if I told you this calf doesn't like the taste of milk ? I bought a bag of purina milk replacer. Then I bought a bag of milk replacer from TC. She makes herself throw the stuff up. I also tried just regular milk. She wants no part of it.
I have only been putting a quart of water out in the mornings and a quart in the evenings. I tried putting milk in a bucket and she will not touch it. She will start sucking a bottle. Then when she realizes it's milk she has a fit.
She is still eating about a lb. of sweet feed and free choice hay. Is there anything else I can give her for added protein ?

 

[KMacGinley]

Sounds to me like she is older than you think.


99% of the bottle calf problems on here seem to me to be a result of overfeeding. The directions on the milk replacer bag are for 100+ lb Holstein calves. Feed little beef type calves half that and you will be fine... ie 1 quart twice a day versus two.

 

[bigbull338]

Sounds to me like she is older than you think.


99% of the bottle calf problems on here seem to me to be a result of overfeeding. The directions on the milk replacer bag are for 100+ lb Holstein calves. Feed little beef type calves half that and you will be fine... ie 1 quart twice a day versus two.

i think i said in an earlier post that she may not like the taste or smell of the milk.heck ive seen a few calves if they didnt like the smell or taste they wouldnt touch their milk.an in that case you have to try differant milks.

 

[msscamp]

ok i just had a brainstorm.put her milk in a bucket an put it in the pen.since she drinking water from a bucket.she might drink the milk the same way.she might not like the smell or taste of the powdered milk.

Now you're going to get into trouble with the "feeding a calf from a bucket is all wrong and you'll kill it" school of thought

Your sarcasm(sp?) is not appreciated. Some of us believe in bottle feeding, and some of us do not. How about we let go at that?

 

[msscamp]

ok i think i know what part of the problem.if she is drinking a gallon of water a day.she is filling her belly.an shes to full to drink all her milk.try cutting her back to 1 bottle of water a day.an see if that helps her drink all her milk.how much feed is she eating a day.

I think you're dead wrong. My bottle calves have always had free access to water, and never refused a bottle. I'm thinking the poster in question needs to be looking for another reason as to why this calf is refusing his/her bottle.

 

[Joy of Texas]

I myself have never denied acess to water,feed or hay to a bottle calf. I have raised several thru the years. Yes, I have had a little trouble with a couple of them. But not like this one.
Had a couple of friends over to see what we could do with her. One of them has decided it's not the milk it's the nipple. She has a cow that just had a calf a couple of days ago. We loaded the little thing up ,to see if the cow would take her. After about an hour or so the cow let her suck.
Just came from her house alittle bit ago and all is well. So I am giving her the calf.
Thanks all for your help.