NEED HELP ASAP

[ska]

HELLO! so I have this pb Angus calf of a first time heifer. The cow is a great momma. It is the calf.  I can not get him to suck. I get the cow and calf up, I put him towards the udders and he won't suck. I spray some milk on his nose and he still won't suck. I put the nipple in his mouth and the suck is very VERY weak. So we drenched him with some electrolytes and some of her milk and he got a lot better. Then the next day ( today) in the morning he was sucking just a little. And I left them alone. Then tonight the same thing happened and we are back to square 1 we just wont suck. he is very weak and will not suck. . He weighs about 65-70lbs. please help me. i do not want him to die.

thanks in advance!

 

[IDM Farms]

I would separate them for one day and give the calf 2cc of banimine. Then put them back together and see if he will suck

 

[ska]

ok cool! Thanks! It won't affect their bonding?

 

[shortybreeder]

They won't forget each other after just a day or two. Do you know how to identify mastitis in the cow? That could be causing the calf to not want to nurse.

 

[Wildmustang777]

We had the same issues with a couple of ours! The calves had a hard delivery and had some brain damage and no will to survive... What we did was give them a shot of multi min and tube feed them colostrum and milk along with electrolytes! We had to tube feed ours 2-3 times before they would nurse on their own...

 

[GoWyo]

Be careful with the electrolytes.  He needs his mother's milk.  Milk her out every day and feed it to him with a bottle and if he won't suck, tube him until he will suck the bottle.  I would keep him with the cow so she can take care of him, lick him, etc.

 

[shortybreeder]

Be careful with the electrolytes.  He needs his mother's milk.  Milk her out every day and feed it to him with a bottle and if he won't suck, tube him until he will suck the bottle.  I would keep him with the cow so she can take care of him, lick him, etc.

+1 and I want to emphasize trying with the bottle each time before reaching for the tube. Dairy farmers have found that as # of tube feedings goes up, future performance and survivability tend to go down. This is a correlation, so I don't want to say it is a direct cause and effect situation, but it's something to keep in mind.

 

[GoWyo]

Be careful with the electrolytes.  He needs his mother's milk.  Milk her out every day and feed it to him with a bottle and if he won't suck, tube him until he will suck the bottle.  I would keep him with the cow so she can take care of him, lick him, etc.

+1 and I want to emphasize trying with the bottle each time before reaching for the tube. Dairy farmers have found that as # of tube feedings goes up, future performance and survivability tend to go down. This is a correlation, so I don't want to say it is a direct cause and effect situation, but it's something to keep in mind.

Yup - I cringe every time I have to use the tube because it irritates their esophagus and really isn't ideal except from a survival standpoint.  Do everything you can to get them to nurse.  Also, the big calf nipples usually aren't ideal for newborns.  A lamb nipple can work better.

 

[Wildmustang777]

We tube fed the mommas milk if possible..

 

[IDM Farms]

If you have never tube fed a calf I would not do it, got to know what your doing, otherwise milk will get in lungs and die

 

[Wildmustang777]

Very true!!

 

[CAB]

Just wondering how your calf is getting along SKA. I hope very well.

 

[ska]

aw! thanks for checking in! He is doing a lot better. he is just like a normal healthy calf!!!
thank you to everyone on here who has helped me on here!!!!  you rock!  <rock>

 

[Wildmustang777]

What did you do to help him??? Just wondering 

 

[ska]

every 2 hours i got up and tied the mom up and squirted milk in his mouth and if i could i would milk the mom and try to bottle feed him. i cut a bigger hole in the nipple of the bottle and it would come out easier.  i would just hold his head and put it in his mouth and the milk just kind of went down his throat without him having to do a lot of work besides swallowing.

again thanks so much everyone!

 

[Wildmustang777]

Great job!! Way to try and avoid tube feeding!!!!  (thumbsup) <beer>