# bought 2 new 1 week old baby calfs



## youngsfarmland (Feb 16, 2009)

Hi, I am new to the site and also new to the cow business. We have always had 50 or more goats and now we have bought 2  new 10 day old calfs. we have to bottle feed them and right now we are doing 3/4th bottle 2 times a day. Is this enough? They seem to not be satisfide. anyone who can help me please do. also. is the milk all they need? should i give them meds yet or water or anything at all?
the Youngs..


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 16, 2009)

What breed are the calves? Most breeds will need 2 quarts milk as newborns and by 10 days I would have them at 4 quarts unless they were showing signs of scouring. I would also put them on pails, it will make things easier on you and they will be fine. Mine go on pails at only a few days old.

You should start putting some calf grain in front of them as they will start picking at it. Your goal is to get them up to 6 pounds of grain a day at about 2 months and then you can wean them. Unless you are going the grass fed method and then I can't advise you except the milk replacer part.

You can leave a pail of water with them. They may or may not drink it. 

Why would they need meds? Are they sick? If not then, no don't give them any meds.


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## wynedot55 (Feb 16, 2009)

after you give them a bottle of milk.you can give them a bottle of water.or you can put a pail of water in their pen.i used to give a bottle of water behind their milk.an you can put some calf starter feed out for them.


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## youngsfarmland (Feb 16, 2009)

i am not sure of the breed. i know they are bulls. when i mentioned meds. what i mean is do they like need wormer meds or mineral blocks? anything to that nature?





			
				Farmer Kitty said:
			
		

> What breed are the calves? Most breeds will need 2 quarts milk as newborns and by 10 days I would have them at 4 quarts unless they were showing signs of scouring. I would also put them on pails, it will make things easier on you and they will be fine. Mine go on pails at only a few days old.
> 
> You should start putting some calf grain in front of them as they will start picking at it. Your goal is to get them up to 6 pounds of grain a day at about 2 months and then you can wean them. Unless you are going the grass fed method and then I can't advise you except the milk replacer part.
> 
> ...


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## youngsfarmland (Feb 16, 2009)

I am not sure of the breed line. all i know is that they are bulls. by meds i meant like do they need anything like de-wormer meds or mineral blocks or anything like that?


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## wynedot55 (Feb 16, 2009)

no they dont need wormed or minerals an salt.you can worm them at 3 months old.salt an minerals at 6 months old.


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 16, 2009)

youngsfarmland said:
			
		

> I am not sure of the breed line. all i know is that they are bulls. by meds i meant like do they need anything like de-wormer meds or mineral blocks or anything like that?


We love pics and maybe we can help with the breed then.


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## Imissmygirls (Feb 16, 2009)

What color are they, do they have spots, how heavy are they?

No matter the breed, they should have 2 qts a feeding at that age. Kitty, 4 qts would overfeed a full blooded Jersey, although I have done 3 feedings of 2 qts during cold months.
 I've never known a beefer breed that would turn down feed no matter what its age
 Generally, bovines on milk will not and should not appear *satisfied*

It's better to keep them a little hungry and encourage grain and grass and good hay. Keep water in front of them too.


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 17, 2009)

> Kitty, 4 qts would overfeed a full blooded Jersey,


I know. That is why I asked the breed. 



> Generally, bovines on milk will not and should not appear *satisfied*


Agreed. Most of the time they drink to fast to realize they have a full stomach right away too. One of the things I do is watch their sides. When their stomachs are filled out but, not rounded, they've had enough.


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## m.holloway (Feb 17, 2009)

hi youngsfarmland. welcome to the herd. you'll love this group!very helpful all the time!!good luck on your new calf!


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## GrassFarmerGalloway (Feb 17, 2009)

Hello, youngfarmsland!  Welcome!

I've not had any experience raising calves on a bottle, but I do know that it is a LOT OF WORK.  I wish you luck!  Enjoy them while they're small, they grow like crazy!


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## youngsfarmland (Feb 19, 2009)

Now the babies are having some yellowish squirts. it is sticking to one of there tails. is this normal and what do i give them. also i read on another post the word 'priobios ' what is this and what is it for?  one more question.. how on earth do i get that off her tail... talk about smell lol


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## WildRoseBeef (Feb 19, 2009)

I'll see if i can answer your questions without trying to give out the wrong info...

It sounds like they have milk scours, which, from what I've been reading, is normal..but i'll let the calf-savvy folks confirm that for you.

"Priobios" is (I think) probios or probiotics, which is the exact opposite of antibiotics, which introduce and encourage bacteria and micro-organisms to flourish in the rumen of the calf, which is necessary for the calf to start digesting the more "harder foods" like grain and grass.  Also good for the immune system I guess.

Alright folks, how'd i do?


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## wynedot55 (Feb 19, 2009)

you need to get some scour meds from the feedstore.


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 19, 2009)

WildRoseBeef, you did pretty good. 

Here's the rundown on calf scours that I have on my "Misc Info Page" (Found in the index in my sig.)

CALF SCOURS

Scours are the diarrhea in calves. Scours can be caused by bacterial, viral, and enviromental conditions. Treating scours with an antibiotic if it's not caused by bacterial just produces bugs that are antibiotic resistant so, please becareful in your treatment.

First, you need to do a supportive thereapy.

1. Vitamins and electrolytes.

2. A probiotic-Some use live culture plain yogurt. I use Probios. It comes in many different forms and is easy to store and have on hand. 

3. A plugger. If the calves scours are in a liquid form you need to use something to gel or solidify it in order to help prevent dehydration. I use Deliver which gels their manure and I've had really good results.

4. I also will use Raw Apple Cider Vinager with the Mother. (Wal-mart does not sell this.) It helps create an enviroment that the bugs can not live in.

Second, you need to figure out what is causing the scours.

1. Enviormental-Are the calves wet? Wet conditions produce all sorts of illnesses. Add bedding and get/keep them dry.

2. Viral-Calves can get different bugs that will cause scours-just as we get different bugs that cause diarrhea. Here you mostly need to support them and treat them for their symptoms. One of the more common viral indictors is the manure will look "sour". This I use peptol bismal for. There is a calf version sold but, I like to use the peptol tablets. Place it in the back of their mouth and usually they will chew &/or swallow it. Calves love to suck even when they don't want to drink their milk so this works great.

3. Bacterial-This is where you use antibiotics. I have used many things and will list some I've found to work but, each farm/place is different and different bacterial will react different.

a. Penicillan- 10cc for a 100-115 pound calf once a day until symptoms clear-usually only a couple days.

b. Neomycin Sulfate (commercial grate) Antibacterial (NeoVet)-follow label directions.

c. Oxytetracycline HCI 500mg (Oxy 500 Calf Bolus)-follow label directions.

There are many more out there these are just what I have found to work for us.

Some products say to withhold the milk/milkreplacer from them for a certain time but, our vet says no they need the nutrition and energy they provide to help fight the scours. I keep ours on their milk/milkreplacer. If you are worried about dehydration give a pail of water on the side.

Probios


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## m.holloway (Feb 20, 2009)

can't help with advice, but i can say the the advice framer kitty give me when my cow had poo probelms worked great!!! Mare


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## youngsfarmland (Feb 20, 2009)

now that i have the meds for the scours and have giving it to them. how on earth do i get the poop off the calfs tail?:/


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 20, 2009)

I won't worry about it unless your going to be showing it soon. It will come of on it's own but, if you really want try a curry comb when the poo has dried a bit.


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## Farmer Kitty (Feb 20, 2009)

From the Good Morning thread,


			
				youngsfarmland said:
			
		

> you asked me what kind of breed my calfs were. i had a vet come and look at them and he said they are Holstiens? not sure of the spelling.


Holsteins at 2 weeks should be getting more than 1 1/2 qts of milk. What did the vet tell you? I know mine would be at 4 qts easy. Maybe more depending on the calf. Watch their sides. When their stomach is even with their ribs they are full. It may take them a little while to register it but, they have had enough at that point.


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