# New to this forum



## BullyForMe (Apr 2, 2009)

Hi all 
My neighbour lost a cow yesterday that had a 4 day old calf.  He doesn't live at his farm and has his cows on bush pasture, plus we still have at least 3 feet of that white crud that falls every November. I offered to put the calf in a stall in my horse barn and feed it for him (I'm pretty sure its only chance is with me) but once I had committed myself I realized that I really know little to nothing about bottle feeding calves. I have raised orphan foals and puppies. Even a couple of kittens but.... So anyway a kind hearted soul gave me the link to this forum and suggested I could get information here.  (Thanks laughingllama75) They were right! I have already learned more about caring for this little guy than I expected just from reading. I hope you will all bear with me if I post some really dumb questions from time to time as I learn the ropes.


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## Farmer Kitty (Apr 2, 2009)

I'm glad you're finding useful information. 

There is no such thing as a dumb question--just newbie questions and we are here to answer them.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 2, 2009)

Yep, like Kitty said, any and all questions are welcome.


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## Imissmygirls (Apr 2, 2009)

if you have done orphan foals, you have half the battle won.  Babies are babies, and I think ( but don't know) that foals would be more delicate than calves.
Congrats on the new acquisition!


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## Thewife (Apr 2, 2009)

Welcome to the board, BullyForMe!

I have heard that orphan foals and puppies are a lot harder than calves!
We are here for you!
(Ok, mostly Kitty, it had been so long since my last orphan, I almost forgot the milk replacer!)


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## Farmer Kitty (Apr 2, 2009)

thewife said:
			
		

> Welcome to the board, BullyForMe!
> 
> I have heard that orphan foals and puppies are a lot harder than calves!
> We are here for you!
> (Ok, mostly Kitty, it had been so long since my last orphan, I almost forgot the milk replacer!)


Yeah, but your the one with the beef breed orphan currently.


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## wynedot55 (Apr 2, 2009)

glad you was able to find the answers to some of your qs here.


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## GrassFarmerGalloway (Apr 3, 2009)

Welcome to the herd, BullyForMe!  You have come to the right place!

I am, unfortunately, of little use here except in the welcoming committee.  Never bottle-fed a healthy calf, I've only stomach-tubed 'em.

What I CAN tell you is that bottle feeding is a lot of work.  And that your little baby will grow fast, so TAKE PICTURES, LOTS OF PICTURES.  And post 'em here.


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## dfunnyfarm (Apr 3, 2009)

Welcome from another newbie who knows nothing lol. I sure have learned alot here and everyone is just great!


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## BullyForMe (Apr 3, 2009)

Well it looks like Sam is off to the races! He was pretty iffy about taking a bottle yesterday (it had to be pressed into his mouth until he tasted the milk) but last night he was thro a bottle in record time and frantic for more. I gave him the second bottle only because he had been on pretty lean rations and I figured he could handle a bigger meal. This morning he hopped up grabbed the nipple and was done in under 5 minutes. His little tail is going and he nearly knocked me off my feet bunting at the bottle when it started to run dry.  He would have gladly taken more but I don't want to over feed him so he has to wait until later this afternoon for a second feeding. Then I'll give him a third before bed tonight. The bag of milk replacer says to feed twice a day but I can't believe any 5 day old calf should be receiving half its daily food in one feeding. Maybe I'm wrong and if that is the case please let me know but in my mind a baby needs many smaller meals rather than fewer big meals. So 3 feeds a day is a compromise. I am enjoying caring for the little guy, he is always so HAPPY to see me lol. and so sad to see me leave. How can a person not like being so appreciated.  On a side note my daughter (special needs) was beside herself with excitement at being allowed to actually touch a calf and kiss his nose (can you say EEEEWWWWWW! lol) She has seen many calves but never any tame enough to actually touch (plus we kept her away because their mommas could be snorty if they thought their calves were in any danger) I want to thank every one here for the warm welcome.  We don't have any cows at all right now other than this calf, which isn't mine at all, but it is nice to have such a great resource to turn to for situations like this or if we happen to decide to get another cow or two. Oh and in response to the orphan foals being more fragile; I don't know if thats true or not. If they get the colostrum then the trick is to not over stress their digestive system with too much rich milk replacer and give them diarhea since they can dehydrate so fast and crash. Maybe after I've bottle raised a few calves I can have an informed opinion on which is harder.


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## Farmer Kitty (Apr 3, 2009)

Twice a day is fine. If you go three times a day be very careful about over feeding the milk replacer and end up fighting the scours. Remember when bottle feeding it is faster than when they nurse, therefore, it generally takes their stomachs a bit to realize it's full. Watch his sides. When the stomach is about even with his ribs he's had enough. Over feeding isn't good as it causes scours, so doesn't other things like the weather but, you want to do everything you can to prevent them.

Your daughter will probably greatly benefit by having contact with the calf. Not sure how special needs she is but as she gets used to him maybe there are some of his chores you could give her. Fetching his feed, making his bottle (he can go on a pail in a day or two, also). But, even if that is not something she is able to do just having contact with an animal can greatly help special needs children, as I'm sure you aware.


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## m.holloway (Apr 3, 2009)

weclome bully for me. you for sure have come to the right place. from very important to the most silly's question. these guys will give you all the support you need. i've only been on this forum for awhile too. so i can't help ya either. but i can say your in my thoughts, and good luck!!!!! i hope all goes well for ya. And before you know it the calf will be running your life. i have found out that they train you faster then you train them


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## Farmer Kitty (Apr 3, 2009)

m.holloway said:
			
		

> And before you know it the calf will be running your life. i have found out that they train you faster then you train them


That just means your a fast learner which, means your smart. They say that smart people are trained fast and well by their "pets".


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## m.holloway (Apr 3, 2009)

no you must have me mixed up with someone else! LOL :


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## BullyForMe (Apr 3, 2009)

Thanks for the greetings
 All our animals train me in no time so I must be smart too. My cats and dog have taught me how to open the door 50 times a day and wait while they decide IF they really wanted in/out. My horses have trained me to BE ON TIME! They hate to see breakfast even a minute late. hmmmm, not sure just how 'smart' that makes me Yes farmer kitty, the animals are great for my daughter. We raise miniature horses and we got the first ones mostly because of her. She loves all the animals but we must be very careful when we choose animals because she doesn't really understand the risks that some of them bring to her life. We have had saddle horses too and I have found her in the corral with some of the more 'energetic' ones and that scared me to death. I have to say tho that it has been my experience that most of them seem to recognize her vulnerability and are very careful with her. She can't really do too much alone but she helps me feed when she's home. She can carry the bottle and hand me things when I ask for them.  Mostly her job here is to train the foals to lead (she is very very patient and never gets upset that they don't understand her, possibly because she knows how it is to not be able to communicate well) she also leash trains any new dogs we get. I don't think I'll get her to halter break Sam tho since he would likely drag her all over the place lol. He is getting stronger by the hour it seems so if he is going to learn to lead I'd better get on it. 
So I was planning to feed 3x a day but if you think that is going to be too much for his system I will cut back to 2x a day. I'm thinking that like other babies small meals often would be better than large meals only a couple of times. Still, I have 0 experience with bottle calves so am willing to learn I am wrong  It won't be the first time (nor the last I'm sure)


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## Imissmygirls (Apr 3, 2009)

Bully, your experience with overfeeding the foals is the same as calves. If you want 3x day feedings just split the amount into 3 times.  What breed is the calf?  Sometimes it seems that you can't overfeed baby beefers - they just inhale milk- but better safe than sorry.


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## BullyForMe (Apr 4, 2009)

The calf is a Simmental X . I have done just as you say for now at least. I fed him half his PM feed in the afternoon and half tonight but I'm not sure its the best answer. He seems genuinely still very hungry and is bawling when ever he hears me and continues as I leave his stall. Tomorrow I'll try to split the amount in more even 3rds to see if that helps. I don't want to stare him either but as long as he seems bright eyed I'll accept he's getting enough. Its amazing how quickly he went from being a wild range calf to a barn pet lol.


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## laughingllama75 (Apr 10, 2009)

Hi Bullyfor me! glad you made it over here, and I'm glad the little guys eating. How is he doing now? any pics?


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## BullyForMe (May 5, 2009)

Wow, its been a while since I checked in here. Life is just so busy these days.  So Sam is doing great. Growing so fast I can hardly believe it and finally eating without  me standing at his side. I can't seem to convince him to take his milk from a pail or even a bucket with a nipple but I got a bottle holder and he is now eating while I continue on with other chores. He eats hay well (of course ) and is drinking water but I haven't managed to get him eating grain except when I hand feed it to him. I think he needs to see other animals eating it then he might catch on. Oh well, we should have grass and dry pastures around here soon and he'll be going back to his owners farm. Maybe he'll learn to be a cow from the others. At the very least he'll have other calves to run a buck with


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## Farmer Kitty (May 5, 2009)

Good to hear from you again!

I'm glad Sam is doing good. Some calves are just stubborn about eating grain. Will he be getting it when he goes back to his home farm? If not, I guess I wouldn't worry about it. If so, try decreasing the amount of milk replacer you are putting in the water. Sometimes, that helps get them started.


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## BullyForMe (May 5, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestion FK. I don't know if he'll be getting grain or not there. There has been some talk of selling him as a 4H calf since he is now so tame (and already leads) The owner may just decide to keep him and grain him before he becomes steak (altho personally I prefer grass fed but that just me) I have been concerned because he is thin and so hesitate to reduce his milk concentration. Still he is growing very quickly and has lots of energy to play (and every one else says he looks good so its probably just my eyes that see him as to thin) I probably wouldn't hurt to try a weaker milk for a bit just to see if it got him started eating the oats. I did try, at another farmer's suggestion, adding some loose salt to the oats to get him licking them up but he still shows no interest. It is amazing all the things baby animals learn from their moms that we think are just instinct. I have seen it time and again with other orphans, they need to be shown so many little things to learn how to be what ever they are. I guess calves are the same and tend to learn whats good to eat from watching mom.


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## Farmer Kitty (May 5, 2009)

Does the oats have anything in the lines of molassas or other sweetner on it? Or is it straight oats?

Oh, and if you post a pic we can help with the whether or not he is thin.  We love pics.


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## BullyForMe (May 6, 2009)

Just plain whole oats. No additives of any kind.  If it ever stops raining I'll get a picture of the little monster and try to post it. I did dilute his milk a bit tonight so we'll see after a few less rich meals if he gets more interested. I leave the pan of grain available alongside the hay in his stall all the time now. Ever hopeful


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## Farmer Kitty (May 6, 2009)

Maybe try adding some molassas to sweeten it up. Once he is started you could try without again, if you want.


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## BullyForMe (May 6, 2009)

Well I could easily offer him some of my horse grain. It has corn etc as well as some molasses. I didn't realize cows had a sweet tooth  Always thought they were more interested in salty flavours. Hmmm, I will give it a try and see if he likes it better. If I can get him started its not so hard to add the plain oats and gradually increase the ratio of oats until he is not getting the sweet feed anymore. Thank, I'll give that a try.


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## Farmer Kitty (May 6, 2009)

They are fussy. If it smells off they won't eat it. I know there is also a carmel flavoring that some mix in too. 

We once had a cow that every time we got a batch of cow grain, I got a shower of grain. DH alters the batches according to what is being fed and cost of ingredients. But, even if the batch was made the same she knew it was a different batch and would throw it at me.


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## m.holloway (May 6, 2009)

Hey Farmer Kitty, I saw the word oats, is that plain oats, that you make oatmeal or oatmeal cookies. I can add it to the hiefer grain and make it go further????  They are up to 4 -- 50 lb bags of grain a day. They look great as you saw, But with the hay because of no rain it's putting a hole in my buget.


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## Farmer Kitty (May 6, 2009)

m.holloway said:
			
		

> Hey Farmer Kitty, I saw the word oats, is that plain oats, that you make oatmeal or oatmeal cookies. I can add it to the hiefer grain and make it go further????  They are up to 4 -- 50 lb bags of grain a day. They look great as you saw, But with the hay because of no rain it's putting a hole in my buget.


It's oats just as they are combined from the field--no processing.

Am I reading that right? It looks like your feeding 200 lbs of grain to 2 heifers per day? *SIX* lbs a day per heifer should be fine.


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## m.holloway (May 6, 2009)

no   my bad, I think they would be gaint cows, It's 4 50lb bags a week. Sorry about that.With the no grass thing, I just give them grain.


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## Farmer Kitty (May 6, 2009)

You can get oats or another small grain to mix in if you'd like and try it.


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## Imissmygirls (May 6, 2009)

I think 6 lbs per head a day would be fine as long as they had roughage hay to keep their rumen going. They MUST have roughage or their stomachs go wacky.  
Feed what we refer to as "heifer-hay" -- second quality; first cutting; rough stuff.


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## m.holloway (May 7, 2009)

I think I have them up to 8/10 pound a day. with hay. It seem like they are still hungry. We have had no rain and the grass is still brown. Thats why when I saw the oats word I thought it was the one you buy at the store.so I could add it and make the grain go alittle more.


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## Farmer Kitty (May 7, 2009)

Check where you buy your grain. They probably have some oats.


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## m.holloway (May 7, 2009)

I can give them oast right?????


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## Farmer Kitty (May 7, 2009)

m.holloway said:
			
		

> I can give them oast right?????


Yes, you can give them oats. Just go to the feed store and get them and not the grocery store (no oatmeal, it would probably cost more anyway).


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## wynedot55 (May 7, 2009)

but know this oats are as high as catsback.


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## m.holloway (May 7, 2009)

really????? Is there anything cheap out there to feed them that will fill the belly without making you go broke????


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## wynedot55 (May 7, 2009)

there is no kind of feed thats cheap anymore.but oats are real good feed.


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## m.holloway (May 8, 2009)

well I guess I'll ask if they sale oats ifself and if it is cheap maybe i'll buy a bag and add to reg. food.????If it would rain it would help alot!!!!!!


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