# Weak calf



## purecountrycow

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## jhm47

When you say a "bottle of milk", how big is the bottle?  Also, when you say "milk", are you referring to whole cows milk, or milk replacer?  If it's replacer, is it the good replacer, or the cheap stuff?  How are his stools?  Runny?  Hard and dry?  Is he eating starter?  How about water?  Is it available for him?  

We will need this information  before we will  be able to help you.  Good luck!


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## redtailgal

Can you give a little more info?]

How did he end up on the bottle?  And did he get any colostrum?

What sort of milk is going into the bottle? how much is a bottle?

How are the poops? runny? what color?

Is he on pasture or stalled?

Have you checked his temp?

Is he around other calves?

Has he been moved (as in hauled) anywhere recently?

A shot of vit b12 complex will help stimulate the appetite, but lack od appetite is a symptom of something, no point in treating symtoms unless you find out the cause.

edit: lol jhm we must have started at the same time!


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## purecountrycow

Normal size bottle for calfs,,2 qt. milk replacer from TSC. stool is runny and wet and yes thers water outside availble but most the time he lays in barn. Hes not eatting starter,,hes not eatting anything.


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## redtailgal

Is he scouring?

is his butt dirty with poop?


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## purecountrycow

I bought him from another guy when he was 2 weeks old about 2 weeks ago so I dont know if he got the colostrum or not. Stool is runny and yellow. He does have pasture. Hes in with another angus calf and shes nice and healthy. Havent checked his temp.  About what should his temp be?


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## redtailgal

Between 100 and 102 is pretty normal (taken rectaly of course)

I really think your calf is scouring. If my calf is gonna have the squirts, I prefer the yellow kind.  They are usually easy to treat. THis isn't something to play around with, esp is he is not wanting to eat.  You need to work on this now, so that you dont end up having to tube feed in the meds (that is not fun).  Here is a page that will offer you some help

http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2952-calves-scours

and here is a page that should help you prevent scours in the future (keep in mind that EVERYONE with calves is gonna get scours from time to time)

http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2952-bottle-calves


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## purecountrycow

Well I had a package or Resorb from TSC for scours and tried feeding him that but he didnt drink much. But while trying to feed him ,,he took a **** and it came out a dull yellow color and about the thickness of pudding. He almost acts like hes costipated.  Now what?


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## purecountrycow

oh and he has a runny nose and cant breath real good though his nose while drinking from bottle.


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## redtailgal

You need to take his temp and get him off the milk.  He needs to come off the grass, be stalled and given hay (no grain, no grass) and water.

He sounds dehydrated more than constipated.  Get some elctrolytes in him pretty quick.

He also may have some Pneumonia as well.  Have you had to force him to drink? Or have you tried giving him anything with a syringe?  If you have, he may have aspiration pneumonia.  if you havnet forced him to eat or drink, the he may have just gotten down with the scours......laying around feeling puny will give a calf pneumonia pretty quick.

Now, if he were mine:

I would stop all milk and follow the guidlines on the Scours page I provided you earlier (dont forget to get probios or yogurt).  I would also give him sulfa tablets (found at the tractor store or the vets office) according to the pacakge instructions.  This sulfa MAY help with the snots, so I'd just give this a day or two.

If there is no improvment within 48 hours, I'd consult with my vet and ask for some Nuflor.  I'd stop the sulfa and do the full run of nuflor.

This is sounding pretty serious.  You will probably want to get started gathering your supplies NOW.  A calf in this situation can and will go down very quickly, meaning that if you do nothing, it is quite possible that you will have a dead calf by Monday.

You will need:
electrolytes (pedialyte is fine) get enough to last until Monday, around 6 quarts.
sulfa pills
probios or live cultured yogurt

Please check his temp


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## SmallFarmGirl

Hope everything turns out alright!


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## purecountrycow

Im still not sure if its scours or what it is. Its like 1 day he'll drink a full bottle of milk then hes sick for 2 days,,scours doesnt make sence,,,its almost as if hes lactose and tolerant,,is that possible? Or if he has a lil pneumonia,,my dad has this meds called L.A. 200. Its for pneumonia. Would it hurt to give a shot of that?  I am now giving him pedialyte with a syringe cuz I cant get him to suck on a bottle at all so I gotta try something. Hes now up and walking aroung.


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## redtailgal

LA 200 is fine, read the bottle for dosing and follow it exactly.

You said:
Its like 1 day he'll drink a full bottle of milk then hes sick for 2 days,,scours doesnt make sence,,,its almost as if hes lactose and tolerant,,is that possible?


That sounds exactly like scours.  You need to take him off the milk and grass, give him a rest and reintroduce him to the milk slowly.  I really do suggest that you read this link and follow the guidelines on it.

http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2952-calves-scours

Try putting your pedialyte in a bottle and rubbing something sweet on the nipple, some sugar maybe.  You can use pancake syrup or molasses, but go easy on it as it will increase the loose bowels.  If you still cannot get him to drink,  add just a little bit of the powerded milk (as in JUST a little bit, a tbsp or so of the powder) to the electrolytes to get it to smell "tastier".

No milk for the next 24 hours, try to get about 3 quarts of pedialyte in him instead.

edited to add: have you checked his temp?


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## she-earl

I would take his temp before giving antibiotics.  He needs a feeding or two of electrolytes and then alternate feedings of electrolytes and milk.  You cannot totally stop giving him milk because electrolytes doesn't have the nutrition that he needs.  I would also remove grass and hay from him but not the calf starter feed or water.  His rumen cannot handle forages until he is six weeks old.  If you can get some whole milk from a neighoring farmer, that would be better than giving him milk replacer.  Also, at what temp where you feeding the milk replacer?  It needs to be approximately 100-110 degrees.


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## redtailgal

At this point, he is not absorbing the nutrients offered by the milk, so milk is a moot point, in my opinion.  His body is reacting with yellow scours because it cannot handle the  amount or type of milk that he is on.  

I guess we all do thing different, thats fine.  But I just wouldnt give milk to a sick baby.......the elctroyltes to build him back up with hydration and then a slow steady introduction to the milk.  His little body needs a break from milk right now.

I strongly disagree with removing the hay.  Hay should always be available, even at a young age they will eat it.  The rumen needs to stay active.

Lol, you and I have totaly different approaches.  I'd bet we both have healthy calves too.  C'est la vie!


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## purecountrycow

Well yesterday about 4:00 pm I gave him a shot of l. a. 200 and a cpl more syringe full of pedialyte. Then about  6:30 a qt of pedialyte with a lil bit of milk replacer and it took a lil while but he drank it all from the bottle. Then about 9:00 last night I gave him a lil more pedialyte but with a syringe. This morning he was feeling better. He drank 3 pints of pedialyte with some milk replacer from bottle and acted like he wanted more. Hes out walking around now and mooing so I gave him another qt pedialyte/milk replacer and he drank it down. So hes feeling bette so far and Ill just keep an eye on him..  Thanks


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## redtailgal

Keep him warm and dry!


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