california cowgirl
Exploring the pasture
visit me on the calf page with weaning and birthing or raising a calf or look for my story on California cowgirl. I posted a long story and also a topic with lost of info on the calf page where you can find the links and this topic can hopefully save others from what I went thru with my calves and save other calves from a horrible fate...like mine did. Education is the key to know what to look for and what to buy and not buy. Know how baby calves stomachs work and what they can not digest till they are later is in your milk replacer. Also updated the info needing to understand and know WHY they can not digest the SOY you need to google the baby calf digestive system and understand how premature and non functioning it is at birth and how to get their rumen working. The esophageal groove that shuttles the milk past the Rumen and Omasum into the Abomasum which puts that into the small intestine and lower bowel where they do not have the digestive enzymes yet to process or break down the soy. The rumen starts to wake up about 3 weeks but you have to feed water and calf starter not HAY to get the proper functioning of the rumen working. the calfnotes page is amazing and has articles about this on what to feed and how it starts to work. Also Google about their digestive system and the esophageal groove in baby calves and you will learn how it works and how it takes time and proper all milk replacers to nourish them at this very delicate time of their life. Very fragile system till properly working which takes months and the proper feeds. I know now that I needed to learn all this to help take care of my calves properly even if I only have them a short time. Need to know what the dairy people know. Hope to help others and save many calves and humans from my traumatic experience.
