couple questions bout oir bottle calf

[dragonmorgan]

This is my first time bottle feeding and calf and my husbands first time in around 7 yrs. We think shes around 2 months old or so. Not 100% sure. She was gettin 2 - 2qt bottles a day until recently when we upped her to 2 - 4qt bottles a day because she was startin to look thin. She also appears to have some diarrea that comes and goes. Some days she will have a more solid pile of poop and some days it will b a runny puddle. Im not sire if thats from the move to our backyard that she made a couple days ago or not. She seems to be doin fine right now. Shes eagat to eat and has enough energy to stay away from ya when you try and pet her but ive noticed she lays around alot. I dont know if shes just layin in the sun to stay warm or if shes bored or what but shes not like the other calves i see who are all jumpin around and kickin and stuff. I wouldnt say shes weak or anything because other than no bein very springy and havin some diarrea she seems fine. We are about to start her on some starter food too. Will that help with the diarrea and help boost her energy? Are we feeding her too much.? I dont figure shell overeat because alot of the times she only ends up drinkin about a bottle and a half before she just walks off actuin full.

 

[jhm47]

Are you feeding her milk, or milk replacer? If replacer, did you double the amount of powder? 4 qts a day is obviously too much, if she's not finishing it, so cut her back to 2 qts a day, and provide fresh water and starter. She should have been getting starter at 1 - 2 weeks. The starter will usually help to prevent scours. Make sure she's not having any sign of blood in her stools, which would be a sign of possible coccidiosis. Also start to provide her with some GOOD quality hay.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Are you feeding her milk, or milk replacer? If replacer, did you double the amount of powder? 4 qts a day is obviously too much, if she's not finishing it, so cut her back to 2 qts a day, and provide fresh water and starter. She should have been getting starter at 1 - 2 weeks. The starter will usually help to prevent scours. Make sure she's not having any sign of blood in her stools, which would be a sign of possible coccidiosis. Also start to provide her with some GOOD quality hay.

x2

 

[dragonmorgan]

Milk replacer. We are mixin it one cup (the one that comes in the bag) and then fillin the bottle to the 4 pints mark. Am i sposed to be usin 2 cups of the powder? Usually she finishes both bottles (id say 90% of the time). Im workin on gettin a couple bales of horse hay for her (since thats usually better quality hay around here) and some starter for her too. Is her feed the reason why shes so...not springy? How can i get her to warm up to me so i can get close to her. Also theres no blood in her poop that i can see. Its just dark green/brown and like loose pudding. Ive se en a few smore solid piles but the dogs tend to go in there and eat them when im not lookin

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Mix according to the directions on the bag. But if she is having the runs you should cut her back from the 2 feedings of 4 quarts per day and make sure that she has water, hay and starter feed for her to try out. IMHO anything over a full bottle (2qts) at a time is too much and may cause her to scour.

As far as her trusting you to touch her. I would say to be persistantly patient. In other words, when she will let you near her, go near her, talk to her, work around her. Get her used to you without wanting to pet her. In time, she will become more trusting and will come to you. Then little by little, you will be able to pet her.

 

[dragonmorgan]

Sounds great. We are headed to town today si well pick up some starter while we are out and cut back the bottles to 2 a day. Im workin on gettin some good hay for her too so hopefully we can have some of that soon too. Im happy shes not weak or anything so hopefully we dont have far to bring her before shes in better health. Calves are just so fragile it seems like.

 

[redtailgal]

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


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

These pages could answer some of your questions.

 

[dragonmorgan]

Ok we just left the feed store and they told us that bull creep was better to give her than calf starter. Im assumin theyd no because the feed store we go to has a couple hundred cows themselves. Hubby said its got alot of cotton seed in it which im guessin is good for her.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

You need to compare the crude protein percentage between the bull creep and the calf starter. Calf starters should have a higher protein content than bull creep since calves need a higher protein in their feed than bulls do. You might also want to compare some feed content values between each. The links that RedTail provided are pretty informative too.

I'm scared to say this, but I hope she's not a PI calf if any of your cows are tested for BVD... crossing my fingers that it's not that and just a case of cocci

 

[dragonmorgan]

Ill do some comparing when i get home. Id like to say iys not bvd because she came from a herd of cows who are better maintained yhan ours are. Also shes not weak and she has a great appetite. No runny nose and doesnt feel feverish (altho ive never tested her actual rectal temp). She looks healthy and eats good. Aside from the diarrhea and non-playfulness she seems pretty normal. Is there anything else that might could tell me if it is something like bvd or cocci?