day old bottle baby now 7 mons old - PICS FOR RTG!!

[dwbonfire]

so i really got thrown into this blindly, but i have a heifer calf that was born today. she was a twin to another heifer, and the mom refused to care for the both of them. the man who owns the cows gave her to me because he doesnt have time to bottle feed them when they are rejected. she was smaller than the other calf but he didnt seem to think there was anything wrong with her. shes a peanut thats for sure! she was born early afternoon, and i didnt get her first feeding into her until past 8:00 tonight. she ate about 3/4 of a quart, which is all i made for her because he told me she wouldnt need too much at first. she finished the whole thing (once i FINALLY got her to suckle) and seemed like she could have taken more if i allowed. i am soo clueless to all of this, and im nervous im in over my head. im affraid to over feed her, or not feed enough.
he told me to feed her at least twice a day, maybe a third feeding for these first couple days. but he was vague on the amount to feed her :/ thats where i really need help.
also, we dont know if she got her first feeding from the mother, so i got her the special formula (sorry brain fart on the name) and i read to give her two feedings of that. how much each time tho!?
do i put hay in for her, and a bucket of water? or is that unsafe right yet?
im also concerned where she is the only cow on my property. i do have horses and poultry of all sorts but no companion to be in the stall with her. is this going to be an issue? i'd like to get a lamb to put in with her for company because i feel she might be stressed being alone.
please bare with me here, id really appreciate any advice/tips and whatever else you have to offer from your experience!
thanks!!

ETA: she is an black angus as far as i am aware.

 

[Bedste]

BUMP

 

[WildRoseBeef]

If she's just a new baby, make sure she's in a nice warm place, like some place in your house or in a warm enclosed shed or barn where she has lots of bedding to lay on and a warm place to sleep. If you need to keep her in the house, she should be in a place where it's warm and where you can provide blankets. She will need to be moved out into a barn or shed or calf-shed once she starts getting around.

Colostrum is what you need to feed her. Depending on what her birth weight is, you will need to feed her 1.5 quarts if she's around 60 lbs, 2 quarts if she's an 80 lb calf, or 2.5 quarts if she's a 100 lb calf. I assume she is only around 60 lbs or less, so 1 to 1.5 quarts every 6 to 8 hours is best for this little girl. You will need to keep feeding her this over a 24 hour period or more. Then you can switch to "normal" milk formula, which would be a calf-replacer formula you can buy in powdered form at a local feed store or at a large animal vet clinic. You will have to follow the directions accordingly to feed this calf twice or thrice a day.

A bucket of water is fine, so long as it's in an area where she's not going to step in it, dump it out accidentally or fall in if it's a bit big. It's safe to feed her hay too, though for the first few weeks she'll be more concerned about getting her milk, snooping around for a little bit before laying down again for a sleep.

At first she will be fine by herself. But once she gets her feet under her and she starts snooping around you may want to throw in a little companion for her. I've heard that chickens are a great companion for a bovine, but horses not so much as they can get a bit bossy.

 

[dwbonfire]

thank you SO much for your reply. shes probably nearing 12 hours old soon and shes only had 2 quarts of the colostrum, and i wont be able to get anymore until TSC opens in the morning. i do have the other milk replacer now, should i give her some for her next feeding? im terrified to make her wait for more colostrum but again, i went at this blindly with little info from the man i got her from. i only grabbed one pouch thinking she only needed one feeding of it.
i feel like shes not active enough, all she does is lay down i have to make her get up to eat, which she hasnt quite figured out yet so that may be why. but she hasnt moved around the stall at all, shes usually in the same spot i saw her in when i left her last. she did poop once, it was firm-like. she did it while laying down. also i noticed when she is standing shes got what i read to be "club foot" for both feet. i asked the man on the phone about it he said she was walking before (i have seen her do a few un-steady steps also) and that she will be fine its just because shes a newborn.
im real nervous about her not making it and becoming weak. when i pick her up to make her stand she doesnt want to really, it takes a lot to make her. once she eats she will follow me a few steps and be nosey, but then she lays back down. is this normal?

 

[she-earl]

If her feet are bending at the ankle, she may not be as likely to want to walk. You can make inexpensive splints by cutting a pvc pipe lengthwise. It should be large enough diameter to comfortable fit around her leg. Put the splint up the back of her leg and use vet wrap to hold it in place. The "pipe" should not go above her knee. Wrap it snug but make sure to check it occassionally to make sure it is not too tight. After a couple of days, remove them and see how she is doing. I just did this on a bull calf.
I would feed her twice a day wildrosebeef said. I would be consist on the times she is feed. Preferably twelve hours apart but eleven and thirteen is OK. The key is to be consistent. I would keep water and a calf starter feed in front of her. I would not put hay in front of her until she is six-weeks-old since the rumen is not developed yet.
Do you have pics of her to post?

 

[dwbonfire]

i dont have any pics yet but i will get some today.
i went to get more colostrum, and she had a quart this morning and she was much easier to get to suckle. she also stayed on her feet longer than i had seen yesterday. her feet are still bent but she can walk, just seems shaky in the front end, understandably since she is on her tippy toes.
would you be able to post pics of the splints you made?

ETA: this afternoon i gave her about another quart of the colostrum. she also has had a few sips of water and walked around a little bit. still real unsteady. i saw her urinate once, and noticed another poop she did while laying down. this one looked real loose, and yellowish/tan in color. smelled badly too. she has a bit of a mess on her behind now from it. could this be scours? if scours is caused from over feeding i dont see how she could have gotten it, i have only fed her 4 quarts of the colostrum and shes 24 hours old. what do i do now?

to clean her can i hose off her behind if i make sure i dont get her too wet? id like to take her temp but need to clean her first.

i planned to give her 2 more feedings of colostrum, 1 quart each feeding. i thought she would need a little extra since she prob didnt get her mothers, and she hasnt had the amount i read she should by 24 hours old. should i not give her anymore and just start the milk replacer? im real confused as to what to do now, im terrified of scours because i am too unfamiliar with this and dont know how to treat her.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Just wishing you the best with your little calf and can't wait to see pictures. What an opportunity you have been presented with!

 

[Katy]

i dont have any pics yet but i will get some today.
i went to get more colostrum, and she had a quart this morning and she was much easier to get to suckle. she also stayed on her feet longer than i had seen yesterday. her feet are still bent but she can walk, just seems shaky in the front end, understandably since she is on her tippy toes.
would you be able to post pics of the splints you made?

ETA: this afternoon i gave her about another quart of the colostrum. she also has had a few sips of water and walked around a little bit. still real unsteady. i saw her urinate once, and noticed another poop she did while laying down. this one looked real loose, and yellowish/tan in color. smelled badly too. she has a bit of a mess on her behind now from it. could this be scours? if scours is caused from over feeding i dont see how she could have gotten it, i have only fed her 4 quarts of the colostrum and shes 24 hours old. what do i do now?

to clean her can i hose off her behind if i make sure i dont get her too wet? id like to take her temp but need to clean her first.

i planned to give her 2 more feedings of colostrum, 1 quart each feeding. i thought she would need a little extra since she prob didnt get her mothers, and she hasnt had the amount i read she should by 24 hours old. should i not give her anymore and just start the milk replacer? im real confused as to what to do now, im terrified of scours because i am too unfamiliar with this and dont know how to treat her.

I saw your post over on BYC.

They will scour rather quickly from over feeding and if she's a small calf 4 quarts in 24 hours is verging on too much. When I have a small calf I always divide their feedings into at least 3 times for the first week or so. Less at more different feedings is easier on their gut than a lot at one time.

Are you talking about 2 more feeding of colostrum today? How much have you fed her just today?

 

[dwbonfire]

hi katy, thanks for the reply.

i had read online a few different sites saying if they have not had any maternal colostrum that they should be bottle or tube fed 8 qts in the first 24 hours. i thought i hadnt gotten enough into her.
when i make the mix it ends up just shy of 1 qt. she has had two feedings of that today, and i thought i would give her one more tonight? i feel like that was not even enough because i am reading that they should be eating 2 qts twice a day, and sometimes 3 times a day. im totally confused as to how much and how often.

my plan was to give her the mixture of colostrum tonight, not quite a qt. and then tomorrow morning her last feeding of colostrum and then start her on the milk replacer tomorrow night. i read on the bag she can have it up to 4 days old, but i was just going to finish what i have left and tomorrow she will be at 3 days anyway.

im so affraid of over or under feeding her, i really dont know how much :/

 

[dwbonfire]

Just wishing you the best with your little calf and can't wait to see pictures. What an opportunity you have been presented with!

thankyou! yes its wonderful, but at the same time verrrrry stressful!!!