He ACTS like he's STARVING!

[chicks & ducks]

Our Jersey boy is now 9 days old and acts like he's STARVING after every bottle. We've tried to get him to eat calf starter but he resists it with a vengeance. Right now we don't leave it out free choice because he is in an area with our alpaca and even if we put the alpaca out in the yard the chickens eat the calf starter instead of the calf
He DOES have access to the fresh water spring and sees the others drink out of it so I'm sure he'll catch on to that soon.
My question is! When can I increase his milk? Right now, as per the lady we got him from last week, he's on 1 full bottle at 830, 1 full bottle at 530 and then another partial bottle (1/2 bottle 2 pts) at 830pm as it's been so cold here.


Also any tips on getting him to like the starter? We were actually putting some in his mouth and getting him to eat it that way but he resisted SO much that I stopped, not wanting to traumatize him and inadvertently put him off of starter. For now we just take it out when we bottle feed & try and get him to have some starter before he even SEES the bottle, he turns his nose up at it and pretends it's not even there. ugh. Should I keep forcing the issue just to get some in him until he 'likes' starter, or do I wait a few days and try again?

 

[Cricket]

That's a Jersey! You'll never increase his milk, just leave him where he's at and then he'll begin to eat his starter. Really! Try giving him a handful of starter right after he's finished his bottle and his mouth is still all slobbery and he's still in sucking mode. He's at the age where you are introducing it and there's no huge rush. They get the hang of it eventually. If he doesn't have scours, don't mess with anything!

 

[farmgirl01]

When I had my bottle calf I had the same issue. I went and got another nipple and made sure it had a very small hole. He had to really work at getting the milk out and by the time he got it all drank his brain had caught up with his stomach. He still looked for more, just not as bad.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

That's just how they are, but as others have said. He isn't starving. We tried putting some grain in their mouths when we had bottle baby Jerseys and I think that eventually, we just put some on the ground and they were nosey when we backed off and nibbled at it. They certainly didn't want to put their head in a bucket. Then as they figured out it was good stuff, a bucket was used and they were fine.

Best wishes with the Jersey. They are so darn cute!

 

[cchardwick]

My calf is four weeks old and I'm still trying to convince her to eat more grain, she just nibbles at it. I also have llamas and chickens so I've been using smaller amounts of grain and offering it twice a day right after the feedings. It seems to help if you shake the bucket and pet the calf and stay with her while she is eating (or nibbling, or just sniffing!). One thing that I have just started trying is adding yogurt to the milk mix. I use plain Greek yogurt, the stuff with the highest calories, and use three heaping tablespoons per feeding. This adds a lot of extra calories and helps their digestive system. You can do a web search on feeding yogurt to calves, it can really help them out, and my calf seems a lot more satisfied after her milk with yogurt.

 

[california cowgirl]

Be careful too early with rich feed and a young baby calf does not have a lot of enzymes to digest that stuff. Drink the bottle and maybe nibble on hay or grass but they will eventually start to want to nibble. I know the feeling and a good mix is wet cob and alfalfa pellets with some manna or calf starter. Be careful force feeding them cause their tummies are touchy they are only really using one stomach right now and that is for milk. Beware of soy in your milk replacers I have been having issues with that too causes bloat and diareah and death. They do not have the enzyme to digest soy either but it is in some milk replacers. Been dealing with that for the last couple years till I found the culprit and lost many calves. finally got someone at nutrition with land O lakes to talk to me yesterday and he said some of the feed store milk replacers are not that good and really should not be sold. Make sure all milk replacer and NO soy!!!
Good luck with the baby!!!