Here I go again asking for help

[Roy and Vicky]

Duh is about 2 months old now. I'm giving him 1.5 quart of milk replacer mornin, noon, and night. Is that enough? He looks thin, I can see his hip bones. He refuses to eat the calf starter, he refuses to drink from a bucket. He's munching on grass. I have him out about 7 hours a day now, worked up slowly like I read. no sign of scours, no diarrhea, I boost him up about 1/2 hour every few days and see how he does on pasture. But he's not making any headway and that worries me. He's fiesty, oh boy is he fiesty. I've got him walking on a lead now which is great. I can take him from his pasture area back to the chicken coup with just his bottle and of course he knows he's going to get it so he follows right along. The dang birds are eating more of the calf starter than he is lol. Is it okay to give him some hay? and if so how much at a time.

 

[currycomb]

hay is pretty safe to give all he will eat. maybe a little sweet feed to get him started eating grain. not much, a handful to start with, then you can add other feeds as you go. if he had a friend he could copy eating the grain and hay.

 

[Cricket]

If he's getting filled up on milk, he doesn't really have any incentive to switch to grain. Some of them are just slower to deal with the change.. I ended up getting a 2nd bag of milk replacer for my steer (his name should have been 'Duh', too!)--he won that round! I'd cut back on his milk--if he's healthy, he won't starve himself to death!

 

[redtailgal]

If he's getting filled up on milk, he doesn't really have any incentive to switch to grain. Some of them are just slower to deal with the change.. I ended up getting a 2nd bag of milk replacer for my steer (his name should have been 'Duh', too!)--he won that round! I'd cut back on his milk--if he's healthy, he won't starve himself to death!

I gotta agree with this. I'd go to 2 quarts twice a day, and let him get hungry enough to eat that grain. You can mix a couple tablespoons of karo or molasses (i prefer to use molasses in his grain to gain interest then ease back on it as he starts eating it better)

Dont be afraid to stuff some grain in his mouth so that he will understand that its food.

 

[Roy and Vicky]

If he's getting filled up on milk, he doesn't really have any incentive to switch to grain. Some of them are just slower to deal with the change.. I ended up getting a 2nd bag of milk replacer for my steer (his name should have been 'Duh', too!)--he won that round! I'd cut back on his milk--if he's healthy, he won't starve himself to death!

I gotta agree with this. I'd go to 2 quarts twice a day, and let him get hungry enough to eat that grain. You can mix a couple tablespoons of karo or molasses (i prefer to use molasses in his grain to gain interest then ease back on it as he starts eating it better)

Dont be afraid to stuff some grain in his mouth so that he will understand that its food.

he is so flipping stupid it's not even funny. I have put milk replacer in the grain and nope he won't touch it unless I feed it to him. He flips the bucket of grain over. He is so dang thin I'm afraid not to feed him lol. I'll try the molasses and see if that will attract him to it. He'll put his head down and eat the dang grass but won't put his head in a dish or bucket to eat grain, go figure!! Oh he is definitely so DUH!!!

He seems to be healthy, he jump and bucks around, he's quite comical. I can lead him around the yard with his bottle, or now on the harness. He sleeps and eats grass and his bottle and plays around. if the birds go in the kennel with him then he jumps and bucks around them. I still wish I had a partner in crime for him, but calves are very scarce here this year and very expensive!

 

[redtailgal]

Can you post a pic for us to see how skinny he is? I cant remember what breed he is, but some of them will go thru a "stage" where they grow taller and suddenly look skinny. Getting him on grain will really put some weight on him.

I really do recommend cutting his feeding to two feedings a day of 2 quarts at each feeding. He'll only be losing half a quart of milk, but it will increase his hunger during the day, encouraging him to graze better and giving him more interest in that grain.

Hold his noon bottle and let him get good and hungry, then take your molasses and offer the grain mid afternoon. Try it in a low pan, sometimes they dont like sticking their head in a bucket that obstructs their vision.

Oh....no more hand feeding. He is training you. lol, I've had one do that to me. It makes things harder, and the longer it continues, the harder it will get. Time for some tough love on the little guy. If he is bucking and playing, he is not hurting for nutrition.

If he feels he must have your hand to eat grain, put your hand in the pan he is eating out of, but dont let him eat from your hand.

 

[Cricket]

I'd really work at getting him off the bottle and drinking out of a bucket, too. He needs to get the idea that the good stuff in life comes from a bucket. I'd just skip the bottle, leave the milk bucket for him and leave town for a few hours. Try putting the bucket in a milk crate.

As RTG said, a lot of times they go thru 'skinny' periods. My steer always looks a little on the bony side (I didn't make a great pick, there!), but then I'll notice he's shot up a couple of inches. I've yet to hear of a calf that will starve itself to death from sheer stubborness!

 

[dragonmorgan]

I agree. 2 feedings should be plenty. He wont starve himself so if he gets hungry enough that grain will start lookin pretty good. I kept a little out for our calf all the time for her to nibble on. To start her off I put some in my half and let her taste it and then slowly moved my hand down to the trough. She figured it out pretty quick that the same thing in my hand is whats in trough.

 

[Roy and Vicky]

I agree. 2 feedings should be plenty. He wont starve himself so if he gets hungry enough that grain will start lookin pretty good. I kept a little out for our calf all the time for her to nibble on. To start her off I put some in my half and let her taste it and then slowly moved my hand down to the trough. She figured it out pretty quick that the same thing in my hand is whats in trough.

I tried some in my hand and moving it down to the dish but he would eat til the palm of my hand got near his mouth then he just wanted to suck BLAH!!!!! Yesterday I tried some Karo syrup on the grain, no go he turned up his nose and nibbled on the grass. Today I put some molasses on it and bingo he ate probably 2 cups of it so I was happy!!! I have his dish down in a milk crate as suggested, he tries to scratch his head on the milk crate now!!!! and would tip it over if i didn't have it in a corner. I'm soon going to have to tie everything down out there!!

This weekend we're going to try to get him out of the chicken coup. I have him on the lawn nibbling from about 9 am til 5 pm and no signs of diarrhea so i'm excited.. Gotta get his little over hang cleaned out and ready for him. He needs more area to move around in. Is hog panel going to be high enough to keep him in? I'm thinking not he bucks and jumps around pretty good when I take him out of the dog kennel and back to the chicken coup for the night lol

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I agree. 2 feedings should be plenty. He wont starve himself so if he gets hungry enough that grain will start lookin pretty good. I kept a little out for our calf all the time for her to nibble on. To start her off I put some in my half and let her taste it and then slowly moved my hand down to the trough. She figured it out pretty quick that the same thing in my hand is whats in trough.

I tried some in my hand and moving it down to the dish but he would eat til the palm of my hand got near his mouth then he just wanted to suck BLAH!!!!! Yesterday I tried some Karo syrup on the grain, no go he turned up his nose and nibbled on the grass. Today I put some molasses on it and bingo he ate probably 2 cups of it so I was happy!!! I have his dish down in a milk crate as suggested, he tries to scratch his head on the milk crate now!!!! and would tip it over if i didn't have it in a corner. I'm soon going to have to tie everything down out there!!

This weekend we're going to try to get him out of the chicken coup. I have him on the lawn nibbling from about 9 am til 5 pm and no signs of diarrhea so i'm excited.. Gotta get his little over hang cleaned out and ready for him. He needs more area to move around in. Is hog panel going to be high enough to keep him in? I'm thinking not he bucks and jumps around pretty good when I take him out of the dog kennel and back to the chicken coup for the night lol

All I can tell you is that we have had a 400 pound steer scale a 4 1/2 ft wooden fence from a stand still. As he gets bigger, he will start rubbing on the hog panel and everything else that he can reach. Will it keep him in? Maybe. Do you want to be chasing your cow all over the countryside like we did? Nope!