???'s about new angus bull calf eating

[arabianequine]

This link on BYC tells my story



http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/751746/s-about-my-new-angus-bull-calf-with-eating

 

[Cricket]

If his poops are good, I wouldn't increase his milk intake. Maybe give him more grain--is it calf starter? I don't think I'd be giving that much water, but my calves are smaller than yours. He sounds like he could be lonely. Calves always act starved! Sounds to me like you're doing a good job!

 

[WildRoseBeef]

For those too lazy to click on the link P)

I got him at about a week old. He was sick....had scours at a min. Seems he kicked whatever he had now. When he was sick he would eat his 2 bottles a day but took 4-5 feedings.

Now he is about 2 1/2 weeks old and since last sat. he all the sudden started eating or wanting to eat full bottles. I did give him scour meds and gatorade diluted with water. Keo-pectate a few times...took his temp etc.

So anyways starting last sat. he is wanting to eat full bottles 4-5 times a day now....which is good and means he is feeling better. More active and such too. I have been giving him 3 with milk but more diluted so I put 5-6 oz a milk replacer per bottle. He is getting a 1-2 oz extra that way. I also have been giving him a gatorade water bottle too....so he is drinking 2 gallons a day. Is this bad? Sometimes he starts mooing just a few hours after I fed him. I have been making him wait trying to anyways like 8 hours at least does not always work so well. He is right out side our bedroom and he is loud lol.

I started putting out a very small amount of grain....now that his poop is back too normal. I though maybe that would help tide him over till next feeding.

What are you thoughts? Is my calf the only starving one out there? Could he be that big he needs more then normal. He is pretty tall.

Sounds like he's going to be a big boy. It's good to feed him enough that he's not going to be too full, because you can feed too much which may cause scours again. Most on here would recommend to decrease the amount of feedings to once or twice a day. It's best to keep a calf hungry because a hungry calf is a healthy calf, and it will be less stress on you too. Don't give in to his whining and complaining about being hungry. He has to learn that he can't get his way all the time lol, otherwise that's a means for spoiling him, and a spoiled bovine can become a dangerous bovine when he's older, or past weaning age.

Is he intact? Consider castrating him now, because the longer you wait the more stressful it will be on him when you finally decide he needs to be "neutered."