We are smitten with this miniature Jersey!

[farmerjan]

That is great about the calf. We seldom worm any calves until weaning time.... and then we do not do alot of worming. If there is any questions, having a fecal done will answer any questions.... calves more often get something like coccidiosis rather than worms at young ages.... The one thing you want to do is to make sure that he gets enough grain/protein .... not too much, but you want him to grow and too much hay if it is not good quality will give him a "pot gut or pot belly" as they eat more to try to get more nutrition. Dairy animals get pot guts much easier than beef breeds because they have been bred for too long to need "better feed"..... they don't do as well when young to subsist on roughage like beef cattle do.
Don't worry either if he tends to look thin..... jerseys are known for looking "dairy" until they get much more mature. As long as he is eating good and has decent consistency to his manure, then he is doing okay.

Yeah, some pigs squeal like they are being murdered over little stuff......

 

[Chebird]

Well, this happened today. I'm hoping he just ate something weird; this is green. Poop this morning was solid and dark. He is acting normal and taking his bottle just fine.

His birthday is June 4th, and the breeder told me to feed him the whole milk.

He gets a half gallon of whole milk from the store twice a day, and he has the run of our back yard which has quite the variety of grasses and weeds. He also has access to our hay barn where he nibbles Bermuda and alfalfa.

After getting the tar scared out of me researching scours, I gave him some Vitamix and Build Back. The second pic is of the ingredients in the Vitamix.

I also sent a pic of the poop to our vet. Haven't heard back yet.

The only thing that has changed is that Hubby mowed down everything.

 

[farmerjan]

His gut tract is starting to evolve... from just the "true stomach" that processes the milk, and the rumen is starting to get some use. He is eating some green stuff... the manure is going to get runnier and green. If he is drinking fine, and acting fine, don't sweat it. Newly mown grass and weeds are always more fun and easier to eat. He will get over it in a day or 2. If it continues, take away the alfalfa and only let him have the grass type hay. Honestly, alfalfa is too rich for little calves... they need more bulk and less rich hay. It can founder him if you are not careful . I never feed alfalfa to calves except as a little tiny bit as a treat... or they are stealing a few bites from the manger when the cow is in the barn to be milked.
He is 2 months old, his gut tract should be developing.... How much grain is he getting? He really needs more of the grass hay (Bermuda) and some grain concentrate, not as much alfalfa... and for a mini he does not need alot of grain.

 

[Chebird]

His gut tract is starting to evolve... from just the "true stomach" that processes the milk, and the rumen is starting to get some use. He is eating some green stuff... the manure is going to get runnier and green. If he is drinking fine, and acting fine, don't sweat it. Newly mown grass and weeds are always more fun and easier to eat. He will get over it in a day or 2. If it continues, take away the alfalfa and only let him have the grass type hay. Honestly, alfalfa is too rich for little calves... they need more bulk and less rich hay. It can founder him if you are not careful . I never feed alfalfa to calves except as a little tiny bit as a treat... or they are stealing a few bites from the manger when the cow is in the barn to be milked.
He is 2 months old, his gut tract should be developing.... How much grain is he getting? He really needs more of the grass hay (Bermuda) and some grain concentrate, not as much alfalfa... and for a mini he does not need alot of grain.

Thanks so much for your wisdom and for taking the time to reply! <3

What kind of grain should he be on? I don't feed grain to anyone else. They get species specific complete food. Only the horses get alfalfa at lunch. I don't think he eats a lot of the alfalfa. He goes into the hay barn to nap. Whenever I go looking for him, he's always just resting in there. It would really be no problem just to shut the door so he can't get in there. Besides the bottle, he mostly grazes on the grass and weeds.

Again, THANK YOU!

 

[farmerjan]

If he is not eating much alfalfa then I wouldn't worry about it. I thought maybe it was something he was eating more of. It is the grasses and weeds that he is eating... as long as it does not become something that is squirting out of him like a shot trying to go through a keyhole at 20 paces... and he is taking his bottles, I would not worry.
Some sort of a calf starter complete grain.... usually in the 14 to 16 % protein range... I normally feed a 14% calf "sweet feed" to the ones I am trying to get to eat grain....they like the molasses sweetness... Try putting a little in his mouth after he drinks his bottle... let him gum it and roll it around in his mouth.... he will eat a little and in a few days might even put his head in a bucket looking for it. If he is drinking water from a bucket, then I would put some in a bucket next to the water... they get curious and will start snuffling around.... you want him to be eating as you are going to want to cut him back to one bottle a day in the next few weeks... and his grain consumption should increase.

Now I don't have mini's... so my expertise is limited on amounts... but a newly weaned "full sized calf" at say 3 months... weighing in the neighborhood of 150 +/- lbs... will be eating 3-4 lbs grain daily. So I am thinking cut that by thirds... and he should be starting to eat and be up to at least 1-1 1/2 lbs a day by 12 weeks???? You need to maybe get in contact with the previous owners to get their thoughts... and contact one of the mini cattle organizations to see what is recommended.

 

[Chebird]

If he is not eating much alfalfa then I wouldn't worry about it. I thought maybe it was something he was eating more of. It is the grasses and weeds that he is eating... as long as it does not become something that is squirting out of him like a shot trying to go through a keyhole at 20 paces... and he is taking his bottles, I would not worry.
Some sort of a calf starter complete grain.... usually in the 14 to 16 % protein range... I normally feed a 14% calf "sweet feed" to the ones I am trying to get to eat grain....they like the molasses sweetness... Try putting a little in his mouth after he drinks his bottle... let him gum it and roll it around in his mouth.... he will eat a little and in a few days might even put his head in a bucket looking for it. If he is drinking water from a bucket, then I would put some in a bucket next to the water... they get curious and will start snuffling around.... you want him to be eating as you are going to want to cut him back to one bottle a day in the next few weeks... and his grain consumption should increase.

Now I don't have mini's... so my expertise is limited on amounts... but a newly weaned "full sized calf" at say 3 months... weighing in the neighborhood of 150 +/- lbs... will be eating 3-4 lbs grain daily. So I am thinking cut that by thirds... and he should be starting to eat and be up to at least 1-1 1/2 lbs a day by 12 weeks???? You need to maybe get in contact with the previous owners to get their thoughts... and contact one of the mini cattle organizations to see what is recommended.

We don't let him in the hay barn, and his poop is more solid. He still takes his bottle like he is starving (he isn't). Do you have a brand name for grain we should start him on? Thanks again for your above answer; you gave me a good night's sleep!

 

[misfitmorgan]

We just use out local feed mills calf starter. It basically a sweet feed.

 

[farmerjan]

Same as @misfitmorgan ... I use our local feed mill's calf feed. It is a sweet feed also. Ask where you are getting the feed for your other animals... They might have something that you can feed to more than one breed since the calf will not be eating all that much. A good all around 14% sweet feed would be fine.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Our mill has 14% and 18% calf starter we use 18% usually, then when they get older they move to a 16% chop feed and shell corn. They also have 24/7 access to 1st cut grass hay when they are younger. The two oldest ones and our sheep are atm on 2nd cut grass hay round bales with a sprinkling of alfalfa in it. DH did some work and traded for the round bales, normally they just stay on 1st cut grass hay.