Weak calf

[SmallFarmGirl]

Hope everything turns out alright!

 

[purecountrycow]

Im still not sure if its scours or what it is. Its like 1 day he'll drink a full bottle of milk then hes sick for 2 days,,scours doesnt make sence,,,its almost as if hes lactose and tolerant,,is that possible? Or if he has a lil pneumonia,,my dad has this meds called L.A. 200. Its for pneumonia. Would it hurt to give a shot of that? I am now giving him pedialyte with a syringe cuz I cant get him to suck on a bottle at all so I gotta try something. Hes now up and walking aroung.

 

[redtailgal]

LA 200 is fine, read the bottle for dosing and follow it exactly.

You said:
Its like 1 day he'll drink a full bottle of milk then hes sick for 2 days,,scours doesnt make sence,,,its almost as if hes lactose and tolerant,,is that possible?


That sounds exactly like scours. You need to take him off the milk and grass, give him a rest and reintroduce him to the milk slowly. I really do suggest that you read this link and follow the guidelines on it.

http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2952-calves-scours

Try putting your pedialyte in a bottle and rubbing something sweet on the nipple, some sugar maybe. You can use pancake syrup or molasses, but go easy on it as it will increase the loose bowels. If you still cannot get him to drink, add just a little bit of the powerded milk (as in JUST a little bit, a tbsp or so of the powder) to the electrolytes to get it to smell "tastier".

No milk for the next 24 hours, try to get about 3 quarts of pedialyte in him instead.

edited to add: have you checked his temp?

 

[she-earl]

I would take his temp before giving antibiotics. He needs a feeding or two of electrolytes and then alternate feedings of electrolytes and milk. You cannot totally stop giving him milk because electrolytes doesn't have the nutrition that he needs. I would also remove grass and hay from him but not the calf starter feed or water. His rumen cannot handle forages until he is six weeks old. If you can get some whole milk from a neighoring farmer, that would be better than giving him milk replacer. Also, at what temp where you feeding the milk replacer? It needs to be approximately 100-110 degrees.

 

[redtailgal]

At this point, he is not absorbing the nutrients offered by the milk, so milk is a moot point, in my opinion. His body is reacting with yellow scours because it cannot handle the amount or type of milk that he is on.

I guess we all do thing different, thats fine. But I just wouldnt give milk to a sick baby.......the elctroyltes to build him back up with hydration and then a slow steady introduction to the milk. His little body needs a break from milk right now.

I strongly disagree with removing the hay. Hay should always be available, even at a young age they will eat it. The rumen needs to stay active.

Lol, you and I have totaly different approaches. I'd bet we both have healthy calves too. C'est la vie!

 

[purecountrycow]

Well yesterday about 4:00 pm I gave him a shot of l. a. 200 and a cpl more syringe full of pedialyte. Then about 6:30 a qt of pedialyte with a lil bit of milk replacer and it took a lil while but he drank it all from the bottle. Then about 9:00 last night I gave him a lil more pedialyte but with a syringe. This morning he was feeling better. He drank 3 pints of pedialyte with some milk replacer from bottle and acted like he wanted more. Hes out walking around now and mooing so I gave him another qt pedialyte/milk replacer and he drank it down. So hes feeling bette so far and Ill just keep an eye on him.. Thanks

 

[redtailgal]

Keep him warm and dry!