Calf won't Suckle! *Updated with PICS*

[rodriguezpoultry]

Have you tried getting him to drink from a bucket yet?

 

[Bleenie]

Yeah, we did try a bucket and he wanted nothing to do with it.

He's dead set on finding his momma to nurse from, we let him out of his pen and he went Crazy when he saw the big cows..jumped, kicked & ran all over. of course they wont let him eat, all their calves are older.

we've tried Making him feed from the bottle, he continues to flail his tongue and spit it out.
We tried bucket feeding, he wont go near it, even after we push his nose in a little.
Ive tried massaging his throat and he just gets irritated
we've tried different nipples, soft & firm, big hole, small hole

He obviously just wants his momma.

We didn't let him get hungry yesterday so he did not get fed this morning, we are going to wait until tonight and pray that he takes the bottle, we really want him to but he's proving to be a stubborn little monster.

ETA: we tries nosing the dogs and has nosed us a few times looking for milk but when we try the bottle or even hold it between our legs he doesn't want it and walks off.

 

[herfrds]

I would straddle our bottle calves, back them into a corner and stuff the teat to the bottle in their mouth. Hold their head and massage their throat til they started to swallow. Now we always had trouble with the store teats with the hole being too small so we would cut the hole bigger.

Just curious has the calf tried to suck your fingers? Wondering if it has that sucking instinct.

 

[herefordlovinglady]

I promise, if you keep trying he will take the bottle. I have yet to see a healthy calf not learn. try not to bother him too much. let him low at the cows, let him get hungry, when it's feeding time again take the calf put it between your legs like you are going to ride it. hold his head at his throat between your legs so he can go back or forward -- i sometime back the calf up into a wall or a corner where he can go backwards. take one hand and hold it under his chin and steady him where he can't move his head around, take the nipple and put it in his mouth. he is trying do it you said he was moving his tongue around, he wants it, you said it was going down his throat, eventually it will catch on. I have worked with many babies who need to be taught how to suck and it just takes time. I have sat with a many of calves for hours just working with it to get it to nurse. don't use a real big holed nipple, you don't want too much draining down his throat too quickly. I wish you luck, he is such a pretty little calf. and seems to be high spirited which is in your favor. more vigor the healthier they are. I am assuming the milk is warm right? I know this can be frustrating and you are trying and you will make it happen i just feel it....

 

[Bleenie]

It also won't suckle on our fingers...it knows exactly what to do when it sees one of the heifers though, runs right for the udder area.

We're really going to try again tonight, like i said, we're going to wait til his night time feeding..he hasn't eaten at all today and wont until then. He is just gorgeous & i'm keeping my fingers crossed everytime we go to feed him in hopes that he'll latch on and figure it out. We've switched back to a medium flow nipple, it doesn't run out too fast, pretty much as much as a momma when you milk her.

We've raised lots of calves in the past and they all took to it right away or at least after we got them back on their feet..(the auctioneer knows us and always gives us "the leftovers" that no one else wants.

Good news though, he no longer has scours..seems he just needed some milk & electrolytes in him...he got REALLY spunky when we let him in the field this morning. still nice & bright eyed too...and loud now.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Is it a new nipple? If you boil it for a few minutes to get it softened up more, it may feel more natural to him. Also, you can try dipping it in sugar or yogurt. You may have to get down and dirty with him and have somebody hold him while you squirt milk in his mouth. Eventually he will get hungry enough where he will have a light-bulb moment. Good luck!

 

[herefordlovinglady]

Quote:
sounds like you are going to have to more stubborn than he is

 

[Bleenie]

I will try the sugared nipple...will honey work too?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
You can try. Sometimes the taste of something pleasant will help stimulate his appetite and get him sucking. He has the instinct, you have to just get it through his head that he needs to do that to the bottle. Also, try sheilding his eyes to imitate the shadow caused by mama's belly.

 

[Haviris]

He is adorable! To bad you couldn't get one like my Brat, she took the bottle like she'd been born on it the first time! Do you have a friendly cow w/ a recently weaned calf you could put him on?

W/ the one we had that refused, I don't know that he'd ever have taken it, I'd never had a calf completely refuse to eat like that. And he WAS hungry because he barely ate enough to stay alive. In his case he started searching under my dog for a teat, I agree w/ trying to minic how it'd look under the cow, maybe under your arm? One of my bottle baby goats won't take the bottle unless I cover her face first, just because I started out doing that to help guide her onto the nipple and now she thinks I 'have' to. Sometimes when I feed the other kid I forget who I'm feeding and reach for his face, he doesn't like that!