Orphan Calve wont take bottle

[chickenbuttsowhat]

We just had a calve born few days ago and its mother past away this morning we found the calf all by itself out in the field we grabbed it up and brought it to the house i bottle fed a calve before but this calve wont take the bottle can anyone help the calve has some fight in it and doesnt look bad its nose is a lil dry i dont know if thats bad or not i really dont know much about cows but im slowly learning does anyone have tips on how to get it to take the bottle

 

[chicmom]

Smear some honey onto the nipple.......The sweetness will get him started sometimes.....

 

[codymax2]

I'm not an expert but I know you can get tubing equipment to tube her till she gets stronger, is she up and about or not feeling good?

 

[Chickann]

Is it up and about? When you stick a finger in it's mouth will it suck on your finger? Since its been on the mom a few days, it might just not be inclined to have the rubber nipple in its mouth. If its not suffering from any underlying condition, once it gets good and hungry it *should* drink. You can also try after putting the nipple in its mouth (even notch the nipple a tad so the milk leaks out and it gets a taste) to rub underneath its jaw, that sometimes stimulates the stubborn little cuss to suck. Are you feeding replacer or real milk? Worst comes to worst and it doesnt drink by tomorrow and you don't want to lose it to dyhydration you can call your vet to show you how to tube feed it until it perks up a bit.


Give the skin on its neck a pinch, If it "tents" and doesn't bounce back within a couple seconds, the calf is dehydrated.

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

well it is laying alot its weak they honey idea worked a lil but then it just stopped and its very hard to get it to stand up i did see the tube thing at our co op store but i wont have money untill tomorrow to get it. i did try to stick my finger in its mouth but it didnt really suck it just kind of idk wealky suck/chew type thing right now i have it in my chicken house to keep it warm with the hay untill my husband can get something built for it and im using Sav-A-Calf Grade A Ultra 24 Milk Replacer

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

how long can the calve go with out eatting befor it starves to death? not sure when last time it ate and i really hope it can last untill tomorrow so i can get the tube thing

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
I would go buy some gatorade and mix it 50/50 with water. They like the sweet plus you will be giving the baby energy. You can make it warm and see if the calf likes that better. A calf should drink 2 bottles a day....at 2 qts per bottle....of milk replacer....if they are not getting that much liquid they will get dehydrated very fast. Does the calf have diarrhea? Because that will make it all worse and they will dehydrate even faster.

If the calf drinks a good amount of the 50/50 mix of gatorade and water. I would go back out in an hour or 2 with some milk....maybe just make 1 quart.....should have the energy to suck this down. You calf may need scour meds from the vet....or another antibiotic. Did you take the calfs temp? Fever will also make them dehydrate faster because of the heat from their body....and this is from whatever sickness is going on they are trying to fight off.

They can die quickly a day or two....it just depends how dehydrated or sick they are. What kind of calf is this? Jerseys go down hill very very fast.

If you need to tube PLEASE get someone that knows how....it is not that easy. You can puncture a lung, you can give them pneumonia, and you could be putting liquid down in the wrong spot.

 

[arabianequine]

Oh yeah and the milk replacer I use is 20/20 all milk....that is what I recommend.

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

well i got some pedialyte and mixed it with some sugar hoping that would help when i went back out earlyer he was up checking out the coop. He put up a BIG fight when i was tryign to give the pedialyte then layed back down i put the heat lamp over him make sure he doenst get cold tonight i would put a blanket but dont think he would keep it on him lol still wont drink from the bottle i hope he's still alive in the morning and i'll try again but i'll still make him take the pedialyte

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

Quote:
I would go buy some gatorade and mix it 50/50 with water. They like the sweet plus you will be giving the baby energy. You can make it warm and see if the calf likes that better. A calf should drink 2 bottles a day....at 2 qts per bottle....of milk replacer....if they are not getting that much liquid they will get dehydrated very fast. Does the calf have diarrhea? Because that will make it all worse and they will dehydrate even faster.

If the calf drinks a good amount of the 50/50 mix of gatorade and water. I would go back out in an hour or 2 with some milk....maybe just make 1 quart.....should have the energy to suck this down. You calf may need scour meds from the vet....or another antibiotic. Did you take the calfs temp? Fever will also make them dehydrate faster because of the heat from their body....and this is from whatever sickness is going on they are trying to fight off.

They can die quickly a day or two....it just depends how dehydrated or sick they are. What kind of calf is this? Jerseys go down hill very very fast.

If you need to tube PLEASE get someone that knows how....it is not that easy. You can puncture a lung, you can give them pneumonia, and you could be putting liquid down in the wrong spot.

havent seen it poop yet it did pee in the coop right after i put new hay in

not sure what kind he is though these cows r really not mine they r my landlord and he doesnt take care of them he doesnt even live close by i just didnt want to leave poor thing out that. i also have no way of checking its temp at moment going to see if my husband when he gets home from work maybe tomorrow try and get antibiotic right now we r very short on money so trying my best to do what i can with what i got