HELP !!! Bottle Jersey Calves
 

I Have Bought 6 Jersey bulls They are 5 to 7 Days old the seller says. Also Says they have had the First Colostrum milk. He is feedin them twice a day MR 2 qts per feedin. I went to Farm last week Got there About 6:30 pm. Got 6 bulls That looked good, bright ,bouncy and ate good, a lil scours, Didnt bother me much ,I knew they would scour from the 3 hr ride and transition. Brought them home, Got home about 10:30 pm Put them in a good clean strawed small barn With each other . Next morning 5 dead. ????? I have called the farmer He said he would Give me 5 more Which he said he usally would not, But he said that did not sound right. When i put them in the barn they all seemed to be alert 3 were a little weak in the back but good stand Gave them Penicillan. And the ones with shot died and the ones without died.WHAT should I do about gettin these babies home and ease my Problems. I am not new to bottle Calves, Worked on a dairy for 2ys and a beef farm for 8 yrs. Just been out of the game for a while And wonder if there are new things I can do. I know the cold is hard on them as well. I Am Gettin Calf Blankets to bring them back in , And they will bee in the back of my truck with a camper shell on it.And was going to try to get some Baytril to shoot them with, And give them electrolyte when i get them home.Any other things should I do???
:help:

Make sure the farmer gives you plent of colostrum to start out those babies. Take a look at their navel cords and make sure they are dried and shriveled. They may have been new calves.

Just a guess, I think the 5 died due to hypothermoia. Body temp dropped during long ride and they went into shock and died....My 2 cents...Topside

I was also going to recommend a camper shell or van, if not forget moving them that far at this time of the year....

how tight is the camper shell on the truck and where does the exhaust dump out possible carbon monoxide poisioning

This could be a problem, and I`m thinkin Topside is right on the money also. And my personal opinion, they are getting to much to eat right off the bat. I never feed more tham a half gallon or a bit more a day for the first week or two, then I will start uping it after that. I would never haul baby jersey calves for three hours, they are hard enough when born on the place. You could check their temps. when you get home to see if they are super cold. If it was me I would wait for warmer day to haul calves. > Thanks Marc

I agree with Marc and Travis. Did you have a heat lamp or heat mat for these babies?

Judy i ended up with the little jersey first calver and that rough jersey bull calf today . This calf was born in the guys stock trailer on the way to an auction in 20 degree weather . named him miracle because it would take one for him to make it . Bedded him down in the barn in a stall when i got home now the wife has him in a kids playpen in the corner of the kitchen :hysterical:

I agree! I would feed them warm electrolyte mixture BEFORE you leave the farm! may even add a tad bit of corn syrup for extra energy. Bed the truck heavy with straw + the blankets! Good Luck.

I think They may have been a lil Hyperthermic , When I picked them Up, The Bedding In the Barn Was Damp And no heat And it was about 28 degrees, But the barn was not drafty . But I made the mistake of not taken a thermometer. I am going to put A small Heater that works off the Cig lighter it the back this time And using Calf Blankets. And have them a 50 degree pen when I get them home.I'm A truck guy , never really thought about a van, I'm going to see about maybe useing my dads old work van, And Crank the heat ....lol..Thanks for that pointer Topside1...The Camper shell is pretty tight I had windows crackced to allow very little draft. I dont think it was to Much.Dont beleive any Carbon monoxide I have rode back there And have never Had any fumes in the covered bed. as far as the feedin, I was always told to up just a bit when it was cold to give them the extra energy. We always went on below 30 F. That they burn more energy to stay warm, And if the milk was below thier body temp 100- 102 F. They also burned extra energy to warm the milk, And by not uping the milk intake They would be losing about 0.6lbs a day instead of gaining About 1 to 1.6 a day.Thats why the feedin didnt bother me to much, But I got there when he was feedin and didnt see him feed any electrolyte And Had about 10 to 12 newborns (Said 5 to 7 days old) Per pen. Thanks for these pointers, This helps Refesh my brain A lil.Judy I didnt have a heat pad or heat light, But i did Have them Bedded heavy with A lot of extra straw for them to snuggle in.

Linn...As on the Colostrum, I was always told after the first 48 hrs it is to late for the colostrum. For the pours that take in the goodies from that milk are already closed and therefore will not help the immunity system..Am I wrong on that??

Good luck with that lil miricle.That has to be a tough one.:eek:

Did you read all of Sale Barn Calves? Lots of good info,even when you buy from a farm.

Passive immuntiy from cows colostrum to calf is only useful if fed under the first 24 hours. Ideally it should be givin within the first hour of life. Each hour you wait after the first hour the absorbtion rate of milks antibodies decreases. Hope I explained myself well enough. Just look up passive immunity....Topside

Price for bottle calves is lowest in feb and in aug. because they have the lowest survival rates in the coldest and hottest months.

While some studies may say otherwise, we always make sure our calves get colostrum for at least three days. A cow usually produces cololstrum for three days after calving, so there must be a reason for that even if the calf's gut doesn't absorb the antibodies after 24 hours, the nourishing colostrum will give it a better chance of survival.

I agree with linn, a calf benefits tremendously with colostrum milk anytime really. At any age, it's truly special. Weight lifters and other fitness gurus enjoy colostrum powdered drinks, and I've even took tablets for years to fight a knee problems....Topside
http://www.colostrum2u.com/tips-on-t...m-benefit.html

I agree with Linn and Top, we also give colostrum for at least three to four days. And I have been known to give some when a calf is feeling poorly, not alot, just a pint or so in the regular milk feeding. I also will drink some when the cows come fresh, not on the first day as it is so thick I just can`t do it. > Thanks Marc

Are you putting straw down in the back of your truck for them as you travel as well? or are they on the cold floor

Yes Had them very well bedded with 2 bale Straw to where they had a good layer betweem them and the cold floor. Plus they had a good nest around them, And lmost covered up.:( . I did try all I could to keep them from Gettin Cold or to much breeze on them.

So would you think it profitable to go ahead and buy the powdered Colostrum And feed it to them Anyways Just for good measure???

Yes, Did read, and very helpful.

No don't buy this type colostrum, it's for humans only. I was just giving an example as to how beneficial colostrum is....Go with your cap top/van idea and everything will be fine. I've transported lots of calves in my back seat, so a cap top will solve all you death/stress problems. A calf coming from a dairy will have gotten colostrum at birth because the farmer has no need for the stuff other than bottle feeding it to calves....Topside

You would be surprised at the number of dairies that don't feed bull calves colostrum, they save that for the heifers that are more profitable! Some give colostrum to bull calves that is milked out the second or third day and reserve the first milking colostrum for heifers or dilute colostrum with milk. It is best to ask ahead of time and make sure they got high quality colostrum and a good amount of it.

Not saying they all do it, just be aware and ask ahead of time!

So if you ask ahead of time, that means they won't lie, oh I get it now....Good grief.

If the temps there are 28 degrees I'd take enough old sweat shirts to put a sweater on them for the ride. I'd also take every precaution mentioned above from others to keep them warm on the ride. (camper shell, hay bedding)

I'll be an internet vet now and also recommend giving them all three cc's of Baytril when you load them and when you get them home give them a pint of warm electrolytes. NO milk or MR. I'd wait 6-8 hours and give them another pint of liquid. This time, make it half electrolyte and half MR or milk. There's a fine line between keeping them hydrated and overfeeding them especially with small jersey calves.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I'll be the internet Vet's assistant, and offer this advice for free. If you are picking up pure blood Jersey bull calves then only feed them 2 pints per feeding and slowly increase the amount to 3 pints per feeding by three weeks of age. Just advice from a guy who's raised over 100 bottle calves mainly Jerseys....Overfeeding really does kill quickly. Topside

I can't seem to get the Baytril as of yet. Is there anything else that is over the counter that I could get to give the Calves before I haul them home?? Thanks Again to Everyone for all the help.

I don't know how you would get it without a vet's prescription. I've also used Resflor (nuflor and bantamine mixture) in the past. I prefer the baytril because it has an anti-inflammatory in it. It helps them feel good.

I'm NOT a vet. I don't claim to be a vet. The tricks that work for me and that I pass on are those that I learned by trial and error and most of all from dairyman that have stood the test of time and raised thousands of bottle calves.

I went in my local vet's office one day a few years ago and asked for a 100cc bottle of Albon. He sized me up and gave me that, "so you think you're a vet" look before asking me just what in the world I needed Albon for. I told him it was for an extreme case of mastitis in one of my jerseys.

He then went on a 20 minute tyrade about how Albon wasn't labled for mastitis treatment so how in the world did I get the idea I needed some Albon. I just humbly stated that Mr Casady told me I needed it.

Well now, the tone changed. You see, Mr Casady had been milking 250+ cows for 50 years and new all there was to know about taking care of milk cows. His reply was simply this: "If Mr. Casady told you need Albon, you need Albon." I had a better feeling cow a day or two later.

Everyone will give some awesome advice here on HT. You will get some odd looks from your vet if you're not in dairy country and they're not familiar with the latest and greatest dairy tricks. Otherwise, just go with what an experienced dairyman in your area advises. They have to keep those heifer calves alive if they want to keep milking so they find out what works and stick with it.

Personally, there's probably some that can know what advice I'll give before I post it. I most always recommend 3cc's of Baytril for about any ailment in a bottle calf. It works for me most of the time. I personally think it's a wonder drug for bottle babies and will continue on with it until I learn otherwise.

I hope you end up with some live calves out of your next run. Just use caution before you make the haul and don't get so hasty to get them home that you put them in harm's way to get it done.

Sounds like you're packing for the return trip and calf pickup. Listen I know you have had horrible luck the first go round, but as you have now learned transporting new borns in an open air trailer is a bad idea. This time you has a new enclosed plan and I'm telling your the calves will live and you will succeed. With or without meds, just transport with minimal stress, listen to what the seller says, don't deviate from their advice. It's obvious to me that they are getting colostrum, why else would he offer you more calves for free...Anyway stay in touch...Topside

Yes, Trying to make sure I have anything that May be needed.And I beleive as you do, I don't think he would be Offering more calves if he didnt think otherwise. Glad he is a Considerate Dealer.He Has been well to deal with and even called me back the other day to let me know when they will be there.As He gets them from a dairy and resales.And even told me he will call and confirm that everything is on Schedule. Trying to do the best I can. First off, Love to raise animals. And have a real joy in Showing my Grandchildren the responsibility of life. For it is more for them . And Love the meat on the table. So I hope I got some Extra info to make this trip a successful one, and a Great success for the Grandkids.

Find another source for calves next time . Your buying from a middle man . you have no idea how far they were trucked or handled or if they were fed colostrum or not . Be it as it may the seller can tell you whatever you want to hear .

I agree with Kycrawler, up till now the entire thread only talked farmer/seller etc. giving me at least the impression that you were buying direct off the farm. Then in post #31 the word dealer appears, whole different ballgame now. Hope for the best, I'll continue to help....Topside

I agree with that assesment myself. When we first made the deal A couple weeks ago, I was under the impression he was getting from a local dairy. As I traveled up there, Got to the farm He then goes into a lil detail about how he recieves them. ( i instantly had some ill feelins.) (Of coarse I do take the blame here, I should have investigated this Farther.Lesson learned !!! Hind site is 20/20.) As we were there lookin at what we had wanted to get, Another buyer was coming back for seconds.He said that he had bought several and had good success.( that set me a little more at ease.) And at this time they were feedin The calves Some had some scours and some not As i said in previous post The Calves didn't seem in to bad of shape.There was 2 or 3 that were down and they were workin wth them. Didn't think to much of it, for the 40 or so calves he was tendin to in the cold weather.I thought that with that many, its typical to have a few down.I went ahead and picked mine as they were eatin as that way I had time to look them over.They were all up And alert and willin to eat. The ones I got, ( i thought were pretty good calves) I trusted my judgement in pickin good calves. Now I'm into this commitment with money tied into it. I relize I could chaulk it up as a loss and move on.But I really beleive the Guy is being very truthful. As, He could of just told me,.... Sorry about that, But thats what happens when raising young calves And thats the price ya pay.....Instead He tells me, that is an uncommon Expereince with all the calves he has sold, And if I would be willin to make the drive again He would replace that which I lost....Thats Calves he could sell to someone else and make more money..... If he was just a taker, I dont beleive He would be given 5 Calves Away.He would sell to some other person and tell me to hit the road or I could buy more.

Sounds like he's on the up and up. Just hate thinking about all the loading and unloading etc. the calves have been though (stress). Not all folks are cheaters, I'd just rather see you purchase your calves direct from the diary. I'm picking up a full blooded small framed Jersey tomorrow and he will only be fed 2 pints in the morning and 2 pints in the evening, exactly the same amount they feed at the dairy. Doesn't sound like much, but a hungry calf is a healthy calf. Review my feeding recommendations I posted earlier in this thread. Topside

Topside1, I would like your recomendation here. He said That they will be there Tuesday @ 7am. And I could come and get them right off the truck. (Which the distance and time of the truck arrival will really make it complicated for me.)But if that would be best, I could do. And here is the Question. Do ya think I would be better off to let him keep them for a day or so for a better time for pick up,And To let them recover??? Or would I be better off gettin them off the truck ??? :help: Weather on the long forcast is lookin wet and 40ish degrees for tuesday. :confused:

Is there not a dairy or salebarn any closer? I would never consider putting newborns through an ordeal like that. BIG cattle get sick from a trip like that!

A lot of people knock sale barns but if you pick out the alert/active/healthy looking calves you will be in the clear. But then again we also have Draxxin on hand but it's usually not needed.

Everything in order now. Now waiting on little warmer weather before bringing the baby Calves :bouncy:

Good Idea! Keep us posted on progress. I've always been fond of those big brown eyes on a jersey calf and am right fond of them. I sure like the steaks as well!