New born calf quick help
 

A friend has just found an new calf born last night or today. Cow is great mom. Calf has orange to pink poo. Calf won't nurse. He got a small amount of colostrum milked and gave that to calf in bottle. He is trying to get calf to nurse as of right this moment. My real concern is the color of poo. Calf is dried off calf readily took colostrum from bottle. Any thoughts will be welcome. We can pull calf if need to but don't want to.

I think you will have to restrain the cow in a chute or some other means, put the calf onto the cow and let it nurse. You may have to do this more than once. Don't put it off until tomorrow, do it now! Hopefully, you have the cow and calf in a smaller enclosure where they can be observed and assisted.

Perhaps her udder is full and painful? So you could milk her out a bit first (while restrained) to relieve the pressure and then put the calf on her. You say the "cow is great mom," so I gather this is not her first calf.

I would worry more about getting it latched on to the cow than what color the calf's manure is.

If it were me, I would try to get more colostrum out of the cow if the calf is not able to nurse. If not possible, get some from a dairy. Lots of times they keep some on hand frozen. Don't microwave to thaw out. Just put it in warm water. There are companies that make a colostrum that I have used also. Maybe a vet or feed store may have it. The calf needs it now, not tomorrow if possible.

Are you sure the calf is hungry or hasn't nursed? If the poo is orange/yellow, it's probably had colostrum. If it can suck from a bottle, I wouldn't think he has a selenium deficiency. Separate for just a few hours and put them back together and he'd probably nurse on his own. As long as he has had at least 1/2 gallon of colostrum in the first 4 hours, he should be OK as far as that goes. He should have a total of 1 gallon before 12 hours.

Poo color is right for a new born calf that has been drinking colostrum. I agree with Matt man... Sounds like to much human interference to me...Topside

He is bring calf to me. I suspect it is hypothermia and I can't get to him at the moment. I have stuff here to treat quickly. He said poo squirted was orange red. She is here. Getting some electrolytes going soon. Gave her small amount of milk replacer maybe 1 cup she drank it. She is in house under blankets very weak mouth cool but not cold. Her eye lids are red red red.

I know here poo is yellow from colostrum, but not what he described. She had been standing but is down know. Warming her I don't think she has nursed. There was a neighbor that had watched her since morning and never saw it nurse. I know colostrum first 24 hr. she did get a little. Will send him back out with my easy milker to get some from cow. .

I really do get the fact to much human interference.That is always my first thoughts not to interfer .

I fear we are going to have dead calf but we will keep trying.

This kind of situation breaks my heart. Since these discussions are filled with assumptions, let me start in.
Is this a new cattle owner?
Since most cows show signs of calving, did he make arrangements for this expected cold weather calving?
Does he own a chute?
Does he have shelter, beyond a wind break, seperate from other livestock?
When he brought you the calf, did he bring a couple gallons of colostrum from this cow?
Would waiting another month before breeding back this cow have prevented this likely tragedy?
I live in a very cold region, but I consider any livestock death by hypothermia as neglectful as starvation.

Thank you for caring and doing the best in a bad situation. I doubt the calf could have gotten better care than what you've given.

I have got hospital white bed pads under the rear of this calf. I am quite sure we are not going to save her. She is leaking a pink water that is on the pad it is not from her umbilical cord.Usually they are not on a hosp pad for anyone to notice this. Would she have birthing fluid this color?. To weak to drink anymore. I am not a cattle person we have sheep. I have helped a lot of hypothermia animals before and stomach tube them. I questioned the selenium. I have bo-se here. I don't think a shot would help at this point. I would just like to help him figure out the problem..She is a nice size red poll calf it is a shame.

It is about 45 here plenty of shelter she went up to corner of field to have calf away from others. He was working and miss cow this am.

I would treat this calf like a auction jersey calf.
Warm it up, and tube it. If it wont drink, tube it. Milk twice a day and electrolytes in between to replace the scours.
You can keep them going most of the time by tubing them liquids.

I would wonder if maybe the calf got stepped on. If it is 45 there, I wouldn't think that the temperature alone is the cause for this trouble (unless it is windy too). We are calving here now, and our temps are below freezing. We are putting new pairs in the barn at night because it is getting down below 15 F at night. But in the daytime, if they are in a spot with no wind and the temps are above that we leave them outside and keep an eye on them. We had 5 calves born here this morning with temps right around freezing. The only ones that went inside were the set of twins.

I know believe this calf probably was stepped on and did something to her insides. There is to much of this pink fluid. The kindest thing to do is to put her down she is not going to make it. Thanks for helping me to think.

I was typing that after I posted. Thanks it wasn't windy here and it was in the low 50's. What a shame. Nice calf.

Sorry for all the typo's things were pretty hectic here. We have a lot of wet soggy ground and that was why I thought of hypothermia it wasn't till she got did I think differently. I had just came to the same conclusion Randilian before I saw your post. This was a very healthy looking calf and unless something else could have been wrong with her gut. I just couldn't explain all this pink fluid. The pad was very heavy with liquid. The only thing I couldn't understand was that her eye lids were still red and not pail, but maybe she didn't bleed a much as was injured. All we can say we did the best. Trying to get a vet would have been useless. As thy say you raise livestock you have dead stock. I can't help think about all the people think farmers don't care about there animals. This is just part of it, and definitely not the fun part.

We keep trying till we have a dead calf, no calf is counted out till it has taken it`s last breath. I have saved some calves others would have given up on. Very, very hard to say what was or is wrong with this calf, trying to figure out what is wrong from several hundred miles away with nothing much to go on makes it difficult at best. I give you credit for trying, and they can`t take that away from you. If you have saved lambs, you can save a calf. > Thanks Marc

We try to do the best we can. As a hard old farm guy I still tear up when I think of the final days I spent with a 2 week old Jersy heifer. I did everything I could. Her head was in my lap when she stopped breathing. Not to be detered, I cupped my hands and did makeshift CPR. It worked, she lived, but only for a few more minutes.

I've saved a few that my DH had written off. But you have to know where to draw the line too. Sometimes things just happen, and it sucks.

Thanks for all the input. I have help save a lot of livestock over the years with God's help and a little sense. I seen enough to know when there is no more that I can do. Body movements eyes fixed. ect. At that time I guess I go back to my up bringing. My dad was an avid hunter and never like to see any animal suffer and I don't either, but if I think they have a fighting chance I will hang right in there with them. I don't have a medical degree but have been poked and prodded for years by some of the best Doc in Ohio. (You get quite an education that way.) We have had a few calves but not as many as sheep and goats. Till this calf got to me I couldn't asses her. When I got to see the pink fluid which I new was some blood tinged fluid. I didn't think this was normal then as the amount that keep coming and she grew weaker it became clear to me we were going to loose this battle. Short of IV fluid I did everything I new how to do. It is a shame this calf died and I do believe it was due to more of a management issue but can't say that sure. Will take lesson from this and pray it doesn't get repeated again.

Sorry the calf was lost. You did all you could do.

Better ending to bad situation. Got a couple day's old head calf today cow took it immediately. Calf has nursed and belly full calf is sleeping. Cow lying down chewing her cud. He will have to work with the calf a few more time so he gets the hang of plumbing parts but all seem well.

I like that. Somebody gets the benefit of all that milk. Good job. I have tried that in the past, some tricks worked, some did not. I even went to the trouble of skinning a dead calf and tying the skin on a sale barn calf. It worked.
I am glad the cow took your calf.

Thats one of the reasons that I keep my Swiss cow. I've grafted calves on her several times. She will feed about anything that attempts to drink.
My wife calls her "profit margin".