Calf having trouble nursing!!! SUGESTIONS NEEDED!

Togg Lovers · #1 12/26/08, 06:03 PM

Our Neighbors Angus just calved, possably 2 mos early, the calf seems fine and is up walking around. Every time it tries to nurse it bumps alot but does not latch on to the teat. We have tried to help and encourage it. Does anyone have any ideas of anything we could do to help?

Thank You

NWMO · #2 12/26/08, 06:15 PM

Wondering if the calf has caught on yet? I have not had to assist. They seem to figure it out.....and if the momma is being patient, I wouldn't worry too much. We had a heifer who was a little impatient about it all, but the calf eventually latched on. If worse comes to worse, tie the momma up and restrain her so that you can have access to place the calf and assist.....although this might cause momma additional stress.

Togg Lovers · #3 12/26/08, 11:19 PM

Yes! He finally figured it out. Boy he had us worried for a while. I always feel better once I've actually seen them nurse. I remember when I was a kid someone had said that they just leave the barn after the calf is born and they never noticed that one didn't nurse until it was real thin and sick. Guess I'm just a worry wart. Funny how some things from childhood just stick with you.

Ronney · #4 12/27/08, 04:20 AM

Good on you for watching. I too like to see them nurse before I stop worrying about them and if I don't get to see them nurse, I look for that tell tale Karitane yellow that tells me they are.

Cheers,
Ronnie

kgchis · #5 12/27/08, 11:41 AM

We had to pull a calf Dec 23. This is the first calf for the heifer/cow. Calf is a beef breed. He was a healthy weight about 50-60 pounds.

He can't seem to figure out how to nurse. He puts his nose to the cow's teats and just moves his mouth but doesn't latch on.

I had some synthetic colostrum, and I gave that to him within 24 hours just to be sure he got something. He took the bottle that day.

After a day of trying to let him figure it out, we decided to try giving him a bottle. He won't nurse. We tried putting mom in the chute and putting the tit in his mouth. He just laid down under her. Mom is very patient about trying to let him nurse.

We were only getting a little down him each day with a bottle. So yesterday we started tubing him. He seems to be getting stronger, but still is not sucking. He can walk under his own power but is weak. He is having bowel movements (they are soft but not runny). He seems to be a healthy newborn calf other than he won't nurse.

I am beginning to wonder if he hurt his tongue during birth. His tongue was sticking out about 4 inches when we got him pulled.

Anyone heard of this???

He doesn't fight the tube and takes tubing very well thankfully. I was worried about making his mouth sore.

Togg Lovers · #6 12/27/08, 12:28 PM

There might be something about the tongue. This little one had its tongue out to the side too. In fact when we first saw it we thought OH No this one isn't viable but as soon as he hit the ground he started moving. It did seem to take a good while for his mouth to start working.

vquinn2 · #7 12/27/08, 10:13 PM

Checkout this website
http://familycow.proboards32.com/index.cgi
Lots and Lots of good info there!
Good luck
Valerie

Jay · #8 12/28/08, 09:02 AM

Almost every calf I've seen is born with thier tongue sticking out--even in photos. It is kind of freaky!

vquinn2 · #9 12/28/08, 08:27 PM

We had a limosine calf born with a swollen tongue (and head). The cow had a tough labor. It took him a while to stand, suck etc. But he did make it. We had to bottle feed him for a while

Good Luck
Valerie

Chaty · #10 12/28/08, 09:48 PM

Almost all of my calves are born with their tongues sticking out...dont know why but they are...If they cant nurse or suck I give mine a Mu-Se shot as its selenium and it helps with that reflex. If you cant get Mu-se then get Bo-se as its the same thing. It works wonders...

Onthebit · #11 12/29/08, 05:42 AM

a tough labour will cause swelling which can affect the brain function and I believe the natural sucking action. I went through this before with a friend and that friend couldn't get the drug but it is called DMSO : Dimethylsulfoxide. If not then try anti inflamitory drugs.....JMO

randiliana · #12 01/01/09, 01:49 PM

Here is what I do with a non-sucker. It requires a bit of work, but it is less stressful, and has worked for me every time.

I have never yet been able to force a calf to suck. If the instinct is not there, it seems it is not there.

So, rather than fighting with them, I simply tube them. Make sure they get at least one, and preferably 2 good feeds of colostrum in the first 12 hours. Then I move them to either cow's milk (if I can easily milk her) or milk replacer. Mama cow's milk is preferable, as it reduces the chance of you having problems with her accepting the calf later. But if she is really hard to handle, I go the easy route and use milk replacer.

Tube the calf for 2-3 days, depending on how strong it is. I usually feed 3 times a day, morning, early afternoon and mid evening. On the last day (day 2 or 3) I don't feed them in the evening. Leave the calf in a small pen with mama, and in the morning he should have gotten hungry enough for that instinct to kick in.

So far, this has worked for me every time I have had to do it. It is a pain in the butt, but it works. You don't get stressed, and you don't stress either the calf or the cow.

The reason I feed for 2-3 days, is to give the calf a chance to build up a bit of reserve, so that when you leave it overnight, it has enough strength to last the night, and to get up and look for dinner. If you were to do this on day one you may end up with an even weaker calf that you would have to mess with for even longer.

Some calves are oxygen deprived from a long birth and it takes some time for them to figure things out.

Some can be Selenium deficient, which causes muscles to not work correctly so a shot of selenium can be beneficial, and won't likely hurt anything.