bottle calf nipples~

[Cheryl aka JM]

I purchased dairy cross bottle babies last week. They are approx a month old. No pics yet (can't find my camera!) The trip home must have been a bigger trial to them than I thought~ as right away one of the heifers got scours and stopped eating. We went to the vet yesterday and got "Sulfamethazine bolus calf" pills and "LA 200 500 ml" shots". This morning she very much wanted to eat her breakfast~ I was excited that she was back on her feed! I mixed up her bottle with the electrolytes and MR and she went to work suckling......and suckling.....and suckling......and suckling! NOTHING was coming out of the bottle! This is the same nipple the other three feed out of with no issues. When I bought the bottles I accidently got two different kinds of nipples~ one big fat one and one kind of skinny one. The other three seem to prefer the smaller nipple to the bigger nipple~ but I tried both the big nipple and the skinnier nipple with my little trouble girl this morning......and she was trying to eat......but the stupid thing was just NOT flowing! Eventually she gave up and refused to suckle anymore after about 2 pints got into her. I would have liked to get at LEAST 3 pints in her......the others are eating 4 pints a serving.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? I tried hold the bottle up higher, down lower, pushing it further in her mouth, pulling it a bit out.......there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason that I could see to when the bottle would actually flow and when it wouldn't. Sometimes the milk was flowing through (could see, hear and feel the air exchange in the bottle when it was flowing) and sometimes it just was not no matter what position I held the bottle in or how enthusiastically she tried to get the milk out.

[topside1]

Cheryl, so she did get 2 pints in her. The nipple and bottle are probably working just fine, it's the calf's appetite that's the problem. If the other calves used the same bottle and nipple and it work fine then it's the calf. At one month old you can just bucket feed it's your choice. My long range advice is that the calf is just playing around with the bottle and nipple because it isn't feeling good. LA-200 would not be my first choice in fixing an ill calf. A one month old calf is capable of imploding a milk bottle when healthy...Topside

[topside1]

One more thing, there a big difference between a healthy calf sucking and a ill calf sucking. They both will suck but with different attitudes...Enough said, keep in touch.

[Madsaw]

Cherly,
Do not mix MR and electrolyes together. Feed them atleast a hr apart. The bottle issue could be that she was tired from trying to get teh 2 pints out since she was sick. The air vent might need to be opended up just a little bit.
Also the end of the nipple might jus tneed a little attention too.
Bob

[Callieslamb]

I had about the same problem with my two. I had two bottles and two nipples for 2 calves. One calf, no matter what, just couldn't seem to get that milk down in a timely manner. I have the screw-on type nipples. I had to unscrew it a bit and screw it back in, break the suction, continuously. I was VERY happy that they were finally a month old and now they both take about 3 seconds to finish off their MR from a bucket.

On the other hand, I toured a very large dairy here and they put their calves on buckets at 3 days.

[Cheryl aka JM]

The one heifer is still scouring and is now refusing to even try to eat. I tube fed her "pro-lyte pluse (says it is essential nutrients, electrolytes and direct fed microbial) this morning (bought the tube feeding thingy specifically for calves at the TSC) and I'm waiting for the vet to return my phone call to see if he has any further suggestions.

Originally Posted by topside1

LA-200 would not be my first choice in fixing an ill calf.

Would you have a suggestion of what I should look for/ask the vet for when he calls? CAN I give her anything else at this point? I looked up LA 200 and it said it was a slow release so now I'm not sure I can even give her anything else.

Thanks!Thanks guys~ found my camera (my sister had it) so I'll get some pics later.

[topside1]

Cheryl sorry to hear your heifer has lost all appetite. LA200 is for cuts, pink eye, minor problems only...But that's my opinion. You need to give the heifer 5ml of Baytril IM and soon. Your VET suggesting LA 200 has only made your problem worse by wasting valuable time. There are lots of other things you should be doing right now, but first she needs a powerful antibiotic or else you maybe digging a hole. Of couse I'm not there and I really don't know the calf's history or what steps you have taken. I wouldn't be waiting for a phone call I'd be driving to the VETS office if you want to save the little heifer....Topside

[Cheryl aka JM]

thanks~ on the way to the vet now~ just stopped to see if there was a response here on my way out the door. He did actually just call me back~ gonna give me shots to administer for 4 days he said. I'll ask specifically for Baytril.

[topside1]

Cheryl, good to hear your off to the doc's. Next you need to not overfed the calf, it's fragile as an egg right now...I'd stick with "Resorb" it can be bought at most feed stores. Read the instructions and stick to them...Keep in touch, good luck...Topside