Bottle calves...

[ErinP]

OK, so I've always liked having a bottle baby or three out in the barn. This year is no different except that the ranch we're on now actually GIVES the babies to us. Ie, live or die, they belong to us. The theory being we put in the work to keep the little buggars alive, we have more claim than the place does.

I'm good with that.
After a hundred or two over the years, it's always irked me to send them out with the trucks at weaning time...

I currently have two. One is doing wonderfully. An unwanted twin, he came home last week and has just transitioned to a bucket. He's out bucking around in my round pen as I type, actually.

Baby number two, on the other hand, has me completely frustrated. He came home a couple of days ago and seems determined to die. He won't take more than a pint or so out of the bottle before we just give up and drench him. And even then, a lot of it has ended up on the floor.

I can't get him to keep his tongue under the nipple and once I've physically placed it there, I can't get him to suck.
My usual tricks aren't working (squeezing his mouth, massaging his throat, etc.). The reflex usually kicks in after you get them started, but not on this guy. He just stands there. He swallows occasionally, but sometimes it just runs out of his mouth, too.


I know you can't save them all (and that this might be why mama left him), but I can't help but see it as a personal failure. I've never had one that I absolutely could NOT get started.


Thanks for letting me vent...

[myersfarm]

I had one that took 2 weeks before it would suck then it just never quit after that...growed up real nice

best of luck

[ErinP]

I hope that's what'll happen here.
To be sure, I'm not giving up. I'll keep drenching that little turkey every feeding if needs be.
If I can just get him through the next few days, we might stand a chance...

[dosthouhavemilk]

What are the selenium levels like in your area? A lack of a strong suck reflex can be a sign of selenium deficiency.

[ErinP]

I won't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure that isn't it. We've lived in this area for seven years...

And it's not so much that his suck reflex isn't strong, it's that he pulls his tongue clear down into his throat. His latch is all wrong, in addition to no suck/swallow reflex.
But like I said, usually when you get them straightened out, and manipulate their mouth and throat, the reflex will kick in.
But it doesn't for him...

[SherrieC]

That's the first thing I thought of was Selenium : )

[nobrabbit]

We had a little Charolais calf that we had to tube feed for about a week and a half. Thought she would never take to the bottle!

Like your situation we had never had one be so slow about taking to the bottle and figured maybe she was just a dummy calf but we just kept at it. She is now a healthy happy 5 year old cow.

[6e]

Sounds like nipple confusion on a baby that has to go back and forth from breast to bottle. Just can't get the tongue thing right. LOL

I can understand the personal thing. I do that too. If something fails, I feel like "I'M" a failure. Just hang in there and keep at it till he either gets it or croaks. Either way problem's solved. If anyone can do it, you can having raised that many bottle calves. :-) You need a nurse cow. LOL

[Oakshire_Farm]

I live in a Selenium low area...... how do you supplement it? for the cows and horses I give them salt blocks with selenium, but what about calves???

sorry, not meaning to hijack I have had a few calves that don't seem to want to suck, and then peter off and die over the years. I have never heard of that being a selenium deficiency? learn something new every day another reason I love this site!

[ErinP]

The calves get it from mama either through the placenta in utero, or through milk when they're on the ground. If you're feeding your cows a good mineral supplement you should be fine.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

My vet has told us before to give every calf a Mu-Se shot when they are born, regardless of situation, because of selenium deficient soil. He said there is no gaurantee mom cow will have enough in her milk.

[trbizwiz]

If it is taking some milk, why not put less water in your mix. Give him 2 quarts worth of formula in less than a quart of water. That way he is getting the nutrition he needs with out so much work. Maybe if he gets a little stronger he can return to a normal mix.

[dosthouhavemilk]

Selenium can be supplemented through the use of Bo-Se or MuSe injectables (both vet rx here in the States). Ideally a selenium and E vitamin mix. The Vitamin E helps the selenium be absorbed.
We use BoSe for our goats who show deficiency much more than our cattle do. We didn't use to use BoSe in the calves at all. Not until we started using it in the goats. Ours calves are usually sufficient enough. Nowadays if we see a calf that is showing even the slightest sign we go ahead and dose them since we have the BoSe on hand and it is easier to dose and have a stronger calf than to fight with the calf.
Lack of selenium causes White Muscle Disease in newborns.

[Oakshire_Farm]

I am getting calves from local dairy farms, they are on milk replacer, until my cows start calving. I will give my vet a call.

[myersfarm]

that to me would cause scours real quick

Originally Posted by trbizwiz

If it is taking some milk, why not put less water in your mix. Give him 2 quarts worth of formula in less than a quart of water. That way he is getting the nutrition he needs with out so much work. Maybe if he gets a little stronger he can return to a normal mix.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

Use MuSe on the Calves and BoSe on the goats. My vet says, because of the formulation, they are more effective like that.

[dosthouhavemilk]

MuSe is more highly concentrated, so definitely better for larger animals. Since BoSe is all we keep around, I simply use the dosage the vet gave me the first time I went in for BoSe.

[francismilker]

My first thought was selenium as well.

[bruce2288]

You might try getting him to drink from a small container instead of suck. I once had one similar, probably tubed him part time for 10 days. Eventually he would drink milk, never did get the sucking part.

[ErinP]

He sucked today!! And I wasn't even the one to get to see it. :P

DH went out to tube him this morning and tried the bottle first. He took 1/2 the bottle! Woopee!
(And was tubed the rest. lol)