New calves....

[mamahen]

So I got a call Monday if I was still interested in bottle calves the dairy down the road had some.

I picked out a set of holstein twins......both bulls. They are approx. 2 weeks old and are settling right in. The dairy keeps them tied in the barn on short ties (18 inches, maybe 2 feet) in one line. When we brought them home, we turned them loose in the box stall. They are now learning to jump.

Question: One has completely liquid poop. Yellow water. The other is fine. The one with the poops is still lively and hungry. The dairy fed milk from the bulk tank, 2X a day.

Since these calves are a bit smaller than single births (each about 50 lbs or so) - I'm thinking of giving a couple of bottles not quite full for the poopy calf. Sound ok?

Also - both umbilical sites seem red and swollen. I looked at all the other calves, and they were all the same. So I'm thinking of washing them with betadine for a few days. Neither smells infected, but they look red. Cord has fallen off, too. I ordered some Vetricyn for my cat - maybe I'll try spraying that on instead.

Oh and neither have anything to band yet. I guess just keep checking everyday until they have both "boys" down?

[mozarkian]

He is scouring, could be from stress, bacteria, or amount of milk, but don't wait to treat him. Calves can go down quick. Hope it works out well.

[mamahen]

He came with the scours....all thru the jeep.

I'm really leaning towards he was just overfed. He's not dehydrated at all. I have all my meds & goodies ready in case he needs them.

And going to bucket train them asap - they take the bottle well - but for some reason, they couldn't get the milk from the nipples I had. I used them for calves last year, don't know what's up with that.

When we went to pick them up from the farm, I fed them their bottle (at their farm) - so I know they both ate well.