Limousin calf seems too thin

dixiegal62 · #1 06/27/12, 08:54 AM

She's 3 weeks old and drinking 2q of milk replacer a day. Always has fresh water a bit of feed and coastal hay. She drinks her bottle right up and seems healthy but she doesn't touch the feed or hay. Every day before I feed her I put a bit of feed in my hand to some into her mouth, not much just a bit to try and get her used to eating it. She just looks so thin to me. I read where some calves need 2-1/2q twice a day and I'm wondering if I should up her milk.

myersfarm · #2 06/27/12, 09:23 AM

She's 3 weeks old and drinking 2q of milk replacer a day

Do not know if you left out the word TWICE.....but thats what she needs 1 gallon of milk a day broke up into 2 or 3 feedings a day ..she should be fine with the 1 gallon...it takes a while for the calf to add weight....if you are feed twice a day 2 qts you can gradually give more but real slow as in adding a cup of milk waiting a week and adding another cup

your doing a great job with the feed she will get the idea faster that is food

dixiegal62 · #3 06/27/12, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myersfarm

She's 3 weeks old and drinking 2q of milk replacer a day

Do not know if you left out the word TWICE.....but thats what she needs 1 gallon of milk a day broke up into 2 or 3 feedings a day ..she should be fine with the 1 gallon...it takes a while for the calf to add weight....if you are feed twice a day 2 qts you can gradually give more but real slow as in adding a cup of milk waiting a week and adding another cup

your doing a great job with the feed she will get the idea faster that is food

yeah I did leave twice out

I feed her 2q morning and late afternoon. She is my first bottle calf but I worry shes very bony on her backside and her stomach looks sunk in. She has plenty of energy, she's in a large stall but each afternoon I let her out into a round pen for some play time after her bottle and she runs and kicks and explores.

myersfarm · #4 06/27/12, 04:44 PM

another thing is are you feed WHOLE MILK MR or Soy based ?...she needs the whole milk but the soy is a whole lot cheaper

topside1 · #5 06/27/12, 05:19 PM

Just bought 25# of all milk milk replacer today. Price tag $40 for 25# just to give you an example...Topside

Kato2010 · #6 06/27/12, 05:59 PM

If you change milk replacers though, do it slowly. Over four or five days, minimum.

I ran out of milk replacer once, and went to the Co-op for more. They didn't have mine in stock, and gave me something else. I was using replacer made of milk, and they gave me the soy stuff. Disaster! Lost two calves. They'd have been better off with water. That was a lesson learned the hard way, but it won't ever be forgotten.

dixiegal62 · #7 06/27/12, 07:29 PM

Its Dumor Medicated. Says it has milk and soy proteins. Should I be looking for another brand? I think this is the only one our local tractor supply carries. Just got back from feeding her and she was having a hard time sucking and kept butting the bottle and moving it around in her mouth. She hasnt done this before. I noticed her nose was bleeding, don't know if she hit the bottle too hard or if it's something else.

topside1 · #8 06/27/12, 08:39 PM

Don't want to alarm you but those symptoms are clear signs the calf is getting sick...It's lost it's appetite, that's for sure....Topside

topside1 · #9 06/27/12, 08:43 PM

I've seen loads of baby beef calves at Tenn. Tech university. Most have low birth weights and if I bottle fed them then I would start off at 2-3 pints per feeding. Your calf is not feeling right due to overfeeding or the soy based ingredients in your MR. If you forced me to guess I'd say you are overfeeding and the overfeeding is making your calf ill.....Topside

topside1 · #10 06/27/12, 08:55 PM

For the hundredth time, mama cow does not feed it's calf 2 quarts of milk per feeding. Mama cow feeds it's calf 24/7 small amounts of milk during many meals....

myersfarm · #11 06/27/12, 09:14 PM

topside why I said 2 to 3 feedings

topside1 · #12 06/28/12, 06:46 AM

Another approach would be to still feed a gallon a day but divide the amount into 3rds or even fourths as MyersFarm mentioned in post #2. I really just depends on how much time you have available. Bottle calves are work, but can be a rewarding success..Topside

myersfarm · #13 06/28/12, 08:30 AM

Also I feed mine 9 in morning and 9 at night.....some people feed at 8am in morning and 5 pm which to me gives the milk to close together and toooooo far apart.....if I could squeeze in another feeding during the day I would

dixiegal62 · #14 06/29/12, 01:29 PM

Wish I was able to feed her smaller feedings but I'm not home during the day half the week. Whatever was going on with her nosebleed seems to have cleared up and she only had problems sucking that one bottle. Did decide to give her antibiotics for 3 days just in case. Found her whole milk MR today and will switch her over during the next week. Do you think half and half would be too much on her to start the switch?
Did have a nice surprise yesterday afternoon, she ate a bit of her feed and was munching on hay after her bottle.

topside1 · #15 06/29/12, 02:17 PM

50/50 is fine and slowly work up to 100%. Topside