New Baby Angel

[bama-newsteader]

Here are some photos (I hope) of the orphan calf we adopted last week. Her name is Angel. She looks like a Hereford, not sure if she is a cross. Her mama was chased by dogs into a pond and drown. She took to the bottle very quickly and now comes running when I call her name.

Questions:
How long does it take for the umbilical cord to fall off? The guy we bought her from didnt know exactly when she was born so I am trying to gauge.

We normally feed bottle calves 2 quarts of milk twice per day. Is it a problem if we give her a third feeding? How much should that feeding be? She is getting raw milk from our Jersey/Guernsey cross, so I have plenty to spare.

[myheaven]

She looks polled not sure of age but she is young. I love her. She is beautiful.

[Jupiter]

Absolutely adorable!(:

[nostawmama]

Cutest calf ever! Sorry i can't answer your questions.

[G. Seddon]

Someone else will need to address the bottle feeding questions. Wow, too bad about the mother! If the seller didn't know when she was born, then you probably can't find out if the calf got colostrum from its mother or had its navel dipped? The cord will dry up and fall off on its own. Any chance your Jersey/Guernsey might adopt this little one...she's very adorable!

[Rockwell Torrey]

What a good looking little guy.

[bama-newsteader]

Thanks for the comments! I agree, she's adorable.

The man we bought her from, at first he said she was 3 days old, then he said 10 days. I am thinking it was closer to 3 days, in which case she should have had her colostrum. I do have some in the freezer but it's a bit late now if she's a week old. The cord hasnt fallen off yet, which is why I think she was younger.

No, the Jersey/Guernsey will not adopt her and I havent forced the issue. She calved in April and lost her calf, so she is not used to a little one nursing. I tried to bring Angel in while milking and she promptly got kicked. I am OK with bottle feeding, I like that Angel will be tame when she gets older.

[65284]

Not many things prettier than Hereford calf.

[genebo]

I have a 10 day old Dexter heifer that still has her umbilical cord. I expect it to fall off any day.

[bigearl42]

feeding twice a day 2 quarts should do the job. start the calf on calf manna at about 6 weeks and continue with the milk till he stops taking it or at about 12-14 weeks.

[bama-newsteader]

Originally Posted by bigearl42

feeding twice a day 2 quarts should do the job. start the calf on calf manna at about 6 weeks and continue with the milk till he stops taking it or at about 12-14 weeks.

Thanks Earl, but I would like to feed her a bit more - like maybe an extra quart at mid-day - do you think that will be a problem?

[springvalley]

That is a fine looking Hereford calf, and she should do fine eating what she is. But you seem determined to feed her more. The only way to do that is to up the amount very slowly, I would not force her to eat a lot more at one time. Anytime your uping the amount your feeding a bovine, weather it`s milk or grain, is to go slow, small amounts at a time till you get to where you want to be. > Thanks Marc

[CJBegins]

Very pretty baby. I would guess less than 10 days of age.

[copperhead46]

the worst thing you can do is over feed a bottle calf. You will literally kill her with kindness. 2 qts twice a day is a lot, watch her closely for scours, as she gets older and her system is accustomed to the new diet, you can slowly introduce more milk, but the calf manna is a much safer way to go.

[bigearl42]

I agree with springvalley and copperhead be real careful overfeeding her on milk. Being at least mostly Hereford the mama was probably not giving milk like your milk cow. And the calf would nurse all day if you want to feed more often the feed 4 times a day 1 quart each time.

[G. Seddon]

I've never bottlefed a calf; fortunately, I've never had to. But I found this article that might be helpful to you; the links at the bottom have very useful information also.

http://calfcare.ca/disease-control/n...calf-diarrhea/

[bama-newsteader]

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

I've never bottlefed a calf; fortunately, I've never had to. But I found this article that might be helpful to you; the links at the bottom have very useful information also.

http://calfcare.ca/disease-control/n...calf-diarrhea/

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the comments.

The article that G. mentions makes an interesting comment:
"Calves do not scour because of overfeeding, but because they have been exposed to an infectious organism."

I have been feeding her 5 quarts/day over 3 feedings since I got her 5 days ago. I started with a 3rd mid-day feeding because I didnt know how long she had been without her mama and thought she might need some extra to catch up.

Funny thing is I havent seen her poop yet, and I am not finding any remains in the pen where I keep her at night. During the day she is out in the pasture with all the others. If she had scours, I am wondering if I would see it smeared under and around her tail, but she is pretty clean back there.

Good news is she is energetic, bright eyed and eating well, and so darn cute I just want to hug her...

[DamnearaFarm]

Lord, she's a DOLL. If she goes missing, don't look towards Tennessee......

[Miss Kay]

Now that's just too cute!!!