First calf and new to cattle.

[Boscanat]

I have a 3-4 week old jersey heifer. I got her Saturday from a local dairy who is going out of business hence selling the heifers. He told me to feed her 2 pints 2 times a day. He gave me some raw jersey milk to ease transition to milk replacer. He also said she was already eating grain. I gave her all jersey the first day at evening feeding and 2 pints electrolytes when I first got her home at 11 am, 3/4 jersey the second, 1/2 the third plus 1 quart electrolytes at noon ( suddenly got freezing weather), 1/2 jersey milk today (and electrolytes at noon since seeing runny poo) and tomorrow will go to 1/4. But she has some runny stools that were a soft plop when I first got her.

I admit I was upping the milk to 2.5 pints since I see everywhere to give 2 quarts (although that never says what breed, just calves). I will take it back down to 2 pints exactly. The seller also said to add 1 oz corid to milk as 21 day preventative for bloody scours (cocci). So I have done that since day one.

The weather has gotten much colder here in north texas. I have a 8x16 stall just for her with stacked bales of hay and straw and plywood roof in the corner to keep her dry and cozy, lined with Sudan (it has some goat berries. Don't know what else to use it for except bedding) bedding and some just purchased today straw (since the Sudan I was using got wet). She was eating the straw when I first put it in.

Her stools looked pretty runny today. Not yet water but not a whole lot thicker. Should I skip the morning milk and just go electrolytes?

Anything else in the care she is receiving that needs review? I looked for milk based non medicated milk replacer but that was sold out at TSC, one other place had medicated milk based and the last place had a $100 bag that I didn't even check the ingredients since it was costly. So I went with the Unimilk I had already purchased.

Any tips?

[MDKatie]

Are you sure he didn't say 2 qts twice a day? 2 pints is barely anything for a calf.

And most electrolyte mixes say to not feed with milk, so either give milk or give electrolytes if you feel you need to. What kind of runny stool are we talking about? Pudding? Watery? What is her temperature?

[agmantoo]

Most calves are IMO killed with kindness by being over fed creating digestion issues. A Jersey should be able to handle 3 pints but remember that a hungry calf is a healthy calf. Are you making grain available? Do you have water available to the calf? If so, why are giving the electrolytes if the animal is not dehydrated?

[Boscanat]

I was hoping just to keep her hydrated since I read so much about scours, I was hoping just to give her a boost, esp since it turned so cold. I give her a pint or 2 of the electrolytes at noon. Her first feeding is 7 am, evening feeding is 6 pm.

And he definitely said only 2 pints. I said "so, you feed her about a gallon a day, 2 quarts at each feeding, once in the morning and once in the evening about 10-12 hours later?" He said "no, not quite 2 quarts, then he went and got a different looking bottle and measured it out for me. "2 pints" he said. I made sure he was doing this 2 times a day and he was. I thought maybe the advice for 2 quarts was for Holsteins or other larger breeds. He did say that jerseys could die easily from over feeding. I was adding just a bit more since that is 2 quarts difference from everything I have read but I figured, he is the breeder, he should know...

I don't have access to the same grain he was offering so I offer calf manna free choice. I get her a fresh bucket of water daily.

The stools are thicker than water but not by a whole lot. They were thick pudding like when I first got her home.

Skip tomorrow's morning milk? Replace it with calf medic by manna pro? Or replace it with arrest (nutrient supplement with electrolytes for scouring animals, which says on the back, "research demonstrates weight loss and scouring are reduced when calves continue to be fed milk replacer during periods of scouring. Feed 2 quarts milk replacer and 2 quarts arrest twice per day".

[SpaceCadet12364]

What type of replacer are you feeding milk based or soy based. Get milk based based if you can. And it helps digestion if the milk is around 96 F when you feed it. And hold the bottle so nipple is about where moms teat would be. it all helps.

[Boscanat]

Unimilk which has whey instead as first ingredient but also soy. Is it safe to switch to a milk based one now after 4 days of mixing the sky based one with her raw jersey milk?

I warm the milk to 100 degrees and mix the milk replacer with 100 degree water.

Her stools are actually thicker this morning. Not as thick as when I got her but not as thin as yesterday. I will give 1 quart of electrolytes again round noon.

[SpaceCadet12364]

Originally Posted by Boscanat

Unimilk which has whey instead as first ingredient but also soy. Is it safe to switch to a milk based one now after 4 days of mixing the sky based one with her raw jersey milk?

I warm the milk to 100 degrees and mix the milk replacer with 100 degree water.

Her stools are actually thicker this morning. Not as thick as when I got her but not as thin as yesterday. I will give 1 quart of electrolytes again round noon.

when you switch you have to blend like you did with raw milk. If it is cold where you are at you may have to feed her more often to help keep her warm. They use food to produce heat. To stay warm and grow. If they use everything to stay warm they don't grow.

[Wild_Bill]

Stool will come and go a bit. Most of mine thin for several days after getting them home. Stress happens even if they are only on the trailer a few miles. Should thicken like you said. She should be fine to about 10 degrees if dry and no draft. Colder then that get a calf coat. My little one 4 mo just came through several days of -15 just fine by himself. Big cows out in the other barn. Good luck, and i use save a calf if stool wont stay solid. Pudding is normal for months.

[farmmaid]

Jerseys can be tricky.

Scours:

1 egg
1 tablespoon Baking Soda
12 oz Coke
enough warm water to make up 4 cups

Also: give 10cc Pen at the same time

If given at first signs of scours this has NEVER failed me.

[Boscanat]

Originally Posted by farmmaid

Jerseys can be tricky.

Scours:

1 egg
1 tablespoon Baking Soda
12 oz Coke
enough warm water to make up 4 cups

Also: give 10cc Pen at the same time

If given at first signs of scours this has NEVER failed me.

Would this be in between meals or as a replacement instead of milk?

[Boscanat]

Thanks for all the advice!

I found milk based milk replacer but already used it 50/50 with the raw jersey milk. I don't have much raw milk left.

Stools looked better this morning but still pretty runny this evening. Her nose looks wetter. I let her out of the stall so I could clean her area without a probing nose searching endlessly for a nipple. She ran amok out in the grass. So she has lots of energy and seems to feel good.

I wonder at what point I need to actually use gelling electrolytes.

[farmmaid]

The egg mixture is instead of one feeding, the next feeding is light.

[kycrawler]

Stop the electrolytes feed the 2 pints of replacer 2 times a day free access to water and starter grain and good hay. You keep swapping the poor calf's inputs around and its stomachs can't get used to what you are feeding of course she will have runny poop . You are killing the calf with kindness .Antibiotics aren't needed unless the calf has a fever . The corrid was probably reccomendd because the farm had a cocci problem before and I would keep up with that

We start and raise 400+ bottle calves a year there is a learning curve also 2 pints 2 feeding a day working up to 3 pints 2x a day is enough for a jersey we wean bulls at 10 weeks and heifers at 16

[Boscanat]

Ok. Her stools have solidified back to pudding plops. I notice no water gone from the water bucket so I do give warm water at noon and have slowly increased the all milk milk replacer to 2.5 pints each feeding for a total daily milk of 5 pints.

I have continued the corid in the evening feeding. I give calf manna and creep feed that is 14%. Mostly she eats the creep. She always goes to the bucket of feed after the milk. The creep bag says for calves birth to weaning. So it seems like she is doing well now.

So you wean at 16 weeks. Does that mean that they are off milk at 16 weeks? Or that you start decreasing milk at that time and they are fully off milk in a week or two?

[dlskidmore]

She's getting milk and electrolytes, she won't drink a lot of water. She should drink more water when you stop the electrolytes.