I got calf fever

[Slev]

Well,
I'm goin to the sale barn today to look for a bottle calf. Don't know what I'll find. They expected about 30, but unknown if they will be dairy or not. We went to the farm store and bought the milk replacer. I know to check for colostrum vs. age of calf, but is there any med's I should administer?

-thanks

[willow_girl]

Slev, I'd wait to see if there are any signs of problems before administering meds. For instance, antibiotics will kill off the good bacteria in the gut as well as the bad ... then you might have to compensate for that.

I got a sale barn calf awhile back (last July) and never had a lick of problems with him! He was one of the smaller calves that went through the ring that day, too. I think he probably got a good shot of colostrum, though, as the owner had taken the time to dip his navel in iodine. I took that as a sign he'd received good care.

Good luck with your purchases and don't forget to let us know what you got!

[mpillow]

I bought a package of electrolyte solution for $2 to start our calf with...he wasnt scouring so I mixed it half and half for first 3 milk feedings. Just hoping to give him a boost after the ride home.

[jerzeygurl]

i would recomend having scour boluses on hand and hope not to use them

[Slev]

Well, I didn't get anything, nothing but Holstein and mostlymales. There were a few that were several months old, but I'm just not wanting a Holstein, (if I wanted that I would buy my friends) - He is an older gentleman and has just started having some health problems so he is going to sell off his 2 steers and 1 female. They are all about a year old. The female IS Holstein, but is marked up like a belted Galloway, a very wide belt! Nice looking with horns and fairly gentle. (I bought his horse off of him and we became friends) She is a very nice horse - Arabian. Anyway, I'm going to do a post on the barder board if anyone ants to have a look. As for me, I'll just keep looking, maybe next week.