Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:16 pm
I noticed my youngest calf (a heifer of nearly 5 weeks) had a touch of scour this morning. Other than that she seemed her normal high energy self. Spoke to my vet who seemed reasonably relaxed as the calf is feeding off her mother and told me to monitor her and get back to them if there was a deterioration. I asked about scour formula which the vet thought would be a good idea too.
Just spent nearly 2 hours with the calf trying to coax her to take the scour formula from a bottle and I failed. She chewed the end of the teat, but refused to suckle. I tried everything including 'milking' the teat into the side of her mouth. She just let it trickle out. During the time I was with her, there was no more scour. She did wee about 4 times though which I took as a good sign that she was taking plenty of milk off her mum.
She continues to be strong and lively, so I've left her now with her mum and the rest of the herd. They are not housed but use a paddock and adjoining wood.
Is there anything else I should be doing other than keeping a close eye on her and the others ?
Colin
Just spent nearly 2 hours with the calf trying to coax her to take the scour formula from a bottle and I failed. She chewed the end of the teat, but refused to suckle. I tried everything including 'milking' the teat into the side of her mouth. She just let it trickle out. During the time I was with her, there was no more scour. She did wee about 4 times though which I took as a good sign that she was taking plenty of milk off her mum.
She continues to be strong and lively, so I've left her now with her mum and the rest of the herd. They are not housed but use a paddock and adjoining wood.
Is there anything else I should be doing other than keeping a close eye on her and the others ?
Colin