Bottle calf - What next?

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:15 pm

As some of you may recall, I received a very small heifer calf in January that weighed about 25 lbs. Well, she will be 3 months old tomorrow and must weigh about 50 or 60 now (can't pick her up to put on the weigh scales anymore!).

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:20 pm

Sorry, folks, :p must have hit the wrong button and posted before I was finished!

Anyways, my question is this. I am feeding her twice a day and she usually takes about 2300 ml of milk replacer each time. I think she is looking a bit dehydrated and have never seen her drink any water. She always has a fresh bucket in her stall. How do I teach her to drink water? I am using a bottle to feed her and had planned to wean her in another few weeks but I am really concerned about her drinking water. I am also doubtful that she is eating much hay (no grass yet) as I have never seen her chewing her cud. This is a very backwards animal and any advice is greatfully appreciated!

Kathy

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:36 pm

The amount of milk it is drinking sounds good, but should be taking a bit of solid food too. I would have a bucket/trough in with a small quantity of concentrate feed ideally a specialist baby calf one, keep it fresh by giving what is not taken to other calves if you can. Good quallity straw is just as good for them as hay. Once they start to take in any quantity of solid food the water intake will follow, again be sure to keep it clean and fresh. Good luck, sounds as if she is doing better than some of us expected.

Duncan

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:34 pm

Hi Kathy,
I can only second what Duncan has said, I have reared a few hundred calves in my time and one of the golden rules is to always have fresh calf pencils on offer to them from the second or third day on farm, they contain ingredients that encourage the calf to eat and help with rumen development.
You have the disadvantage of having a single animal, I have found that in group rearing they tend to teach each other what to do making things a little easier.
You seem to have done well up to now, so I am sure you will be leaning on the gate in a few months feeling proud of your little miracle grazing with the rest of the herd. Good luck.
Martin

groubearfarm · Post by **groubearfarm** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:34 pm

I would third what Duncan has said and add that it always seems to take a very long time before the calf eats an appreciable amount, one seems to have feed left over however little you give it, but there is a day when it is all gone and then you can breath a sigh of relief. That day always seem to take a long time to arrive. You seem to have done so well I am sure she is drinking and eating as soon as your back is turned! Good luck

Roy · Post by **Roy** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:59 pm

Hi Kathy
I can really empathise with your situation, we had a calf produce late in December, that was orphaned on boxing day (mother showed all signs of milk fever, but when treated as such by vet, died on us, on closer inspection he thought that she may have had liver problems too, as there was jaundice) I have just last week, put her back with our group of nursing mothers and am hoping she will settle down.
She has gone through a bag of calf starter rations so far and is now on haylage with the others, but still with 3 litres of milk each evening. She seems to be doing ok, but my debate is how and when to finally wean her... should it be gradual, or one complete step?
Oh and when will she realise that she is one of the herd, not a relative of the border collie that she has been exercised with over the last few weeks?
suggestions gratefully received.
Roy

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:55 pm

Thank you to everyone for your help. After writing to the forum, I noticed later in the day the calf was nibbling a bits of grass and sticking her nose in the outside water bucket. She was also attempting to nibble some mowed off clumps of sedge! During the day, she has the run of a small paddock and adjacent to it is a long alley where I "park" the two yearlings for the day. This forces theyearlings to stay near the fence and allows the little one to get used to them. Yesterday, she was being licked through the fence by one of the yearlings so I am hoping she will watch them eating and get the hang of things in the cow world. I don't yet see her cudding but I will put in a little feeder (an old chest freezer basket!) for her hay. Hard to know what she eats in her stall as she is bedded in hay and has a hay bale in with her to snuggle up against should she feel cold, as well as a flake a really nice, soft second cut hay to eat. I don't feed grain, hence no "calf" feed but she is such a pathetic size, I may give her some. It is often medicated with a coccidat which she may need as her paddock is shared with the other calves. We don't feed straw here as it is more expensive than good quality second cut!

Roy, I'm going to wait until my calf is definitely cudding and I can see that she is eating solids. The milk replacer bag says to wean at 2 months but I guess that is more for commercial situations where they are feeding calf rations right away and it's obvious the calves are eating hay.

Kathy

Farrant · Post by **Farrant** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 5:11 pm

Does she suck on your fingers? If she does, then you could try lowering your hand into a bucket of water whilst she is suckling on your fingers. I have used this method to teach calves to drink milk from a bucket - they learn very quickly. Once you can feel her sucking up water between your fingers slowly draw your fingers out of her mouth. After a couple of attempts she should start drinking on her own.
Good luck!

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:08 pm

Kathy, I believe you should give her some calf pencils, the milk replacer that you are using will not allow her to grow like calf on its mothers milk. Calf food will allow her rumen to develop quicker and allow her to digest grass and hay. The weaning process will be a lot slower if you if you don't feed it. When a calf is with its mother it still gets a large part of its needs from mum right up until you wean. I would suggest that hard food be given until the calf is eating a fair amount of good grass, maybe even up to six months old.

Liz D · Post by **Liz D** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:29 pm

Hi Kathy; I use the milk here so I bottle all of the calves. What you saw when the calf is 'nosing' the hay and taking a stalk rather than a whole mouthful, is usually what I see the calves doing the first week. My understanding is that their rumens develop with the feeding of solid foods, (if I am incorrect, please someone correct me). I usually leave a little bit of coursely ground mixed grain (corn, barley and oats) in with free choice hay in their pen from the 1st week on. If they are by themselves I put a little of the grain on their tongue each day until one day it's all gone when I come back for evening feeding. If they have a buddy, especially a little older, they are usually curiouse to know what the fuss is about and learn the grain thing on their own. I know that all of the books say that they can be weaned at 2 months but I usually drop the feeding to once a day, 2 litres, and continue that until at least three months when I sometimes switch them to whey and continue for at least another month. I find the longer they take the milk, even if they are on whole feed, the better they grow. Calf replacer is expensive but if you have access to Dexter milk I would go as long as possible. Personally I don't use medicated feed. If coccidiosis becomes an issue, and it has in the past, they get a bolus or two depending on the severity. We don't use treatments as prevention, but that has its own problems expecially if you are not vigilant in watching. I have found that out the hard way! Liz

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:11 am

Hi Kathy,

We used to bucket rear about 120 calves a year and every few years there would be one that didn't drink much water by weaning time.

It was usually a calf that wasn't eating much dry food. Obviously a calf needs to eat a certain quantity of dry food before weaning as well as needing enough water. The rule of thumb was one and three quarter pounds, although I preferred they ate two, plus a little hay, I don't know what it would be for dexter calves.

I encouraged its intake of water at weaning age,( only six weeks poor little dabs,)when it was ready to wean by giving it less calories of milk but keeping its fluids the same i.e. watering the milk. This made it more hungry for dry food and therefore it ate and drank more.

I would start at half and half and after 2 to 4 weeks it would be on just water and sufficient dry feed.

Stephanie

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:47 pm

Stephanie, that was my next question! Do I keep on full strength or start watering down the milk? I have started her on the pellets and as soon as she starts eating maybe half a pound each day I will switch her to once a day feeding and start watering down the milk. Lambing is coming up in about a week and I don't fancy bottle feeding twice a day then (not that I have a lot of ewes to lamb out, only 13).

Thanks to everyone for their help!

Kathy

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:08 pm

When a calf suckles a reflex in the oesophageal groove clicks in and the milk is diverted straight from oesophagus to the abomasum, bypassing the rumen and reticulum. When the milk gets to the abomasum it should form a curd before being digested, just as rennet makes curds and whey. If you water the milk down this will not happen, and poorly digested milk may pass on to the intestine causing scour. Watering the milk when a calf is not well is one of the most counterproductive things to do, and I would not recommend it. Just reduce the quantity.

Duncan

Farrant · Post by **Farrant** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:20 pm

Duncan what happens when you tube a young ruminant? Does the fluid enter the rumen or does the oesophageal groove still function to bypass the rumen? If the tube is positioned in the lower oesophagus rather than stomach might the groove function?

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:13 pm

It will not function very well, but then at day one the rumen is very small and nonfunctional so much of the colostrum or electrolyte replacer will end up in the abomasum fairly quickly.

Duncan