Post by Jenn on May 23, 2015 19:44:56 GMT -5
So Cocoa calved this morning with a 60 lb ish bull. Very vigorous nurser, no issues there.
We picked up a foster bull calf this afternoon to help with the milking. We just came in after about 2 hours of messing with him. He walks on his tip toes with his back feet, like they are too stiff to sit flat. His tongue hang out a little bit, frequently and he doesn't seem to have as much motor control over it as he should. Long story short, he has the desire, strong bumping instinct but only had a successful latch on for a short period of time, once. When I tickled/rubbed just under his anus, he pooped bloody poop and urinated. The blood was a combo of old for the first poop, then a dribble of fresh blood, then normal calf poop (yellow, sticky, kinda rubbery) with much smaller patches of blood. He is a day old, so slightly older than Cocoa's calf. TEMP=normal....yeah, first thing I checked. We ended up using a metal tip syringe to feed him a little, then switched to a bottle. He ate about a pint in total, then he was done. He sucked ok, but awkward.
Should I be concerned? I have zero experience with fresh blood in poop and my memory is failing on what I did with kids and tight tendon issues. I think the blood is clearing up based on the order in which it came out. Should I give him a shot of BOSE?
Cocoa was a champ, waiting and waiting and waiting patiently for him to nurse. We have them separated as a group behind the barn so as not to overwhelm him and keep Cocoa close so we can give him frequent, small feedings.
BTW, he is a gorgeous, sweet Dutch belted cross with full belt 1/4 or 1/8th....don't remember now.
-Jenn
We picked up a foster bull calf this afternoon to help with the milking. We just came in after about 2 hours of messing with him. He walks on his tip toes with his back feet, like they are too stiff to sit flat. His tongue hang out a little bit, frequently and he doesn't seem to have as much motor control over it as he should. Long story short, he has the desire, strong bumping instinct but only had a successful latch on for a short period of time, once. When I tickled/rubbed just under his anus, he pooped bloody poop and urinated. The blood was a combo of old for the first poop, then a dribble of fresh blood, then normal calf poop (yellow, sticky, kinda rubbery) with much smaller patches of blood. He is a day old, so slightly older than Cocoa's calf. TEMP=normal....yeah, first thing I checked. We ended up using a metal tip syringe to feed him a little, then switched to a bottle. He ate about a pint in total, then he was done. He sucked ok, but awkward.
Should I be concerned? I have zero experience with fresh blood in poop and my memory is failing on what I did with kids and tight tendon issues. I think the blood is clearing up based on the order in which it came out. Should I give him a shot of BOSE?
Cocoa was a champ, waiting and waiting and waiting patiently for him to nurse. We have them separated as a group behind the barn so as not to overwhelm him and keep Cocoa close so we can give him frequent, small feedings.
BTW, he is a gorgeous, sweet Dutch belted cross with full belt 1/4 or 1/8th....don't remember now.
-Jenn