Calf is not drinking milk - HELP, he is getting weak!

[Tamara]

Hi,

I'm posting on behalf of someone else whose internet isn't working. Sam is having trouble with a calf.

The bull calf is about 6 weeks old. On the 2nd Sam posted this: "My 3 week and 5 day old jersey calf is having some trouble. He is being bottle feed he came from a dairy farm and the lady that purchased him sold him and one other as they had four which was to many.
He came to us with solid poo but has since gone to water base and I’m very worried mainly because he isn’t always drinking a full 2L he gets feed twice a day and is leaving 100mls may be less some days wasn’t fussed today doesn’t seem to go for the solid foods. But my worst problem is he has had a few poos with a small amount of blood n them not a lot and that seems to be going away every time there is less the first was the most that was at the max 10%.
He is my only cow always had horses and he does run around and buck but for the most of the day just lies in the shad or somewhere he likes but his eyes are bright. Keen drinker don’t have to force is he sucks the bottle down but has been leaving a touch. I was meant to be getting him castrated but not sure if I should now. (it was surgical not band). Also like to ad he seems to be growing really well."
Full post here. Apparently this problem is now cured, so I guess he no longer has blood in his manure.


Today Sam made another post about the calf. "He has more solid stools now and is looking generally better still has a runny one but mostly solid.

New problem: He has stopped drinking milk but still gaining weight. Hasn’t had milk for two days. I crack an egg and he drinks about 2-3 twice a day. He drinks water from a bucket but I wouldn’t say he is eating solid just picking (how is he fatter, is he bloated?) Also when he drinks he makes a funny sound in his stomach like the last little bit of the bottle are and bubbles going through the teat on the last suckle like he has wind leaking out of his stomach.
Also his previous owner who purchased him from the dairy farm of 200 head was told he was vac wanted to know which one so she called and was told she had been informed wrong they weren’t vaccinated. Should I be worried for our health as well as our other animals?"

I was told in an email: "He is drinking a fair bit of water and red cordial which I was told it was good for him he was treated for the first problem and is good now but he has decided to forget the milk and go with just water, egg, his calf raising grain and a bit of hay but not eating much solids"


I have asked more questions and waiting on hearing back. What do you think is up with the calf? He really ought to be drinking milk, right? How can Sam get him to drink milk? What else should be done? I doubt the cordial is any good, so what else should be given?

Any help would be great, and I will pass it on!

Regards,
Tamara

[Tamara]

More info from Sam:

"He is not an overly active calf, lays down alot but gets up for feeds and walks around to new spots to rest. He is the only cow though no one to be active with."

He is bloated more on the right standing head on but is puffy on both sides. he is not all round he still has indents he's just alot rounder then he was I think its early stages. (I tend to think it's just the rumen, rather that bloat)

He never excepted the bucket for milk. He will use it for water, but milk he just wants a bottle. Haven't tried the bucket for about a week though. He drank yesterday morning and last night. I made an error in my ad. But today he just refuses the bottle, and I only offered twice."

[Janene]

Is he getting feed? He *could* be weaned at this age, **IF** he's getting the proper hay/feed/pasture, etc.
I'd probably just call a vet....one that can listen to his digestive system and give him a once-over to be on the safe side.

[Tamara]

He is getting water, eggs (2-3 twice a day), hay and calf starter but apparently he is not eating much apart from the eggs, just nibbling.

Okay, early this morning Sam says he is very weak, just enough strength to stand if Sam helped him up. He looks 'blown up' on the rumen side and the left looks larger than normal too - bloat, I'm guessing? Sam is very tight on money and only 17, so anything they can do to help would be really handy!

Suggestions anyone?

[Hubert Karreman]

MOst calves will not refuse milk - even weaned calves if sick are OK to put back on milk and they will greedily eat it. It's possible that the calf is a "rumen drinker" in that the milk goes in to the rumen where it shouldn't. It can cause digestive upsets. To avoid a rumen drinker situation, make sure the bottle or bucket is held at the height of where an udder teat would be, making sure there is a curve in the calf's neck as this will engage the esophageal reflex and send the milk to the abomasum, not the rumen. The abomasum is where the rennet is to curdle the milk properly and not have the milk become fermented and create gas as will happen in the young rumen.

The other thing is that the person could give something to soothe and coat the digestive tract with something mucilagenous, like Marshmallow (Althea officinalis). Or, if he has an upset stomach and perhaps nauseous (hard to tell in an herbivore), use Chamomile tea.
HJK

[Tamara]

Thanks so much Karreman! I have passed the information onto Sam. I have not received any more updates this morning so I will wait and see what's happening and let you know.

[sagehen]

The advice to make sure the head is at the right height and angle is very good advice! However if a calf flat refuses any bottle - you might try a thin gruel of fine oatmeal (blended dry in a blender into flour)and a little molasses and warm milk can be fed in a bucket - using your finger to get him sucking and lowering the finger into the gruel to start the sucking up of the gruel. Being sucked from a bucket and being grain and soothing to the tract it should be OK if digested in the rumen and give some nourishment. let us know how he doing.

[Tamara]

Thank you, I have passed the suggestion on Sam says the calf's stools are solid now and he has a good sucking ability, but I don't know if he has had any milk today. Sam will be at school for the next couple of hours so I should get an update then

[dairywomen]

When he has tried the bottle has he tried raw milk or is it powdered? I wouldn't feed an egg and water. Try some probiotics and yes he sounds bloated. The calf needs lots of clean hay or grass, the oats aren't a bad idea but more roughage. If Sam doesn't have raw cows milk he could use goats milk instead. If the calf just eats grains without much roughage his gut flora will get way out of balance.

[Hubert Karreman]

If grain is fed it should be oats - excellent for any digestive upsets.
Will the calf graze? if so, let it.
HJK

[Tamara]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the suggestions. Sam got the vet out yesterday but the calf died late that afternoon

I will pass your notes on anyway as Sam may get another calf. Sam doesn't have any other cows and I don't think there are goats either, and raw milk is illegal to sell in Australia, so unless you have your own animals, babies are generally raised on shop-bought milk or milk replacer.

[elnini]

Better milk replacer than shop milk. There's not enough in it for a baby animal of any sort.

Sam needs to read up on calf care before getting another calf.

What did the vet say was the problem ?

[Tamara]

Yes, I'm going to forward some links to them about bottle raising calves, and I also recommended getting an older calf next time. Raising a very young calf for the first time when you are 17 and don't have any previous experience with cows is a big responsibility.

They haven't told me what the vet said yet. Considering the calf wouldn't drink milk, it sounds like something was very off - a calf wouldn't just starve itself to death as long as it was still strong enough to suckle.