Was given two newborn calves just now and they have not been able to nurse. The mother cows were taken away. have not had any colostrum. need to know what to feed to try to keep them alive any help will be welcomed.

-- Leland S Galloway (lelandsga@aol.com), September 08, 2000

Answers

Response to cattle

You need to either find a cow with baby calf to get milk from or go to a feed store and get some of that stuff you mix up and feed them with a bottle or bucket with nipple.

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), September 08, 2000.

Response to cattle

leland if you cant find eny colustrum try to find some goat milk. very good for baby calfs. Bob in s.e.ks.

-- Bob Condry (bobco@hit.net), September 08, 2000.

Response to cattle

I always kept a couple of quarts of colostrum in the freezer. Then if I had a doe that didn't milk immediatly or someone else needed some I could give it to them. Some folks up the road that raise sheep got it from me twice. Wish I could give you what I have now.

-- Marci (ajourend@libby.org), September 08, 2000.

Response to cattle

Hi , I don't want to put a bummer on this but you have a good chance of loosing them .Keep them warm and draft free .Go to the store and get scours control 2 and there electro lyte brand .I don't take chances anymore and just start my auction calfs on it .Also see if you can get some corrid .They may not need it but again better to give it to them than have them scour and try to get them up again .

You can try to give them a bottle or straight out of the bucket .You want to warm the water to about body temp , never cold .Depending on size start with 1-2 qts in the a.m. and again in the p.m. Do not over feed they will scour .It wouldn't hurt to give electrlytes at lunch time .

It is very likely these calfs will scour being they never had moms milk .If your feed store carries any type of colostrum get it and use it , otherwise put a raw egg yolk in there feed once a day for 3 days .Since I started doing things this way I haven't lost a calf .E- mail me if you need anything and keep us posted .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), September 08, 2000.

Response to cattle

If you're trying to get them through the night until you can get some milk, there are a few things you can try. I'll assume you have a bottle for them. They can eat raw eggs, thinned yogurt, burned flour, a bit of corn syrup. You can mix this all together or feed just one if thats all you have. It will fill their bellies and the yogurt and/or egg will offer some nutrients but without the colostrum they might have failure to thrive. If you have canned milk a bit of that wouldn't hurt. I second the goat milk suggestion, they do great on it. Also, comfrey, slippery elm, or acidophilus in their bottle is good for them. Good luck and don't give up! Let us know how you're doing,

-- Julie (julieamc@excite.com), September 08, 2000.

Response to cattle

If you have a vet supply store or even a good vet, you might be able to find some of the powdered colostrum substitutes. If not, add 1 whole egg, 1 T. honey or white Karo syrup and 1/2 teaspoon cod liver oil or liquid newborn vitamins to 1 pint whole milk (or increase amounts for several feeds). If you have a blender mix in that BEFORE you put in the cod liver oil to smooth the mixture. Feed warm for the first 2-3 days. It doesn't have the antibodies so important to any newborn critter but nutritionally, it's very close to colostrum. I've used this formula on orphaned baby rabbits, kittens, pups, goat kids, calves and lambs with good results. When I have a limited amount of colostrum, I give a generous first feed of it then switch to this formula.

In the meantime keep the babies in as stress free a situation as possible--no drafts, etc.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), September 08, 2000.

Response to cattle

Leland,

If you have never had bottle babies, it can be frustrating trying to get them to eat anything. Util they get the hang of that bottle, you really have to work with them. This is what worked for us.

Straddle the calf's back so you can hold his head up with one hand and the bottle in his mouth with the other. It helps to start with a nipple that is pretty free flowing so he can taste the milk. It may take a while.

The other option is to get him to suck on your fingers as you gently lower them into a pail of milk. IMO, the disadvantage of this method is that they drink it so fast, they still feel hungry.

I've never had to feed a brand-new calf, but with the older ones, we use Purina milk replacer. We've tried other brands, but we always come back to Purina for this product. (Gee, I wonder if they'd hire me for a commercial!) ...........Good luck..........Mona

-- Mona (jascamp@ipa.net), September 08, 2000.

Response to cattle

You need to do what you can to get them some colostrum immediately. Maybe a nearby dairy has some on hand. They can only absorb the antibodies for about the first 24 hours of life, and they tend to do very poorly without them.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), September 09, 2000.