|
Iowa | I have had problems with this as well. What works for us is to tube the calf with a gallon of colostrum within the first 6-8 hours of life. It would be best to feed them within 2 hours. However, you need to get the colostrum into the calf as soon as possible. Continue doing this until it learns how to suck. I had a calf that took nearly 3 days, but it finally started sucking. Sometimes I will tube a gallon of colostrum and will not feed it again for another 24 hours. One gallon in 24 hours will be plenty and the calf will not be starved by any means. By this time, it should be hungry and hopefully hungry enough to suck on it's own. This is not ideal, but it needs to learn. Usually when I have this problem, the calf is fine during it's life. However, I had one calf that had trouble drinking the first few days at birth and about 5 weeks later came down with an illness. I gave it some meds and he was fine, but just keep a close eye on this one. Good luck!! | |
|
Calf does not have good nursing reflex
