# 36 hour calf found wet,cold and not nursing



## Judy77 (Aug 17, 2013)

Our very skiddish heifer dropped an unexpected little heifer calf Fri 8 pm. Twenty four hours later we decided mom was not taking care of it so we brought it into the barn...warmed some towels to wrap her in (temp was 99) and mixed a bottle of calf starter. 

She sucks a little but mostly fights us putting the nipple its mouth. We persist and at times she will take 6-8 good sucks and then refuses it. I got up at 1 am last night and tried again but she mostly refused. 

Keeping her warm...anything else we can do? This is our first experience. 

Judy in Indiana


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

Sounds like the calf did not get any colostrum, which is one of the most important things a calf should have before it's over 24 hours old (the sooner, the better).

You can try to restrain the heifer (chute and head gate?) and help the calf nurse, which would be better than nothing but I'm guessing that you don't have any handling equipment? You may have to tube the calf. A dose of Bo-Se might help (get from the vet) if the calf is weak. Calf might make it, but I think you'll have to intervene.

If you have any others that might be expecting calves, please confine them in a smaller enclosure, provide hay, water, shade, and supervision. Another cow for company is a good idea too. That way you can observe her progress without having to chase her down in a bigger pasture.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Make sure that the bottle is the proper temperature 
and mixed according to the package. (do not try to mix it 'stronger' thinking it will be better, it will not).

Then get the calf up and straddle her, pinning her neck with your knees behind her ears.
Lift her chin up and force the bottle in there. 
You are going to really need to work at it to get the milk down her now.
If this absoluetely fails, you will need to learn to tube the milk directly into her stomch.

If you don't get something into her soon, she will surely die.


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## Judy77 (Aug 17, 2013)

Ok, I just tried to get it up...we have been trying to feed her while she was lying down...I pulled her up on all 4's but she just collapsed...so I made sure the milk was 90 degrees (is that right?) and forced into her mouth like usual...at one point I got a little rough and she struggled to her feet...so I straddled her partly holding her up and gave her the bottle again...

Didn't get much in her but she was on her feet a couple minutes...then she went down. 

Not sure how to tube her. Since it is Sunday we will have to decided weather to call our vet and meet him at the office to get some Bo-Se....maybe we can find a farmer who has tubed to come out...don't know...

Thanks for all your help. Not sure this one is going to make it. Our first one to try with.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Keep trying.  Every hour or 2 go and give her the chance to drink some more.

It will require a good amount of wrestling, but the fact that she did get up
shows she isn't quitting yet. 

Looks like you may need a crash course in tubing from a vet or another farmer. 
I think the crash course is generally the ONLY one offered. LOL 

Just think of it this way: if you do nothing, she WILL die for sure.
So anything you can try will be better than nothing.
Use the opportunity to learn as much as you can and you may still be surprised.

Never give up without a fight.


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## gwithrow (Feb 5, 2005)

this really can NOT wait until tomorrow....she needs to get colostrum in her yesterday....or asap....if you don't know how, call the vet...they will talk to you on the phone...and or is there someone not too far away that you know of that could come over and show you how to tube?.....if at all possible keep the mom in with her in a stall...I have been amazed that some of the crazy ones come around and take good care of their babies...cold rain is just not helpful at all.....


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## Judy77 (Aug 17, 2013)

We may have turned a corner...just got little gal up and she stayed up and walked around. I warmed some more milk and gave her some. She actually sucked and drank. 

On the other hand, I know that colosterum is very impt...but momma heifer is VERY skittish...cant get close to her. She is in a small heard of 8 other cows...and she stands way away from them...lookin at us. We have never had a hand on her...lesson learned...handle your cows!!

So...what happens IF she didn't get ANY first milk...we do think there was a chance she did...probably not much...but she was up in an hour after being born and beside mama. As the cold rain set in the next day it seems she just stayed down in the grass and we actually had to comb the field 3 times to find her that evening. At this pt we were worried so we brought her in. 

Wish we could get her momma caught. It would be good to let it all work out as mother nature planned. But I think my family concensis is to just let me bottle feed her out. 

What do I watch for if anything as she gets older...if she did NOT get any first milk...like what are some cow sickness symptoms? 

I can keep her here with my other 2-2month old calves and our year old Jersey calf thru the summer/fall. 

Thanks, Judy


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Get some store bought colostrum in her ASAP. Keep your vet on speed dial. The colostrum passes all the mother's immunities to the calf, any little bug will make her sick without it. 

Ship that heifer. It's not uncommon for a first timer to be a little slow to mother, but she's an epic fail and bad disposition besides. Her next job can be filling a bun!

If you have a chute or head catch, you would restrain the heifer in it and let the calf nurse twice a day until the heifer comes around. But you have to start before the calf gets so weak. A persistent calf who wants to nurse is half the battle. 

Sorry you got off to such a rough start.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Are you very sure that the calf had not nursed? The reason I ask is because cattle do lay their babies to nap and often people feel that they've walked away from a calf. My other thought is that a calf who had no nourishment in over 24 hours would be quite weak and have little fight at all.


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## Beest (Nov 7, 2014)

Maybe it was mentioned but drenching would work also. We have done that. Bear bottle full of whatever fluids and forced in at the corner of the mouth and back in up to the main body of the bottle. Then tip back her head and the bottle. It won't be in so far as to cause her to aspirate but it will force her to swallow if she isn't too bad. When we have had one that has only coughed up drenching then they get tubed. Remember, straddle the calf and left is right, right is wrong when tubing.


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## Athena (Jun 11, 2013)

She's too old for any immunity transfer now, so colostrum would only provide extra nutrition. They have to get it in the first 24 hours for it to have that first important function. She may do fine, she might be sickly or just not a good animal. I've had a few which have lived long and seemingly healthy enough lives despite missing out. Others didn't.


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## Gravytrain (Mar 2, 2013)

Athena said:


> She's too old for any immunity transfer now, so colostrum would only provide extra nutrition. They have to get it in the first 24 hours for it to have that first important function. She may do fine, she might be sickly or just not a good animal. I've had a few which have lived long and seemingly healthy enough lives despite missing out. Others didn't.


The effectiveness after 24 hours is greatly diminished, but there IS a benefit to getting colostrum after that. By 36 hours, immunoglobulin absorption drops to about 7%...but that is better than nothing.


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## Judy77 (Aug 17, 2013)

Hi Everyone, 

I fixed a full bottle this morning and he drank it all!! But I stopped 3/4 of the way since I knew he had not had much in his stomach in the 2 preceding days and I wasn't sure how much he should have. So after 2 days of "forcing" a bottle and getting him to take 6-8 sucks and then refuse...we went to an almost whole bottle...I think we are on the right road...

He is bawling a lot today....up and moving around in the horse stall half of which is partitioned off with 30 broilers. My question now is when should I move him out with our other 2 (2 month old) calves and year old steer? Along with various goats and chickens. Just wondering. In the stall I have a camera on him and can watch him from the house. I am thinking another night in the stall and tomorrow pen him out where he can see the other animals? 

Thanks for all your help...I feel like he is alive because you all chimed in and kept me sane as I struggled. I learned a lot. 

Judy in Indiana


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Great news! 

I feel like you should keep him away from the bigger calves for a while longer.
You may still need to catch him in order to bottle him, for one thing. 
Smaller spaces make that MUCH easier. 
Also, those bigger calves can be kind of rough on a little one, sucking on their ears and faces and other areas 
(they smell like milk and that suck reflex is slow to go away) .
Watch out for that. Sometimes they will really gang up and worry at a bottle baby, other times not at all.

Mostly you will want to watch he doesn't get scours, that is the downfall of many bottle calves 
(especially ones that haven't had colostrum).
Do not overfeed him and try not to let him get too poopy/dirty for a while. 
Clean dry bedding and I would limit his exposure to other animals for at least a couple weeks. 
Being in his situation will put him at a higher risk for cocci so maybe read up on your prevention/treatment options there.

Otherwise, have fun. Sounds like you have the right idea.


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## Athena (Jun 11, 2013)

Gravytrain said:


> The effectiveness after 24 hours is greatly diminished, but there IS a benefit to getting colostrum after that. By 36 hours, immunoglobulin absorption drops to about 7%...but that is better than nothing.


I would really appreciate a reference to any research on that, if you have it. I've looked and found work which confirms the transfer to 24 hours, but nothing showing any later value. If there is, I'd like to know, because we all have a case some time or other we'd like to hope will be ok.


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## Gravytrain (Mar 2, 2013)

Athena said:


> I would really appreciate a reference to any research on that, if you have it. I've looked and found work which confirms the transfer to 24 hours, but nothing showing any later value. If there is, I'd like to know, because we all have a case some time or other we'd like to hope will be ok.


All I'm saying is that absorption is approaching zero, but is not zero at 24 hours. I don't remember where I've read that, but I've read it in more than one university study.

ETA: These are not the studies I've read in the past, but after a quick search I found these:


_In calves, closure is virtually complete 24 hours after birth, although efficiency of absorption declines from birth, particularly after 12 hours._​https://beef.unl.edu/antibodiescolostrum

_By the 24-hour mark the gut begins to close and it becomes extremely difficult for the calf to absorb the antibodies in the colostrum. The calf&#8217;s intestine becomes impermeable to large proteins. Studies have shown, that at six hours after birth, calves absorbed 66 % of the immunoglobulins in colostrum, but at 36 hours after birth calves were able to absorb only 7 % of immunoglobulins. Colostrum contains approximately 22 % solids, compared to 12 % solids in normal whole cow's milk. Much of the extra solid material in colostrum is immunoglobulin, but colostrum is also an important source of protein, sugar, fat, and vitamins A and E_.​http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/faq8021


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

I think your vet can do an IgG test with just a few drops of blood to determine the level of immunity in the calf and if it received sufficient colostrum. Might be worth it for peace of mind, huh?


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

I am not a cow person but I did play midwife to the neighbors cow (they went out of town) and she would not let the baby near her or me to her to milk for the first milk, I finally got the cow milked after 6 hours or so, then I had trouble getting the calf to nurse with the bottle but he would suck my thumb so I put Karo syrup on my thumb and then on the nipple and he took to the bottle. I am sure its not the same as being unfeed for 24 hours but it sure helped me in the wee hours of the morning.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Here's a stupid question maybe, but have you tried putting the calf back with its mother? Why wouldn't that be a good idea now if the calf is doing better? Just curious as to why you don't reintroduce it to the mom.


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## Judy77 (Aug 17, 2013)

Can't reintroduce them...mom is very wild...never been caught much...maybe we could with a horse and lariat lol....she runs to back part of pasture when we come up to the gate. 

We did learn our lesson...to always get the cow up in a pen somehow if we think it is pregnant...even if it takes hours and hours of work to herd her in somewhere.

But calf did go off the bottle for 2 days (Wed and Thur)...took him to vet...temp 102.5, gums didn't look too pale, very lethargic, but no diarrhea which vet said is good...so he gave me some colostrum to try and some Hydra-Lyte. Said there is not much else to do if he didn't get that first milk...not a good situation...I figured I would still try so I came home and started reading my homeopathy books...found a remedy for "stress" which I figured might fit...dosed him twice that evening and the next morning (today) he was up and mooing at the door...got half the colostrum down him and the rest this evening. Don't think we are out of the woods yet but he is still alive...trying not to get attached to him...very hard....lol

Thanks again for all your support....Judy in Indiana


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

"We did learn our lesson...to always get the cow up in a pen somehow if we think it is pregnant...even if it takes hours and hours of work to herd her in somewhere."

Life is to short for wild cattle, the pen she needs to see is relatively small and has wheels.


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## TheFarmerMommy (Mar 21, 2014)

I might have missed this, but did you try squeezing his lower jaw to get him to suck? A rubber nipple is a lot more work for them than mom's teat. I had a calf come to me that I learned later had been abruptly pulled off mom. A neighbor showed me how to gently squeeze her lower jaw to teach her that she needed more force to get milk from the bottle.

I'm glad I learned. I had an orphaned calf this spring. I wouldn't have known how firm I needed to be to get him started eating if it hadn't been for the first calf. He got some colostrum from mom, but she was checking out on day 4. I decided to bottle feed him. I had to tackle him like a linebacker and sit on him, holding his head between my knees. A couple squeezes to his jaw and he caught on and could chug a bottle with the best of them.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Judy77 said:


> Can't reintroduce them...mom is very wild...never been caught much...maybe we could with a horse and lariat lol....she runs to back part of pasture when we come up to the gate.
> 
> We did learn our lesson...to always get the cow up in a pen somehow if we think it is pregnant...even if it takes hours and hours of work to herd her in somewhere.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the explanation. I haven't had that situation, and when I do have cattle here they are always handled pretty well, gotta be able to get them in our cattle pens to doctor.


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## Azriel (Dec 29, 2013)

The milk needs to be at 101 when feed, not when mixed and then walk to the barn and fight with the calf to feed, my calves like the milk on the warm side, more like 102. 
Are you sure the calf was not being fed by the Mom, it should have been very hungry after 36 hours and not fought so hard with the nipple. Most newborn calves sleep a lot and Mom will put them down somewhere while she goes to eat only feeding them 3-4 times a day to begin with.


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## 258Pots (Apr 23, 2015)

Gravytrain said:


> All I'm saying is that absorption is approaching zero, but is not zero at 24 hours. I don't remember where I've read that, but I've read it in more than one university study.
> 
> ETA: These are not the studies I've read in the past, but after a quick search I found these:
> 
> ...



Thanks for the links, I did not know the stomach closed up, but that makes sense.


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## LittleAcres (Apr 2, 2015)

Hope all is still ok! How is the little guy now?


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