# Calf won’t drink water



## Lwalker (Jun 11, 2020)

I have a 2 month (approx.) Jersey calf, around 100lbs.
We’re on day 4 of scours and I need help.
Noticed there was an issue Monday morning (everything seemed good Sunday evening). She seemed weak, wasn’t as eager to get up as she normally is - slowly got up on her own. She drank her milk replacer from her pail and within a few mins laid back down. We moved her out of her stall (to a small lot outside the barn) shortly after feeding to clean and bed and husband noticed very lose yellow poo. After cleaning and bedding, we went to put her back and she wouldn’t stand on her own, husband helped her up and she wouldn’t even walk - acted like her front leg wasn’t there, she wouldn’t put any kind of weight on it, so he packed her to her stall, she laid straight down (more like an awkward plop) - but the next morning she was using the leg again.

We have given pink (pig scour?) medicine Once a day for the last 4 days. Gave her a dose of Batryl on Monday (one time treatment dosage) 
She acts weak, needs help to stand but once up moves around some on her own, but she’s a bit wobbly. 
Today (Wednesday) she had half a bottle of milk/half water in the morning, and electrolytes tonight instead of milk. 
Before this, she was drinking milk out of a pail and would eat a small bit of sweet feed here and there.
She is in great spirits - when I walked in the barn to feed this evening she bawled at me and started wagging her tail and flopping her ears around, but I still had to help her up.

I believe she is dehydrated - she will not drink water - not out of a bottle, pail or bucket. Which is blowing my mind because she will drink electrolytes and super diluted milk, but not plain water. Advice????

Also, Her hind end is raw from the poo - we’ve cleaned her up and sprayed her with fly spray, but the momma in me needs to get that healed up...what can I put on her to promote healing? (My first thought was a diaper rash cream??) 

Any advice/help is greatly needed and appreciated.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

You may need to tube her to force electrolytes down her


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)




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## Lwalker (Jun 11, 2020)

She drinks the electrolytes fine, she just will not drink plain water - not out of a bottle or a bucket.


Oregon1986 said:


> You may need to tube her to force electrolytes down her


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

Lwalker said:


> She drinks the electrolytes fine, she just will not drink plain water - not out of a bottle or a bucket.


Hmmm well if she gets too weak I'd tube her and give her straight water.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

If she will drink other liquids, I'd just give her some molasses mixed in the water to encourage her to drink it.

I'd also consider giving real milk instead of "replacer", since few animals do well on artificial milk.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Frankly, if she were mine I would be talking to my vet - and quickly. A calf doesn't become dehydrated overnight, reluctant to stand and move about without something else going on. She needs a bit more help than you are able to give her at this point in time.

Also, can I ask people to please, please, not bucket feed their calves. Calves drinking milk from a bucket are doing just that - drinking. They should be sucking and that sucking reflex is hugely important as to where the milk goes. The omasum and abomasum make up 70% of a young calf's stomach because of their intake of milk and digestion of same, and this is where the milk should be going. In a mature cow it will only be 30%. I'm sorry, I'm tired and have never been good at explaining this anyway. Found a site for you to look at but then couldn't copy and paste it. However, you can do a search on this as well as I can and I would strongly suggest that people do.

In the meantime, can you get hold of your vet - she has something else going on.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

No matter what, I always learn something from you, Ronnie!


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Mama cow feeds her calf many times per day, we are breaking all the natural rules. Nipple feeding is critical, the first phase of digestion comes from the calf's saliva. Feeding several times a day in smaller amounts equaling an entire days rations would be helpful IMO. Forget about the water, the calf is 2 months old I'm sure it knows what water tastes like. Bottle feed electrolytes, and MR may help your sick calf tremendously. Bucket feeding/slurping can send milk into the lungs, as mentioned by Ronney, wrong compartments of the stomach and then become a breeding ground for bacteria.....My thoughts. Topside


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Nipple feeding from the right height is important, as is the right size nipple hole. Overfeeding out of kindness will put a calf on the ground in under 24hrs, and getting back to normal will take many days. The calf wasn't sick why you bought it, I'm guessing of course. Big changes made to quickly are a no no in the bottle feeding world....It's a miserable experience tending to a sick calf I know but keep trying, fingers crossed...Topside


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Any updates?


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## Lwalker (Jun 11, 2020)

Contacted the a vet Friday afternoon. Said it sounded like late onset white muscle disease. However, he didn’t have any Bo-Se on hand. So we contacted another vet, he said the same thing. We were able to get a dose of Bo-Se in her Friday evening, but she just continued to do down hill. We lost her late last night.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Bearfootfarm said:


> I'd also consider giving real milk instead of "replacer", since few animals do well on artificial milk.


What he said. Young animals who are given milk replacer survive in spite of it, not because of it. Eight weeks is too early to wean calves. They are just starting to get their first growth spurt, and need real milk to grow and do well.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Sorry to hear you lost her.
The worst part of trying to raise animals is having to face the fact you can't save them all.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Sorry you lost the calf. Remember what you learned from this and use it next time. I probably lost a half dozen calves, before I stopped using milk replacer. I have a half used bag of replacer sitting in an old trash can in the feed barn. It is there to remind me to never use that crap again.


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