# pot bellied babies??



## Kenyon (Mar 11, 2006)

Hope I get all the needed info here: I have a 2 week old bottle calf, she is premature, not sure how much premature tho, brangus cross, drinks 2 bottles a day snowflake milk...no other health problems... Does anyone know how to keep bottle calves from being SHORT and POT BELLIED??? :


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

When I saw the title of this thread, I was prepared to steer you gently toward the pig forum ... 

I have never raised a bottle calf, but I've had some bottle goat kids who didn't look as good as their counterparts raised on Momma ... however, they eventually filled out and turned into nice-looking goats! Can't really differentiate between 'em as adults.

Good luck with your calf.


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## Valmai (Sep 29, 2004)

Is she pot bellied all the time or just after you have fed her? How much milk is she getting per feed? Is she pooing okay?


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## Kenyon (Mar 11, 2006)

She drinks 4 pints morning and night, and 2 pints(half a bottle) around midday. She is only pot bellied after eating, bowls are normal. I have raised a few bottle calves, they all seem to turn out short and pot bellied. I just have to wonder if this is from lack of exercise or what?? :shrug: :shrug:


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## JeffNY (Dec 13, 2004)

Sounds like your calf is sneaking off to the pub! .



Jeff


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Usually short and pot-bellied means they are not getting the right nutrition and are stunted because of it. I see this more often in calves raised on milk replacer than in ones raised on real milk. Worms or sub-clinical coccidiosis can also cause this.....
Do you keep them long enough to see if they grow out of it??


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## Valmai (Sep 29, 2004)

I have an angus cross cow who was premature, she is now my largest cow. (larger than my friesian or murray grey) Are you mixing the milk according to the directions on the packaging? Its been a long time since I used milk powder (real milk is always better) so I cant help you with that. Weaning the calves too early can cause them to be stunted.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I don't recognize your replacer brand, so I don't know if this is the problem, but.............. Milk Replacer is the one item you cannot skimp on. Feed the absolute best you can get.


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## Kenyon (Mar 11, 2006)

Milk replacer I'm using is Land O Lakes brand- also in the mornings I'm still
mixing about 2 table spoons of Colostrum, I had a vet tell me that it provides nutrients to the calf.


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## nobrabbit (May 10, 2002)

We have raised quite a few bottle calves, we have one now that is a week old. All of ours are beef calves. So far, we have not had any pot-bellied ones. We have a dairy farmer near by that we get colustrum from. After the initial bottle of colustrum, my dh swears by 2 feedings of milk replacer a day (a whole bottle at each one), holding the bottle high enough to make the calf stretch his neck up to get it, and introducing them to sweet feed after a week or so. Sometimes, we'll give them a half bottle at noon, depends on the calf. We get in and rough house with our calves to give them exercise. Also, we put halters on them and take them out for exercise.


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## andy gingery (Jun 1, 2005)

we bottle feed calves an we use land o lakes replacer .we had a diary mix heifer that had a big belly tell she was 8 mounths old .she look good now .we just had a battle with our jersey calves .we feed our calves twice a day an we leave hay an water an a little grain in with them at all times.we like to use pellet an rolled corn an oats 10% sweet feed .when we give them there bottle we will give them a little grain by hand alfter they are done with the bottle.we start this at two day old. when we deal with a small calf like a jersey we will feed a half bottle two times a day. we have been told to feed 2/3 bottle. with 8 oz milk replacer.we are doing grate with the half bottle.the calves are drinking from there water bucket an eating the feed we but out about 4 cups at a time thats for two calves that we have in the same pen at this time.the calves are around three week old now.


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## OD (May 25, 2004)

If they eat a large amount, their bellies have to stretch to hold it, but calves that are raised by their mother eats smaller amounts every 2 or 3 hours, & don't have the pot bellies.
I have raised a lot of calves on bottles, & have never had a pot bellied one. I think it is because I try to feed them at least every 4 hours (during the day) for the first month or so, then gradually increase the amount & feed them less often as they get older.


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