Help with a Highland Calf

Hi

We are new to this site and are relatively new lifestylers who run a few highland cows, alpacas and sheep. About 7 weeks ago one of our cows calved a lovely bull, everything seemed fine. On day 3 we realised that he wasn’t well so we brought him in and tried to bottle feed him. He wasn’t happy to feed from a bottle and only drank some electrolytes from a bucket. In the end we tube fed him for a few days. Since then he has never relished milk and only drank enough to keep him alive.
Since then he has plodded along, he doesn’t like meal (we have tried two types) and he wanders the paddock in the morning only just nibbling grass. We were told to keep putting meal in his mouth which he swallows and we put grass and clover in his mouth which he chews and swallows.
The vet has put him on antibiotics and he seems bright enough.
Has anyone got any advice on a calf that doesn’t like milk, only likes electrolytes and won’t voluntarily eat meal and seems to have trouble picking grass himself. Somebody said we should try probiotics? Will that help?
We are at our wits end and dont know what do do next.

Thanks
Jenny

If he is struggling/refusing with taking milk either via mum or a bottle (personally I would keep up the meals in combination with electrolytes at that age via an Antahi trusty tuber antahi.com/products/trusti-tuber-2-in-1-starter-kit .

Havng said that, my experience is when they are refusing meals, they have another issue going on which the AB's possibly will address.

How big is the paddock you are letting him out in? And how long is the course of AB's from the vet?

Can you put up some photos of him, the pasture you have him picking away at, and the pen you keep him in to get the necessary AB's and liquids into him please.

Thanks Max. He is only drinking from a bucket. He never took to a bottle at all. We used milk replacer.

The course of AB’s is for 10 days. Vet thought he probably had pneumonia. Although he isn’t coughing but dis doing a lot of drooling.

The paddock is about quarter acre all to himself. He has shelter with clean dry hay

Photo of our lovely boy and the paddock that he wanders. Although he did do much walking today

Pneumonia is a really hidden issue, I have lost a couple of calves thst were healthy otherwise,

AB’s for ten days though? What exactly have you been supplied?

For a 7 week old calf, I wouldn’t be allowing that much access either to grass. Where is his mum in this picture? Have you removed her completely from him?

Yes, we had to. He wasn’t feeding from her and she wouldn’t let us near him to administer any assistance to him. She is a very flighty girl and hard to handle. Her last 2 calves have been absolutely fine.
The AB is Engemycin 4mls a day

When I am trying to get calves to learn to eat pellets, I use Moosli rather than the pellets you seem to have, because they prefer the taste of Mooslie. I'm still trying to get 3 cow-fed calves to eat it, with great difficulty. Usually after being force-fed a couple of times they are into it, but these 3 are putting up a fight and are now getting too big to fight even with a good pen to hold them in .I can't leave it for the mothers to show them what to do, because the mums love pellets. So I think that if you can forcefeed a bit longer, then leave the pellets with him where other animals won't get them is the best you can do.

Thank you, I will persevere, he seems to be a fighter. Yes, we leave him with meal & Moozlee every day. He just hasn’t got the idea yet. For a sick calf with not much nutrition he is surprisingly strong and wanders for a few hours every morning and a bit more in the
evening. He loves electrolytes and seems to be living on that.
He doesn’t share a paddock with any other animals but has sheep and alpacas in the surrounding paddocks.

Hi Jenny ...have you tried adding a little milk powder to his beloved electrolytes :silly: ...just a tiny bit at a time and getting him use to it making up a bigger % as he gets use to it. He is kinda cute:kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

Thanks Leonie & Zoo

We have tried the other way round which didn’t work. We will definitely try that way. Thanks heaps for that.

terralee wrote:

Hi Jenny ...have you tried adding a little milk powder to his beloved electrolytes :silly: ...just a tiny bit at a time and getting him use to it making up a bigger % as he gets use to it. He is kinda cute:kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

I didn't think you were supposed to mix the two? Something about different parts of the stomach and digestion...? Scratching my head trying to remember.

There is one brand that you can mix with milk but one that they tell you not to. Don't recall which ones they are though. Should be written on the packet however.

It’s called Revive, you can mix the two.