Calf will only drink from a bottle not the cow

[Rogerroger]

Hi all
Got two calf's under a week old that we had to pull out so they both have swollen tongues. Having a nightmare trying to get them to suck off the cow. If we milk the cow and give it in a bottle they drink fine but just won't suck off the cow even when you put the teet in its mouth. Anyone had this trouble and maybe know something to try.
Thanks

 

[willie waver]

perseverance, squeezing a bit of milk into the calves mouth just before shoving it on the teat helps ime

 

[Sharpy]

As above, hunger helps too.

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Just keep trying. They will get the hang of it!

 

[Jimfandango]

I had one this spring that I had to feed for around 10 days. It eventually came round though. Now it's fine. As above, hunger helps. Make sure it's filled up and healthy then let it get hungry.

 

[Rogerroger]

Thanks for the replys hopefully when the swelling goes down on the tounge it will get better.

 

[Dry Rot]

I'm a trainer and would suggest trying to give the bottle as close to the udder as possible. The object of the exercise is to combine the association of bottle + udder in the calf's mind with feeding which it finds pleasant, if that makes sense. So, yes, hunger is an essential part.

You might be able to swap teat for bottle with a bit of slight of hand. I don't know a lot about cattle, but sometimes the presence of a dog triggers the maternal instinct in a reluctant ewe and her actions will then stimulate a lamb to to suck.

I have done exactly as above with a mare and a weak foal and it worked. The foal was so keen to suck from the bottle, it did not notice when I switched over to the mare's teat. Fortunately, the mare was very obliging. Then at a year old, the damn thing got it's head stuck in the hay rack and had to be shot! Such is life.

 

[Rogerroger]

Thanks so frustrating isn't it.
To be honest we have tried pretty much everything that you have surgested. I spoke to a friend who had the exact same problem and they had asked a vet and they said it is very common now. We are making some progress with one calf, once you get the teet in if you hold his tounge up he can suck. The other is so stupid that when you finally get him on the cow he just buts and comes off. Frustrating but we will persist. Thanks

 

[digger64]

Thanks for the replys hopefully when the swelling goes down on the tounge it will get better.

Have you considered giving it an anti inflammatory injection ?

 

[milkloss]

Wouldn't be swollen tongues from having a kick or two would it? We might get it every now and again when a calf is too nervous to suck a cow when he's had a decent bash. Last one we had we put big valves on the cow in the crush to desensitise her and keep in milk and we bottled the calf for a week or so until he was sharper and stronger.

 

[Dry Rot]

I forgot to add in my post above that small and frequent feeds from the bottle up against the udder are going to work best, if they work at all. (Every three hours in the case of that foal!). I don't want to seem to be a 'know all' but I have made a study of this sort of problem for a very long time. Trying to get a hawk freshly trapped from the wild to eat is a similar problem. They can be sat on a chunk of warm and bloody meat and still literally starve to death because of some sort of mental block that stops them from eating.

One trick falconers have is to try to stimulate the bird's reaction to kill (and hopefully eat) struggling prey. That one has been known for centuries, hence the expression, "Pull the other one, it's got bells on". Pulling a hawk's leg can actually stimulate the "kill" reaction, so it grips harder and bends down to bite whatever is in it's talons. But whether that leg has a bell on it or not will not make a hoot of a difference! A lot of these old sayings come from falconry which, at one time, was a popular way of catching fresh game.

Letting it suck from the bottle close up to the teat might just stimulate it to switch over, but try to do it every 2 or 3 hours while it is eager -- and don't over feed.

 

[Rogerroger]

Quick update!
After 16 days the worlds most stupid calf has finally learnt to drink on his own.