Desperately need help feeding a calf - please!!

[CalfLife]

I bought a few calves to raise at a local market, have a good shed & a few years experience but this one is stumping me.
Calf was big strong animal (about 6 weeks old) then scoured -rust coloured. Vet thought salmonella so medicated for that.
Then she blew up, another vet came & relieved the bloat, said probably coccidiosis, so gave me a drench for that.
Calf has been tubed the whole time & seemed to respond well, but in last 24 hours has gone downhill. Friend (farmer for 40 years plus) has tried to help me to get her to suck the bottle but she just won’t! Now grinding teeth so must be in pain. I’ve tried lots in her mouth but she just sticks her tongue out to the side, won’t swallow milk/water & just lets it dribble out of the side of her mouth.
Im so frustrated as she’s survived 2 awful illnesses & all she needs to do now is eat to put her weight back on. She looks like she’d rather die
Any help very much appreciated!!

 

[puntabrava]

Do you not have a stomach tube?

 

[CalfLife]

Yes, as stated she’s been tubed the whole time. Was so ill she couldn’t really manage anything else…

 

[Martyn]

When you say you have been tubing the calf is this with milk? If so after about 7 days I know it can cause issues with rumen damage, I understand it's fine to tube with electrolyte at any age but not milk. We rear quite a lot of calves and out of every 100 plus we alway get one random one, iv had one this year that went of milk at 14 days and has only eaten cake and straw since, looked awful for 6 weeks now starting to look ok but small!

 

[Top Tip.]

I bought a few calves to raise at a local market, have a good shed & a few years experience but this one is stumping me.
Calf was big strong animal (about 6 weeks old) then scoured -rust coloured. Vet thought salmonella so medicated for that.
Then she blew up, another vet came & relieved the bloat, said probably coccidiosis, so gave me a drench for that.
Calf has been tubed the whole time & seemed to respond well, but in last 24 hours has gone downhill. Friend (farmer for 40 years plus) has tried to help me to get her to suck the bottle but she just won’t! Now grinding teeth so must be in pain. I’ve tried lots in her mouth but she just sticks her tongue out to the side, won’t swallow milk/water & just lets it dribble out of the side of her mouth.
Im so frustrated as she’s survived 2 awful illnesses & all she needs to do now is eat to put her weight back on. She looks like she’d rather die
Any help very much appreciated!!

Crypto is about the only one left,I would try medication for that.

 

[Al R]

Have you tried a wine bottle? Obviously no wine but with milk inside, not all at once but a bit at a time

 

[Courier]

Not a laughing matter but I recall a Spillers calf feeding specialist being asked a similar question - his response “Chuck the bucketful of milk on it’s back and let it soak in!”

 

[CalfLife]

Water & electrolytes, four times a day, then down to three as she got a bit better.
The vet commended me for keeping her hydrated so well, but it’s no good if I lose her now, very upsetting. She’s now having milk again, vet said to give, but I wonder now (having read other threads) if this is causing her to be too acidic.
I’ve even considered grinding down the calf feed a bit & seeing if I can mix it with honey & spoon feed her! All sounds crazy but that’s where your head goes when desperate I suppose… She does have a tiny bit of water in her pen, she seems to just swill her mouth in it if you see what I mean

 

[CalfLife]

Have you tried a wine bottle? Obviously no wine but with milk inside, not all at once but a bit at a time

I will drink a bottle tow, then give it a go.

 

[CalfLife]

Crypto is about the only one left,I would try medication for that.

The drench from the vet, who is thankfully a better one than the one who first visited, said the drench covers both… she is not scouring any more

 

[CalfLife]

When you say you have been tubing the calf is this with milk? If so after about 7 days I know it can cause issues with rumen damage, I understand it's fine to tube with electrolyte at any age but not milk. We rear quite a lot of calves and out of every 100 plus we alway get one random one, iv had one this year that went of milk at 14 days and has only eaten cake and straw since, looked awful for 6 weeks now starting to look ok but small!

I would totally remove the milk, but not if I can’t get her to have anything else. She ignores all the hay & haylage I’ve tried, & spits out the cake

 

[CalfLife]

Not a laughing matter but I recall a Spillers calf feeding specialist being asked a similar question - his response “Chuck the bucketful of milk on it’s back and let it soak in!”

It might just come to that!

 

[Yonlass]

If I'm tearing my hair out with a calf not supping, scouring, recovering a bit, scouring again, etc I'll try a course of Synulox tablets. One either end of the day for 3 days, and a sachet of pro-rumen over 4 feeds

 

[Martyn]

They recommend carry on milk feeding along side three extra feeds of electrolyte now days, years ago they used to say cut out milk.

 

[CalfLife]

If I'm tearing my hair out with a calf not supping, scouring, recovering a bit, scouring again, etc I'll try a course of Synulox tablets. One either end of the day for 3 days, and a sachet of pro-rumen over 4 feeds

I will see if I can locate some ‘pro-rumen’

 

[CalfLife]

They recommend carry on milk feeding along side three extra feeds of electrolyte now days, years ago they used to say cut out milk.

So I can continue to tube in the electrolytes… but the issue remains of getting her to take anything else. I can leave the milk in a bucket (on a water bottle) but I doubt she’ll take enough to live. I honestly curse the day I bought her now, got much poorer animals that are thriving! #bangsheadonwall

 

[Yonlass]

I will see if I can locate some ‘pro-rumen’

Local ag merchant will sell it. Whether they'll split a box, but I'm paying £56 for 10 sachets. *Other yeast based complementary feedstuffs are available*

 

[tr250]

Has the calf ever sucked since it’s been with you? Guessing it’s been on a cow until you bought it

 

[Yonlass]

Local ag merchant will sell it. Whether they'll split a box, but I'm paying £56 for 10 sachets. *Other yeast based complementary feedstuffs are available*

Why is it always on a Bank Holiday?

 

[MrA.G.]

So I can continue to tube in the electrolytes… but the issue remains of getting her to take anything else. I can leave the milk in a bucket (on a water bottle) but I doubt she’ll take enough to live. I honestly curse the day I bought her now, got much poorer animals that are thriving! #bangsheadonwall

If the scour has stopped I wouldn’t be still feeding electrolytes as there are to replace the lost fluids. Would it be possible that the calf is now simply getting too much fluid and needs left for 12 hours to build an appetite?