Premature calf heifer lacks milk

[Bopeep1981]

Ask your vet about a jab of steroid to help mature the lungs, there always the main threat in premature calves.
Had one premature last year that was on the bottle as well as the cow, after about 10days he stopped taking milk from the bottle. Mother must have started producing enough, never had loads but must have been enough.
Best of luck.

Thanks for the advice. I will give them a call tomorrow, though they may say at eight days old she is past the danger period? I don't know when that would be the case though.

Calf is drinking 5 litres of milk from the bottle per day now, plus drinking from mum. She can get up by herself now, and has started feeding as and when she pleases, which is a big relief. She has put on 4kg in her first week.

She is still a bit wonky, and her front left leg isn't working quite right yet. Her right eye is cloudy, so not sure if she will have sight in that eye. Otherwise she is bright and alert, and is chasing me about the shed when she wants feeding!

I hope the heifer responds to the increased suckling from the calf, and from the cake she is getting now (which she is very pleased about!). She definitely has more milk than she did, so thank you all for your help!

 

[Bopeep1981]

Nice looking cow by the way! I really like her.

Thank you! She is the first heifer to calve by our stock bull, Ervie L1 Achiever 91151H, and she will turn 2yrs old at the beginning of February. The prem calf is by Laxfield Timpanist.

 

[Bopeep1981]

Thank you all for your help and advice!

We turned out our premature calf today with her dam, who is providing plenty of milk for her calf now.

Fingers crossed she keeps on improving. Hoping that being outdoors will help her legs straighten out a bit more.

Video of her here:
https://twitter.com/ElwessHerefords/status/1115304661341429761?s=19