Baby Calf

A

Animals4Life

New Member
Looking for any advice for a friends baby calf. Baby calf was born almost 2 weeks ago and when first born was not noticed for about 6 hours and was found to have his legs bent under and was not walking. Calf was brought inside barn area and has been bottle fed with mom's milk because not nursing on own becasue I am assuming hard for him to satnd. He has gotten up and walked around and legs like they straightened out to some degree but he just does not seem to be doing well. Almost looks as though now his back legs are not right and he has some labored breathing it seems to me anyway but I am not around him all the time so I thought I would post this for a friend. Can anyone offer any guidance on what can be done for the calf? Dr Runde said it is very hard to get a calf to nurse once being bottle fed but did not offer much info on why not walking properly and etc If nothing cannot be done then friend will humanely euthanize but just want to make sure we are not missing anything. Insight I can pass on??
 
Cowgirl

Cowgirl

Well-Known Member
Animals4Life said:
Looking for any advice for a friends baby calf. Baby calf was born almost 2 weeks ago and when first born was not noticed for about 6 hours and was found to have his legs bent under and was not walking. Calf was brought inside barn area and has been bottle fed with mom's milk because not nursing on own becasue I am assuming hard for him to satnd. He has gotten up and walked around and legs like they straightened out to some degree but he just does not seem to be doing well. Almost looks as though now his back legs are not right and he has some labored breathing it seems to me anyway but I am not around him all the time so I thought I would post this for a friend. Can anyone offer any guidance on what can be done for the calf? Dr Runde said it is very hard to get a calf to nurse once being bottle fed but did not offer much info on why not walking properly and etc If nothing cannot be done then friend will humanely euthanize but just want to make sure we are not missing anything. Insight I can pass on??
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I need more details...what breed are the calf and cow, how big was the calf when it was born? Is this the cow's first calf? Are his front legs "knuckling under?" That's when the legs bend at the fetlock, and it looks like the calf is walking on his knuckles. Are you keeping the calf with the cow? It would be best if you can do that...as long as the calf is safe. If they have been separated for too long, the cow may not want to take the calf back. You might try a BOSE injection...it could be a vit. E or selenium deficiency. If he has labored breathing, he might be getting pneumonia.

If you're keeping the calf with the cow, you'll have a better chance of getting him to nurse from her.
 
A

Animals4Life

New Member
Cowgirl said:
I need more details...what breed are the calf and cow, how big was the calf when it was born? Is this the cow's first calf? Are his front legs "knuckling under?" That's when the legs bend at the fetlock, and it looks like the calf is walking on his knuckles. Are you keeping the calf with the cow? It would be best if you can do that...as long as the calf is safe. If they have been separated for too long, the cow may not want to take the calf back. You might try a BOSE injection...it could be a vit. E or selenium deficiency. If he has labored breathing, he might be getting pneumonia.

If you're keeping the calf with the cow, you'll have a better chance of getting him to nurse from her.
Click to expand...

Hi there. I talked to the lady that catt referred me to and she was awesome. Went to SO States and got everything that we need. She thinks that he will pull through just fine. He has been kept up and with his mom the whole time and he is getting his mom's milk in a bottle and his legs are straightening out but he appeared to be dragging his back legs some which Susie did say was probably the selenium deficiency since our soil does not have the proper minerals. Thanks for your help as well!!
 
cattitude

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
Animals4Life said:
Hi there. I talked to the lady that catt referred me to and she was awesome. Went to SO States and got everything that we need. She thinks that he will pull through just fine. He has been kept up and with his mom the whole time and he is getting his mom's milk in a bottle and his legs are straightening out but he appeared to be dragging his back legs some which Susie did say was probably the selenium deficiency since our soil does not have the proper minerals. Thanks for your help as well!!
Click to expand...

:yahoo: Susie is a gem!
 
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