Calf problem, stuck in a dilema?

effluent

I'm looking after my neigbours farm while they are abroad for the week. However as luck will have it, I found one of their calfs (~6 months old) lieing in side of the feild looking very poor, I walked it out to the centre of the feild hoping the mother might tend to it. I came back three hours later for it to be back on its own in the long grass again, so I walked it into a shed with it's mother.

I called out the vet and he thought it got a kick from one of the animals. It has a lot of swelling around it rear flank. It improved the next day but today the calf seemed poor again. I got the vet out again and he thinks its an abscess or Black leg as there was gas coming out of the swelling when it was slit with a surgical knife.

Anyways the calf has gone off sucking the mother, I suspect for over a day. I gave the calf three feeds today, a pint of warmed milk taken by dripping a plunger into its mouth, and it nibbles on a bit of crunch. So the calf should be okay if the treatment works okay.

But here's my dilema. The mother cow will have a full bag and it looks like the calf won't go back sucking any time soon. I can't really let them out in the feild because the calf is too lame, and the cow would make more milf if eating fresh grass. I can't really let this cow out with the others cows and calfs because I'm worried the mother cow will knock down fences looking for her calf, it would be great if I could becuase I'd say she'd be willing to let another calf suck on her. I can't milk the cow because they've never been handled and go crazy just being in the crush. There's another pair (cow and her calf) in another cubicle, I'm thinking the best thing to do is mix the two pairs and hope the other calf will suck the poor calfs mother.

What would you do in this situation? What are the chances of another calf sucking a cow with a full bag

Manoffeeling

effluent wrote: »

I'm looking after my neigbours farm while they are abroad for the week. However as luck will have it, I found one of their calfs (~6 months old) lieing in side of the feild looking very poor, I walked it out to the centre of the feild hoping the mother might tend to it. I came back three hours later for it to be back on its own in the long grass again, so I walked it into a shed with it's mother.

I called out the vet and he thought it got a kick from one of the animals. It has a lot of swelling around it rear flank. It improved the next day but today the calf seemed poor again. I got the vet out again and he thinks its an abscess or Black leg as there was gas coming out of the swelling when it was slit with a surgical knife.

Anyways the calf has gone off sucking the mother, I suspect for over a day. I gave the calf three feeds today, a pint of warmed milk taken by dripping a plunger into its mouth, and it nibbles on a bit of crunch. So the calf should be okay if the treatment works okay.

But here's my dilema. The mother cow will have a full bag and it looks like the calf won't go back sucking any time soon. I can't really let them out in the feild because the calf is too lame, and the cow would make more milf if eating fresh grass. I can't really let this cow out with the others cows and calfs because I'm worried the mother cow will knock down fences looking for her calf, it would be great if I could becuase I'd say she'd be willing to let another calf suck on her. I can't milk the cow because they've never been handled and go crazy just being in the crush. There's another pair (cow and her calf) in another cubicle, I'm thinking the best thing to do is mix the two pairs and hope the other calf will suck the poor calfs mother.

What would you do in this situation? What are the chances of another calf sucking a cow with a full bag

Milk her out or get a calf to suck her. End of...........

effluent

Thanks, got in touch with the owner, found out a bit more about the calf.

funkey_monkey

Get some of the mastitis tubes which you inject into the udder and use the part which gets inserted into the teat to milk the cow for you. Cut it off at the base of the cylinder.

She should be able to stand long enough for you to insert the nozzle into the udder. They will drain her out without you having to milk her by hand.

tomieen jones

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Get some of the mastitis tubes which you inject into the udder and use the part which gets inserted into the teat to milk the cow for you. Cut it off at the base of the cylinder.

She should be able to stand long enough for you to insert the nozzle into the udder. They will drain her out without you having to milk her by hand.

does this really work?

Sacrolyte

tomieen jones wrote: »

does this really work?

Yet homely as I am,large flocks I keep,
And drain the udders of a thousand sheep,
My pails with milk, my shelves with cheefe they fill,
In summer scorching and in winter chill.

whelan2

Any time I used those plugs the cow ended up with mastitis

tomieen jones

Sacrolyte wrote: »

Yet homely as I am,large flocks I keep,
And drain the udders of a thousand sheep,
My pails with milk, my shelves with cheefe they fill,
In summer scorching and in winter chill.

I would be afraid it leaves the teat open to infection

WheatenBriar

effluent wrote: »

Thanks, got in touch with the owner, found out a bit more about the calf.

Hows the calf now:p

whelan2

WheatenBriar wrote: »

Hows the calf now:p

burgers hopefully

Sacrolyte

whelan2 wrote: »

burgers hopefully

Septic tank surely.