heifer with no biestings will calf survive

Tomjim

heifer calved this morning, could only get a little over a pint of biestings from the heifer and I have tried her since but she has nothing.

I could not source biestings locally today but I did give the calf 4 pints of survivor powder (powder replacement for biestings)

Will the calf be ok?

patsy_mccabe

Even if the heifer has very little milk, the antibodies will be very concentrated. So even the small bit that she has, will do good. Get dairy nuts and start giving them twice a day, slowly building up . That should help bring on the milk.

Kovu

A pint & other fluids will suffice for now but not for rearing it, have you given the heifer any dairy nuts? If she has nothing now it wouldn't bode well for her breeding potential.

Tomjim

is the powder biestings any good or would I be better off milking a cow and giving the calf this milk

Kovu

Tomjim wrote: »

is the powder biestings any good or would I be better off milking a cow and giving the calf this milk

It's better than nothing but it's not near as good as actual milk, you'd be giving yourself added hardship if you went milking another. If it were me I'd see how the heifer is with milk tomorrow, she may not have much but it could be good stuff if you know what I mean.

djmc

Can you let calf under her somewhere and give him a bit extra with bottle feeder.
The calf trying to suck her will encourage her to let down more milk.
Some odd heifers won't let milk down for the machine .
I think it nerves or something like that as its only first calves.

Jb1989

djmc wrote: »

Can you let calf under her somewhere and give him a bit extra with bottle feeder.
The calf trying to suck her will encourage her to let down more milk.
Some odd heifers won't let milk down for the machine .
I think it nerves or something like that as its only first calves.

Would a shot of 'oxytocin' be any use to the original poster to have heifer let more milk down???
It might the heifer have none to let down ?

djmc

I have used it once but couldn't say if it made much difference
A calf under her she will release her own ocytocin naturally, I have even let calf into parlor beside her while milking to help milk letdown.
Another option if you are badly stuck could be to milk a cow very close to calving that has a big bag of milk once a day some spring a few weeks before calving.
probably had one or two in twenty years that just refused to give milk and dried up.

mikeoh

Tomjim wrote:

I could not source biestings locally today but I did give the calf 4 pints of survivor powder (powder replacement for biestings)

I never had a calf die of hunger...but have killed a few by over feeding ......go handy!!!!

ganmo

mikeoh wrote: »

I never had a calf die of hunger...but have killed a few by over feeding ......go handy!!!!

4 pints isn't over doing it