Calving 2025

dowlerswozere

Stay tubing her she will come good eventually usually after 3 to 4 days

dowlerswozere

someone mentioned here before she could be in Ketosis a couple spoons of baking soda mixed with lukewarm water warm water and syringe it down its throat

whelan2

The tubing long term could damage her throat. Vet here doesn't recommend it after the first day or 2.

ABitofsense

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123689973#Comment_123689973

Same with my vet after 2 days move to a bottle as causes the calf to lazy and high risk of scour & damage with a tube

visatorro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123689973#Comment_123689973

I'd 2 calves this year that would not suck. Was tubing them for a month id say. One lad didn't make it. The other coped on eventually. I remember putting them into groups of calves thinking they might see what the rest of them were at and cop on. No joy

Sami23

Got some injections from the Vet this evening so hopefully they will help overnight. I milked just under a litre from the heifer and tried her with the bottle and tit but no joy so had to tube her.

She did make an attempt to stand but as you can see she's very weak especially on the back legs so worried her back may have been hurt at calving.

tanko

Will she suck your finger, put sugar on it. If you could get her sucking your finger and slowly dribble some milk into her mouth with a syringe at the same time it may get her onto a bottle.

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123690814#Comment_123690814

No not really sucking my finger.

She sucked the bottle unreal for the first feed so I know she's able to do did it but she just won't suck since for some reason.

BeGrand2025

With tubing you have to reset the calf to get it feeding. Meaning you need to tube the calf in the evening and then 12-16 hours later it’s throat should have healed, it’s forgetting that you get milk from a tube and nature will start to kick in so it can be thought a new way of feeding.

I’ll only use a tube once and after that I’ll slowly pour drops of milk in if needs be. Time consuming but a calf stuck on a tube is too.

whelan2

Is There much grip on that floor?

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123691143#Comment_123691143

It's dry so it's not too bad in fairness.

minerleague

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123690756#Comment_123690756

Think you are right about back being hurt. I think calves have certain amount of tolerance for pain during and just after calving and that plus instinct for first suck is so strong led calf to take that first drink. Maybe let longer times between attempting to get calf to drink and give pain relief ( metacam or similar) an hour or so before doing so

Sami23

Milked the heifer this morning and got her to drink about 750ml from the bottle once I got her going on it.

Have moved her outside for the day and she is trying to walk when I lift her but she falls again easily enuf but I think it's progress anyway.

patsy_mccabe

Try doing physio on her. When she's lying down, gently stretch out her hind leg, then push it back fully into her thigh. See if this hurts her. If not repeat a few times. Roll her over on other side and repeat.

Do this twice a day. It has worked for me before, on a calf with the front legs bent back at the knees.

Diarmuid B

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123691706#Comment_123691706

plus one on this. Had a bull calf last year knuckled on his front legs. Gave him some vitamin injections, selenium and physio 2/3 times a day and he came round eventually.

Dunedin

yep, would agree on the physio.

whelan2

Pedigree heifer born last night to a first calver, calved herself

IMG-20250803-WA0001.jpg

limo_100

I have a few cows and heifers calving over the next few weeks and month. Do folks vax for scour this time of the year ? Probably be calving outside all going well.

Sami23

Calf is still struggling - I'm starting to think there could be something dislocated in back right shoulder as there's a lump that side n she is not able to stand for very long or could that be just swelling from the pull at calving ?

She's drinking from the bottle now at least but obviously can't stay doing that longterm.

Any more advice or opinions welcome.

I've done some physio on the back legs and she doesn't seem to be in pain from it so hopefully that helps too.

893bet

was she coming the wrong way that her hind legs were pulled that you suspect a dislocation?

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123693529#Comment_123693529

No she came normally but got slightly stuck at the backside so took an extra pull to bring her.

Vet that pulled her - he thought she was soft enough to pull rather than a section but looks like the back end was bit bigger than expected so she must be hurt somewhere there I'm thinking 🤷‍♂️

In good form otherwise

whelan2

IIs She putting any weifht on it at all?

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123693643#Comment_123693643

Yeah shes putting weight on it but not able to straighten herself up properly if ya get me.

She will walk a little bit but kind of hunched over walking.

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123693668#Comment_123693668

Thats her today

mr.stonewall

@Sami23 she's coming along as we can see in the pictures. Stick with the good work and teat on the bottle. If stuck a bit of milk replacer to help. Keep drawing the heifer to keep the milk coming and do it with the calf nearby. She will loosen out as she is putting weight on the back legs

SuperTeeJay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123689538#Comment_123689538

I had one like that a few years ago.

I put her over a bale like you.tubed her little and often adding a little growvite to the milk and kept massaging her joints several times per day with udder ointment. Thought it was a lost cause but after 3/4 days she stood up herself and sucked the cow.She flew it from then on.

whelan2

How's The calf today?

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123695989#Comment_123695989

Still stiff n wobbly on the back legs but getting a bit stronger I think.

Big improvement though is I got her sucking a small bit from the Cow late last night and she sucked another bit from her today but I'm still milking her and topping her up as she struggles to stand long enough to get a proper suck yet.

tanko

Do you think her hip is dislocated, is there any point getting a good bone setter to look at her??

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123696444#Comment_123696444

Jas I don't know tbh whether something is dislocated or she's just sore or has damaged muscles from the calving.

I was going to see how she progresses in next few days or is it important to get a bone setter to look at her asap if there was a dislocation ?