newbiekat
Loving the herd life
I have a 3 week old zebu calf that we got when she was a week old. She was on momma for that week before so she got all of her colostrum. Since we got her we have tried getting her on the bottle but she refuses to suck. We have a lamb nipple but she doesn't seem to know how to suck! She just wallers her tongue around the nipple! We have gotten her to take about 3/4 of a PINT each feeding (2-3x a day) but like I said, she's not sucking! I've cut the opening of the nipple to where it flows pretty freely so she doesn't have to suck and I've figured out that if I put the nipple to the corner of her mouth she will chew on it, and enough will flow out that she will swallow what flows into her mouth, but once she's over it, she's done, and that's usually about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a pint! But she shows no interest in the bottle. It's been about two weeks since we have had her and she still doesn't perk up when she sees a bottle, I have to catch her every time and hold her. I have to straddle her and open her mouth to get the bottle in every time and she just sits there until her mouth gets full then swallows. After that first swallow she will chew on the nipple and get more, but never more than 3/4 of a pint. I'm worried because she is getting thin. She still gets up and walks around, she's not lethargic, she's just skinny and I'm getting worried. I just don't know what to do!!
Idk if this is important or not, but we also have goats, and we have been feeding her goat's milk, warming it up thinking maybe having warm milk is better than cold. Also, she seems to like the goat feed that we put in the trough too. I don't think she is eating a bunch of it, but she is nibbling.
Any advice is welcome!
Idk if this is important or not, but we also have goats, and we have been feeding her goat's milk, warming it up thinking maybe having warm milk is better than cold. Also, she seems to like the goat feed that we put in the trough too. I don't think she is eating a bunch of it, but she is nibbling.
Any advice is welcome!