3 month old heifer refusing a bottle

[hailey sullenberger]

My 3 month old heifer has taken a bottle since day one. Now all of a sudden she is refusing the bottle and wants nothing to do with it. She eat lots of hay and drinks plenty of water. Should I worry about her or is she just weaning herself off the bottle?

 

[Latestarter]

Greetings and welcome to BYH. I don't know much about cows, but from what I recall reading, weaning at 3 months is a good starting time. Some leave their calves on mom/bottle longer, but it isn't "necessary". Sounds like she's weaning herself. Are you giving her any higher protein food/feed or just the hay? I think I recall that growing calves should also be introduced to and then fed some higher protein feed as they grow. I'll have to defer to others:

@WildRoseBeef @greybeard @jhm47 I'm sure there are some others I can't recall... Glad you joined us. Make yourself at home!

 

[hailey sullenberger]

Thank you! I haven't given her any thing other than hay, I was thinking about adding grain but I wasn't sure. Thanks a lot for the advise!

 

[Latestarter]

Just whatever you add, do it slowly and work up to the desired amount & monitor for scours. Also monitor for body progress/formation/growth over time. Good luck!

 

[Goatgirl47]

I wouldn't wean at three months old if it was possible not to, as I think that is way too young. All the calves I have ever seen weaned at 3-4 months were severely stunted. That being said, a lot of people do wean at that age and are successful. I'm sure you wanted her to nurse for a longer period of time though.
If your heifer is refusing to take the bottle than you may just have to wean her now. And I think you will need to slowly introduce her to grain, as @Latestarter mentioned. I don't know how much she needs though as we have 100 percent grassfed cows right now and we've never had to feed our calves grain.

 

[NH homesteader]

My mostly clueless friend has a 7 month old cow who he weaned at 3 months and he is TINY! But I don't know anything about cows so I didn't know if that was why. He seems healthy (to the untrained eye) , just ridiculously small.

 

[babsbag]

I don't believe @hailey sullenberger WANTS to wean at 3 months, the calf appears to be doing it herself. Or else something else is wrong. Hopefully one of our "cattle" members will check in soon. In the meantime...have you taken her temperature?

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Thanks for the PM @hailey sullenberger as I mentioned to you I have a strong suspicion that she is weaning herself and is letting you know about it by refusing the bottle. At three months old a calf's rumen system has reached maturity and is ready to take on a full-feed diet minus the milk replacer. And IMHO it's pretty hard to slowly wean her off the bottle when she's already outright refused it and won't suckle from it again.

What is her breed? How much does she weigh, and what kind of hay are you giving her? Any additional supplements?

And because @babsbag might be wondering: Is she showing any abnormal symptoms: dry nose, listless, eyes dull, coughing, etc.? Or is she her happy, bouncy, normal self you see every day? And, can you share a picture with us?

If she's not getting the nutrition she needs, she will end up stunted, as with any calf who is not getting adequate protein, energy, and other nutrients, this in terms of how much they are getting versus what they need. @Goatgirl47 You might be interested in this link that claims the old rules of thumb of feeding calves may have been the wrong way after all, so, possibly, it may not be the length of time to keep them on the bottle, but actually how much you give them: http://sciencenordic.com/calves-aren’t-being-given-enough-milk

 

[greybeard]

I've raised lots and lots of calves on momma and very few on a bottle, but any time a sudden change takes place in a young calf's feeding routine, it's reason for concern. I've never had one volunteer to wean itself at 90 days, tho some producers do force weaning at that age. Mine would still be nursing at 8-12 months if I and momma allowed it.
Age is not the only factor where weaning is concerned. Maturity and physical condition, daily weight gain and gain since birth IMO, more important aspects.
What breed is it and how much do you estimate it weighs now?
Have you looked in it's mouth to see if there is anything that might make sucking difficult or painful?
(the process of eating hay is completely different from sucking on a bottle.
Body condition?
What formula milk substitute have you been feeding, and did it just suddenly stop or begin drinking less and less over a period of time? (Brand of milk substitute if you can please)
Have you changed anything at all in how you mix the formula?
Describe it's poop appearance.
Have you taken it's temp?
(I see wildrosebeef replied just before I did)

 

[hailey sullenberger]

I wouldn't wean at three months old if it was possible not to, as I think that is way too young. All the calves I have ever seen weaned at 3-4 months were severely stunted. That being said, a lot of people do wean at that age and are successful. I'm sure you wanted her to nurse for a longer period of time though.
If your heifer is refusing to take the bottle than you may just have to wean her now. And I think you will need to slowly introduce her to grain, as @Latestarter mentioned. I don't know how much she needs though as we have 100 percent grassfed cows.

Thank you so much for the advise!