How to Bottle Feed a new Jersey Calf - Starter Guide
Bottle feeding new Jersey calves is not appreciably different from bottle feeding any other young mammal. Very new babies need colostrum during first twelve hours of life. If the mother has died while birthing the calf, there are commercial colostrum replacers you can use during those crucial hours.
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic bottle
- Cattle size nipple
- Colostrum
- Colostrum replacer
- Milk replacer
- Cow's milk
- Water
- Hay
- Scour medicine
- Straw
Instructions
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Prepare the bottle for the baby. You can use colostrum milked from the mother, or commercial formula. Fill a sterilized bottle 1/2 full of formula for the first feeding. Older calves can be fed milk from any cow. Jersey milk tends to be rich, so you may need to let cream rise on the regular milk and skim the cream off before feeding it out to help prevent scours. If no cow is available, purchase calf starter from a farm supply store. Warm the bottle to body temperature before feeding. A calf should receive about 2 quarts of milk or formula per day.
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Hold the new baby calf's head close against you. This process is easiest if you can press the calf's body between yours and a firm wall or board fence. If it has never nursed, or has nursed only from the cow, moisten the fingers of one hand with milk and offer it to the calf. A healthy calf will instinctively begin to suck on your fingers. Once it begins to suck, slip the bottle in beside your fingers, and slip them out as soon as it is focused on the nipple.
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Avoid injury to yourself. The calf will signal enthusiasm for its meal by switching its tail back and forth. Sometimes, in an excess of zeal or an effort to make the milk flow faster, the calf will butt the bottle or bucket which can cause spills or damage the person holding the milk source. Therefore, once the calf readily accepts the bottle, it is sometimes a good idea to put a short wall or fence between yourself and the calf.
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Watch the calf's stools. If they become frequent or liquid the calf has scours. This diarrhea can cause the calf to dehydrate, and can result in death. Farm supplies sell medicines for this condition. If it worsens even after medication or continues for more three days, consult with your veterinary. Use fresh straw for bedding, and change it often to prevent contamination from soiled bedding.
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Spoon feed an extremely reluctant feeder. Sometimes if a calf is weak, or has a health problem, you can scoop spoonfuls of formula into the corner of its mouth, thereby getting enough food into its mouth for it to combat the illness. Such animals may need frequent feedings. The feeding schedule for healthy animals depends upon your schedule, but they should receive at least two feedings per day. Keep mineral supplement, cattle feed, hay and clean water out at all times for at-will nibbling.
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Tips & Warnings
Hand-raised dairy animals become as tractable as pets. Jerseys tend to be a little flighty, but they love ear-scratching, grooming and personal attention as much as any mammal. Bottle feeding is a good start on bonding with your Jersey.
Even though Jerseys are small cattle, if they panic or become angry, you have 300 pounds of critter that can step on you, hook or butt you. Use chutes, pens and other restraining equipment when administering meds or in other unusual situations.
References
- Photo Credit Steve Baccon/Digital Vision/Getty Images
