Last night when I went out to feed Jody her bottle, I saw she had diarrhea (scours). I came back to the house, dumped the milk replacer down the sink, and filled the bottle with electrolyte solution... that's like Pedialite for calves. She showed no other signs of being sick, and took the bottle eagerly. I also gave her a scours pill. Calves can go down fast when they have diarrhea; these precautions were probably unnecessary, but I like to be on the safe side.
This morning I watched Jody for quite awhile for any signs of sickness, and then gave her milk replacer in her bottle. Often, right after calves get their bellies full is when their bowels move, so I hung around for a poop check. Nothing happened, which is a good thing. Then Jody headed toward her feeder and started eating sweet feed. Another good sign.
I have an ongoing battle with sparrows. They descend on the calf's feeder and eat like crazy, pooping and contaminating as they eat. So for now, I've been covering the feed unless the calf is actually in eating mode, or unless I'm nearby. Have I mentioned that I hate sparrows?
The more grain a calf eats, the less likely she is to get scours.
Jody is doing very well with eating grain, for her age... under two weeks old.
