Why wont a calf eat?

Answer 1

A bottle calf suddenly refusing to eat is a indicator the calf is ill or starting to become ill. Look for other signs to tell what the problem may be: temperature for infections, cloudy eyes for pneumonia or shipping fever, or runny watery discharge for scours.

Answer 2

A calf, or "baby cow," will be consuming milk primarily for 2 to 3 weeks of age. At this age, the calf will start sampling the feed that it is given to eat (if it's raised as a dairy replacement heifer calf or veal calf), or what its mother is eating while still consuming milk, predominantly. By the time it is 3 months old, it is starting to rely more on the feed/forage it is eating (because the rumen will have been fully developed by this time) and consuming less milk (bottle calves are usually weaned by now). For calves still on their dams, they gradually consume more feed/forage and less milk until they are fully weaned.

As far as feed is concerned, that depends on the location, how the calves are raised and what the producer has available to feed them.

Answer 3

There are many possible causes. Illness, a birth defect, the cow rejecting it, and just not hungry are the most common.

Answer 4

colostrum