Our Smallest Calf: do i let him die

What is our smallest, and we believe to be our youngest calf, has just been orphaned. Our other calves are all 300 to 500+ pounds. This little puppy is maybe 100 pounds. He's a very pretty little thing, chocolate brown with white blazes on a cute little face. He was born after all the other calves were branded, banded (castrated), and ear-pierced with an ear tag that identifies who is mom to that calf. Anyway, Little Guy's mom died last night. She hasn't been doing well - very bony back and hips, projectile diarrhea, slow moving. We suspected that her teeth were worn and gone (and when I checked the carcass I found that we were right - no teeth); she was in very poor condition when we bought her, for probably the same lack of teeth. Her kid hasn't looked all that well, either. He's underweight and has not been thriving. We recently had some bug going through the part of the calf herd that he's in, and while he didn't seem to have that bug, he's seemed just as lethargic.


Anyway, this puny little thing is now without his mama. He hasn't been getting much milk to this point, and a couple of days ago we did bring him in to try to bottle feed him without luck - we gave up after about 20 minutes. The process includes pinning him between two metal panels and forcing the bottle into his mouth. He thinks we are trying to kill him, truly. It's not hard to drown a calf by forcing milk into his mouth unless you "tube" him (that's, run a tube down his throat and pour the milk into that).

So, when his mom was found floating on the edge of the damn, it was time to decide whether to bring him in and keep him in the corral by himself so that he could be tubed 3 times a day (my duty), or leave him with the herd and hope he finds a cow willing to adopt him, or that he can just eat enough grass to stay alive. The grass is not at its most nutritious this time of year, although it's great if you're an adult herbivore with all your teeth or you're getting a healthy portion of mama's milk to go with the grass.

He's got a 50/50 shot either way. I have been out twice today to check on him. He seems no better or worse that yesterday when his mom was still alive. He has not hooked up with another cow, but is eating grass. He's very thin and I worry for him. If I knew I could save him by bringing him in, I would. Unfortunately, moving him out of the herd, keeping him isolated, and forcing a tube down his throat is as least as stressful on the little guy as losing his mom and her milk. It's a toss up. Did I mention that he's a real cutie?

On a different note - I was out stacking large round bales of hay with the backhoe today, when I got the backhoe stuck in a ditch. Tomorrow Kyle gets to get his laughs and then gets to rescue me.

The house is still crazy with stuff and boxes. Knee still taunting me. Dogs all good. Missing my good friends.

Trish