Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Health & Nutrition
8 month old Holstein heifer, down
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lucky_P" data-source="post: 1139966" data-attributes="member: 12607"><p>Some folks will think I'm being mean - but you've admitted this is your first 'cow', and that you don't know much about them. I'm too old not to point out the most obvious possibility - though there may be other issues - but, the most common things happen most often. </p><p>The most likely problem is that this heifer has not been on an adequate plane of nutrition to meet her needs for maintenance, much less for adequate growth.</p><p>You can feed your way through a parasite problem; you cannot deworm your way out of a feed deficiency. Other than severe coccidiosis, it's RARE for intestinal parasites to kill a cow or calf that's getting enough to eat.</p><p></p><p>For some reason, it seems that my veterinary colleagues are often reluctant to say, "John/Joan, these animals are essentially starving to death.' - and then to use that as a teaching moment to help that producer improve upon what they are doing. Guess they're afraid of ticking off that client - but if that's the case, they're not helping the animal(s) or the client. Vitamin shots, deworming, and foo-foo feed supplements will not take the place of proper nutritive intake.</p><p> </p><p>At 8 months, this heifer ought to weigh closer to twice what you've said she does. She didn't get in this condition overnight, and if you manage to pull her through, it's gonna take quite some time to get her back into any sort of decent body condition - and she's likely going to be 'stunted' from this point forward. The fact that she's still able to stand - even if you have to help her up - is in her favor. </p><p>12% feed is probably not sufficient for a growing calf - they need more protein to build bone/muscle and keep their immune system working at peak efficiency. Have seen some wrecks with newbies feeding 10-12% horse/mule feed or 'all-stock' feeds- on the recommendation of well-meaning but misinformed neighbors - calcium levels in those feeds is not sufficient for proper bone formation in a growing calf, and you end up with rickets and pathologic fractures, because their bones are not strong enough to support their weight.</p><p></p><p>The pour-on dewormers have pretty poor efficacy - they're really poorly absorbed; most of their effect is from cows ingesting it while licking themselves and herdmates. I'd rather see you use the pour-on as an oral drench, or give a formulation intended for oral administration like Panacur/Safeguard, or an injectible anthelminthic, particularly if 'worms' are really (part of) the problem. The pour-on product you used in the past week may or may not have had a significant effect on any parasites this calf may have.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lucky_P, post: 1139966, member: 12607"] Some folks will think I'm being mean - but you've admitted this is your first 'cow', and that you don't know much about them. I'm too old not to point out the most obvious possibility - though there may be other issues - but, the most common things happen most often. The most likely problem is that this heifer has not been on an adequate plane of nutrition to meet her needs for maintenance, much less for adequate growth. You can feed your way through a parasite problem; you cannot deworm your way out of a feed deficiency. Other than severe coccidiosis, it's RARE for intestinal parasites to kill a cow or calf that's getting enough to eat. For some reason, it seems that my veterinary colleagues are often reluctant to say, "John/Joan, these animals are essentially starving to death.' - and then to use that as a teaching moment to help that producer improve upon what they are doing. Guess they're afraid of ticking off that client - but if that's the case, they're not helping the animal(s) or the client. Vitamin shots, deworming, and foo-foo feed supplements will not take the place of proper nutritive intake. At 8 months, this heifer ought to weigh closer to twice what you've said she does. She didn't get in this condition overnight, and if you manage to pull her through, it's gonna take quite some time to get her back into any sort of decent body condition - and she's likely going to be 'stunted' from this point forward. The fact that she's still able to stand - even if you have to help her up - is in her favor. 12% feed is probably not sufficient for a growing calf - they need more protein to build bone/muscle and keep their immune system working at peak efficiency. Have seen some wrecks with newbies feeding 10-12% horse/mule feed or 'all-stock' feeds- on the recommendation of well-meaning but misinformed neighbors - calcium levels in those feeds is not sufficient for proper bone formation in a growing calf, and you end up with rickets and pathologic fractures, because their bones are not strong enough to support their weight. The pour-on dewormers have pretty poor efficacy - they're really poorly absorbed; most of their effect is from cows ingesting it while licking themselves and herdmates. I'd rather see you use the pour-on as an oral drench, or give a formulation intended for oral administration like Panacur/Safeguard, or an injectible anthelminthic, particularly if 'worms' are really (part of) the problem. The pour-on product you used in the past week may or may not have had a significant effect on any parasites this calf may have. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Health & Nutrition
8 month old Holstein heifer, down
Top