bladder leak on newborn

[jt]

anyone had any success treating week old calves that have a urine leak from the naval area?

this past weekend while at a neighbors i noticed one of the newborn (probably about 4-5 days old) calves with a dirty looking naval.. took her down and it looked like a bunch of dead rotton skin that was real wet and leaking a whitish, grayish liquid. it didnt stink but looked nasty.

gave the calf a good dose of penicillin,and the next day she was about dead. over the past few days have continued the penicillin and spraying of the naval area. the calf is better but still not well and when i lay her down to give her a shot, she still leaks this nasty stuff out.

the vet says it is a birth defect. the bladder tube didnt seal off.

anyone have any experience with this?

thanks

jt

 

[milkmaid]

Did the vet SEE the calf?

If it's a heifer calf and if I remember the anatomy correctly, the urinary tract ain't that close to the navel.

I'd be more suspicious of a navel infection based on symptoms.

 

[jt]

Did the vet SEE the calf?

If it's a heifer calf and if I remember the anatomy correctly, the urinary tract ain't no where near the navel.

I'd be more suspicious of a navel infection based on symptoms.

no he didnt, and i made sure to mention that it was a heifer.. he was very confident with his diagnoses. said he has seen it several times, and has done surgery before on them, but that they calf usually dies anyway.

just thought i would ask on here to find out what others have experienced.

i am going to call him and make sure he caught the part about it being a heifer.

jt

 

[jt]

Did the vet SEE the calf?

If it's a heifer calf and if I remember the anatomy correctly, the urinary tract ain't that close to the navel.

I'd be more suspicious of a navel infection based on symptoms.

milkmaid,

i called in to make sure i understood correctly, and i did. he said it didnt matter whether it was a bull or heifer. i didnt ask him, but i figure it may be a sealing off of the bladder as part of the naval connection with the mother. i dont know.

i figure this kind of rare, but was taking a stab that maybe someone on here will have some experience with this.

thanks

jt

 

[Beefy]

thats a new one. thanks for sharing.

 

[Farmhand]

We had a fat steer with a bladder leak not too long ago. It wasn't coming out but leaking inside. Vet said there is nothing you can do for bladder leaks of any kind. It will eventually die from it and is in considerable pain. Hate to say it but I would suggest you put this one down. No sense in suffering. Sorry I can't be more optimistic.

 

[Vicky the vet]

anyone had any success treating week old calves that have a urine leak from the naval area?

this past weekend while at a neighbors i noticed one of the newborn (probably about 4-5 days old) calves with a dirty looking naval.. took her down and it looked like a bunch of dead rotton skin that was real wet and leaking a whitish, grayish liquid. it didnt stink but looked nasty.

gave the calf a good dose of penicillin,and the next day she was about dead. over the past few days have continued the penicillin and spraying of the naval area. the calf is better but still not well and when i lay her down to give her a shot, she still leaks this nasty stuff out.

the vet says it is a birth defect. the bladder tube didnt seal off.

anyone have any experience with this?

thanks

jt

Patent urachus

it is from a lack of closure of the bladder tube which drains into the allantois in utero.

It could also be a bad navel infection which extends into the blood vessels or urachus inside the calf.

If all else is a bust, consider flushing the area with strong iodine such as Lugols. The calf may die, but it likely would anyway and it may fix it. Have I seen it work? Yes.

Good Luck

V
who's really laid back from my week in Jamaica.....

 

[msscamp]

who's really laid back from my week in Jamaica.....

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but good for you Vicky! I hope you had an absolutely incredibly good time!

 

[ONLY-BEEF]

your vet is right jt. dont waste good money on it. that calf is gonna be dead for long. 1 good thought is this aint common enough to spend time worryen over. dependen on your number of cattle you got your self a real good chance you aint never gonna see this agian.

 

[milkmaid]

Vicky - interesting! Thanks for posting; I wondered if you would respond. I hadn't ever heard of that one before.

 

[jt]

thanks for the replies..

vicky.. i am not familiar with lugols. i have been spraying her full of some 7% iodine and giving her penicillin. not as much infection now, but she is still leaking urine and getting harder to catch. i will have to pen them up now in order to treat her.

thanks

jt

 

[jt]

just a followup..

calf did not make it.. had to put her down.

jt