Bloated Calf

[Hereford2]

Hi All. I have a heifer calf half beef quarter jersey quarter Holstein. She is 3 months old. I tried to take her off of milk at 2 months old, because she was eating 5 pounds of grain a day. And she bloated. Running her around got her going again and the bloat went away. Then I tried weaning her again at almost 3 months old after being on grain for 5 days she quit drinking water and bloated. I treated her with oil. Vet said to use Mineral Oil. She went back down after being bloated for 3 days. Fast forward to 5 days ago I took her off of milk again. Yesterday evening she bloated. I took her for a walk and she passed gas and looked normal. This morning she was slightly bloated. I gave her a bottle of milk, because once again she isn't drinking any water. I gave her electrolytes at noon, she's swelled up like a barrel. I gave her oil like the vet had me do last time. The vet said he thinks she has something wrong inside of her and she's going to be a chronic bloater. But neither him nor the other 2 people I have talked to about her understand why she bloats when she is taken off of milk?? They all agree that she should be bloating from the milk Not when she is taken off of the milk. I wonder if her rumen isn't developing like it should? The vet said it may be that her abumason isn't developed correctly.? She's pooping and peeing and she's eager to trot wherever I lead her on the halter. She looks like she swallowed a 55 gallon barrel.

 

[GoWyo]

Have you tried a few days of probiotics starting a couple days before pulling the milk and then keep it going another few days? Just a thought.

 

[Hereford2]

Yes I have tried giving probiotics. Before weaning and when she's only on grain. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Lannie]

I should keep my big mouth shut, because my experience is with adult cows, not calves, but I can't stand when a vet says to put oil down an animal. I've had vets tell me the same thing, and I've done it, but with chronic bloat results. (I don't do it anymore.) Oil kills off the good bacteria in the calf's gut. She needs probiotics for a long time (a month or two), to build her strength back up, and I don't know about a calf that young, but with my adult cow, I had to add yeast to the probiotics, to jump start her rumen. The probiotics by themselves weren't quite enough. The yeast did the trick, but a 3 month old calf doesn't really have a functioning rumen yet, so I don't know what to say about that.

What is the reason you're trying to wean her so early?

 

[kenny thomas]

Add baking soda to the feed.

 

[simme]

Do a google search for "calf bloat due to vagus nerve". That nerve controls the gas release mechanism. May have a touch of pneumonia or something that has affected the nerve. Years ago, my daughter treated a calf for chronic bloat. Decided it was due to pneumonia and nerve inflammation. Treated with antibiotics, but what to do to relieve the bloat? She cut a hole through the hide into the rumen. Cut the tip off a 10 or 12 cc syringe, tacked the rumen to the hide and sewed the flange of the syringe into the hide. Told the owner to put the plunger into the syringe in a few days (to block the relief) and see if the calf bloated again. If not, she would come back to remove the "relief valve" and sew it back up.

Not saying that is the issue or even if I remember correctly all that I related. But might be worth a search and a read.

 

[GoWyo]

Do a google search for "calf bloat due to vagus nerve". That nerve controls the gas release mechanism. May have a touch of pneumonia or something that has affected the nerve. Years ago, my daughter treated a calf for chronic bloat. Decided it was due to pneumonia and nerve inflammation. Treated with antibiotics, but what to do to relieve the bloat? She cut a hole through the hide into the rumen. Cut the tip off a 10 or 12 cc syringe, tacked the rumen to the hide and sewed the flange of the syringe into the hide. Told the owner to put the plunger into the syringe in a few days (to block the relief) and see if the calf bloated again. If not, she would come back to remove the "relief valve" and sew it back up.

Not saying that is the issue or even if I remember correctly all that I related. But might be worth a search and a read.

We have had a couple vagus nerve calves before. If a mycoplasma or one of the pneumonia bugs gets to that nerve, it quits working. That nerve controls their ability to belch. Until it comes back online, have to put in a trocar to let the gas off the rumen. Draxxin or similar and a few weeks of the trocar.

 

[Hereford2]

I should keep my big mouth shut, because my experience is with adult cows, not calves, but I can't stand when a vet says to put oil down an animal. I've had vets tell me the same thing, and I've done it, but with chronic bloat results. (I don't do it anymore.) Oil kills off the good bacteria in the calf's gut. She needs probiotics for a long time (a month or two), to build her strength back up, and I don't know about a calf that young, but with my adult cow, I had to add yeast to the probiotics, to jump start her rumen. The probiotics by themselves weren't quite enough. The yeast did the trick, but a 3 month old calf doesn't really have a functioning rumen yet, so I don't know what to say about that.

What is the reason you're trying to wean her so early?

I didn't realize the oil kills off the good stuff in their stomach..... I've never dealt with bloat before. What kind of yeast did you use? Because this past year I went from giving my calves a bottle for 3to4 months to weaning them at 2 months after talking to a friend of mine who successfully does it all of the time. In the past year I weaned 6 calves at 2 months old and I didn't have any issues. After dealing with this calf. I think I'm going to go back to having them on milk for 3to4 months again like I used to.

 

[Hereford2]

Add baking soda to the feed.

How much baking soda?

 

[Hereford2]

Do a google search for "calf bloat due to vagus nerve". That nerve controls the gas release mechanism. May have a touch of pneumonia or something that has affected the nerve. Years ago, my daughter treated a calf for chronic bloat. Decided it was due to pneumonia and nerve inflammation. Treated with antibiotics, but what to do to relieve the bloat? She cut a hole through the hide into the rumen. Cut the tip off a 10 or 12 cc syringe, tacked the rumen to the hide and sewed the flange of the syringe into the hide. Told the owner to put the plunger into the syringe in a few days (to block the relief) and see if the calf bloated again. If not, she would come back to remove the "relief valve" and sew it back up.

Not saying that is the issue or even if I remember correctly all that I related. But might be worth a search and a read.

Thank you I will read that.

 

[Lannie]

I didn't realize the oil kills off the good stuff in their stomach..... I've never dealt with bloat before. What kind of yeast did you use? Because this past year I went from giving my calves a bottle for 3to4 months to weaning them at 2 months after talking to a friend of mine who successfully does it all of the time. In the past year I weaned 6 calves at 2 months old and I didn't have any issues. After dealing with this calf. I think I'm going to go back to having them on milk for 3to4 months again like I used to.

I just used bread yeast, but you can buy yeast products at feed stores. Fastrack is one, it's for horses, but it's fine for cows. I had bulk bread yeast, so that's what I used.

 

[Silver]

 

[Hereford2]

I went out this morning and the calf looks like a normal calf again, she's back to drinking water as well!! Whenever she bloats she quits drinking water. Unless it's in a bottle, which I add electrolytes to the water as well.

 

[kenny thomas]

How much baking soda?

I dont measure but on a single calf eating 5lb feed i would put a tablespoon.

 

[Hereford2]

Ok thank you

 

[redcowsrule33]

If she were mine I'd start introducing a few handfuls of a high quality grass hay and see if that stimulates her rumen. Don't give her too much at first. Most of my bottle calves are eating limited amounts of good hay by now.

 

[Travlr]

Hi All. I have a heifer calf half beef quarter jersey quarter Holstein. She is 3 months old. I tried to take her off of milk at 2 months old, because she was eating 5 pounds of grain a day. And she bloated. Running her around got her going again and the bloat went away. Then I tried weaning her again at almost 3 months old after being on grain for 5 days she quit drinking water and bloated. I treated her with oil. Vet said to use Mineral Oil. She went back down after being bloated for 3 days. Fast forward to 5 days ago I took her off of milk again. Yesterday evening she bloated. I took her for a walk and she passed gas and looked normal. This morning she was slightly bloated. I gave her a bottle of milk, because once again she isn't drinking any water. I gave her electrolytes at noon, she's swelled up like a barrel. I gave her oil like the vet had me do last time. The vet said he thinks she has something wrong inside of her and she's going to be a chronic bloater. But neither him nor the other 2 people I have talked to about her understand why she bloats when she is taken off of milk?? They all agree that she should be bloating from the milk Not when she is taken off of the milk. I wonder if her rumen isn't developing like it should? The vet said it may be that her abumason isn't developed correctly.? She's pooping and peeing and she's eager to trot wherever I lead her on the halter. She looks like she swallowed a 55 gallon barrel.

Has she ever been around other cattle? They transfer microbiome through saliva.

 

[Hereford2]

No she hasn't

 

[Travlr]

No she hasn't

I'd suggest you find a way to get some healthy gut bacteria in her. Get a quart of the contents of a healthy stomach from a processor and feed it to her a pint at a time once a day. Find a fresh cud a cow has dropped, or get a syringe full of saliva from a healthy cow.

 

[Hereford2]

I'd suggest you find a way to get some healthy gut bacteria in her. Get a quart of the contents of a healthy stomach from a processor and feed it to her. Find a fresh cud a cow has dropped. or get a syringe full of saliva from a healthy cow.

Ok I will do that Thank you for the suggestion