buried calf today

[ccr]

10 day old calf was alive yesterday and things appeared to be ok.

don't have a clue what happened to this calf. it was the second calf for it's mama. i think it was dead about 12 hours when i found it. don't know what the foam like stuff is coming out of it's nostrils.

just a calf, but it's sad. it's mama is going back and forth bawling for her baby.

 

[Nesikep]

that sucks.. looks like it was a really nice calf too.. .Stepped on maybe?

 

[ccr]

that sucks.. looks like it was a really nice calf too.. .Stepped on maybe?

could have gotten stepped on. couldn't tell by looking at it and i turned it over and didn't see anything.

there's been trash blowing in from the neighbors and have tried to keep it picked up. found a small piece of plastic about 10 yards from the calf and last night we heard a couple of shots in that direction, but don't think these two things are really possibilities.

does the foam looking stuff in the nostrils indicate anything?

 

[Nesikep]

does the foam looking stuff in the nostrils indicate anything?

Above my pay grade to say!

 

[david1852]

Sorry to hear that. I hate it when one dies.

I had one to die just yesterday, a 350# bull calf. I had put him in the barn lot by himself on Saturday because he was acting weak and just didn't look good. Called the vet but he was tied up Monday and Tuesday and couldn't come look at him. The calf died while I was waiting. I took the calf to the USDA lab this afternoon to have them determine the cause of death and will take precautions if I need to so the rest won't get sick.

 

[TCRanch]

Sorry to both of you for your loss. Have no clue what the foam is.

David1852 did you take the calf's temp? Any other symptoms? Vaccinated?

 

[david1852]

TC, I normally check the herd and fences twice a day and I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary with them until I noticed he was by himself. No temperature was taken and he was not vaccinated. That's about to change though. After I get the lab results back I'm going to call the vet and get set up with what vaccines I need for my cattle.

 

[TCRanch]

TC, I normally check the herd and fences twice a day and I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary with them until I noticed he was by himself. No temperature was taken and he was not vaccinated. That's about to change though. After I get the lab results back I'm going to call the vet and get set up with what vaccines I need for my cattle.

At 350 lbs. the most common cause of death is pneumonia or clostridial diseases (blackleg, overeating, etc). Both will hit them fast and generally the first sign of clostridial is a dead calf. May want to discuss with your vet something like Inforce at birth for BRD and I use Covexin 8 for clostridial and if I band at birth (because it has tetanus in it). Good luck!

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Could have been several things ...choking on something..as long as it been dead.the foam from the nostrils is probably from drainage..usually black leg hits them when they reach the age to start foraging fairly heavy . If you got a good herd health program..it should be getting a lot on of maternal antibodies at this age..

 

[76 Bar]

A comprehensive herd health (cows & calves) protocol coupled with timely observational diligence mitigates lots of potential problems. That said, bizarre circumstances can also be the culprit. Years ago I had to move a cow with a week old calf into a pasture with pairs of similar aged calves & established pecking order. The former was an alpha dominant cow, immediately wagged war and in the ensuing battles, & much to my chagrin, her calf got trampled to death. :frowns:

 

[TCRanch]

A comprehensive herd health (cows & calves) protocol coupled with timely observational diligence mitigates lots of potential problems. That said, bizarre circumstances can also be the culprit. Years ago I had to move a cow with a week old calf into a pasture with pairs of similar aged calves & established pecking order. The former was an alpha dominant cow, immediately wagged war and in the ensuing battles, & much to my chagrin, her calf got trampled to death. :frowns:

Oh, ouch! That is one of my biggest fears. My girls like to fight right before & after calving with all those baby calves around.

 

[snoopdog]

At 10 days, I'm guessing not enough colostrum, just guessing. How long had the previous calf been off?

 

[ccr]

At 10 days, I'm guessing not enough colostrum, just guessing. How long had the previous calf been off?

the previous calf had been off 6 months. this was the cow's second calf.
here is a picture of the mama as i was about to haul the calf away:


we are on a vaccination protocol recommended by our vet. he said it was quite possibly due to respiratory infection/distress and that this is the time of year that we see lots of pneumonia and these animals can die quick. a retired vet friend said the foam at the nostrils was probably just from dying and length of time since death.

we usually calve in the front pasture by the house, but being concerned over the black head mexican buzzards, we decided to let them calve in the pasture with more cover.

5 calves on the ground now and appear to be ok. 2 more yet to calve.

 

[david1852]

Well, I heard back from the lab this evening. The tech said that my calf died from eating a sharp piece of metal. It had cut the inside of his stomach and infection set in. He found no other problems with him.

Regardless of this news I've still had cows and calves to die of no apparent reason so I'll have the vet to my place to set up a plan to vaccinate all my cattle with what they need.

 

[TCRanch]

At 10 days, I'm guessing not enough colostrum, just guessing. How long had the previous calf been off?

the previous calf had been off 6 months. this was the cow's second calf.
here is a picture of the mama as i was about to haul the calf away:


we are on a vaccination protocol recommended by our vet. he said it was quite possibly due to respiratory infection/distress and that this is the time of year that we see lots of pneumonia and these animals can die quick. a retired vet friend said the foam at the nostrils was probably just from dying and length of time since death.

we usually calve in the front pasture by the house, but being concerned over the black head mexican buzzards, we decided to let them calve in the pasture with more cover.

5 calves on the ground now and appear to be ok. 2 more yet to calve.

Fast pneumonia and dealing with buzzards. Huge suck! Good luck with the rest.

 

[TCRanch]

Well, I heard back from the lab this evening. The tech said that my calf died from eating a sharp piece of metal. It had cut the inside of his stomach and infection set in. He found no other problems with him.

Regardless of this news I've still had cows and calves to die of no apparent reason so I'll have the vet to my place to set up a plan to vaccinate all my cattle with what they need.

I've had my share of hardware which is why every cow, bull and retained heifer gets a magnet. But a calf with a cut/perforated stomach? Wow. Can't prevent that.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

I had a 6 month old heifer hit and killed on the "not-paved" county road day before yesterday. used to be a graded dirt road. the occasional car used to wipe out but never lost an animal, then they "chip sealed" it and folks drive highway speeds down it now. I lose an average of 2 animals a year and who knows how many injured. County has a program to fence paved roads but when I applied they told me it was not paved. yeah whatever. started the complaining to my County Supervisor and she is already on the hunt for me. it is 3 miles both sides, I have some better places to spend money than 6 miles of fence the county should put in but if prices go back up it may be my only choice.

 

[76 Bar]

Oh, ouch! That is one of my biggest fears.

Long time closed herd female wise so arguing dominance issues is rare and not an issue when they're newly calved but this particular cow was the exception. Unfortunately the new mothers were congregated near the gate and the instigator immediately went on the war path. Watching her calf being repeatedly trampled was infuriating. Tried to break up the fight and protect the calf to no avail. Highest performing cow in the herd, her antics earned her a one way trip to town.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Be sure to ask vet about Inforce 3 at birth and also a Selenium shot at birth (BoSe or MuSe or Multimin90)

 

[Ariousig]

Sorry to hear about it and clueless about what the foam is.