calf also acting strange...

[clarksheila]

bought our calf at the auction a month ago (she's pretty young, about 4 mths, not sure of wght), had a little temp and vet gave her Banamine for fever,multimin vitamin, and nuflor antibiotic (3 shots of nuflor over 4 days), she seemed pretty good after that. last couple of days shes seemed "depressed", mopey, she's in a pen (half with shelter/other in sun) and by herself, almost seemed like loneliness. bought a 6mth bull, put him in the pen next to her, still she's mopey. won't eat hardly any hay, about 2 cups of grain we give a day (one cup in morning/night), she'll eat that, noticed scours today, some discharge from her nose, but mostly clear, panting quite a bit, and might i ad we are in south tx....hot hot hot + humid. put up a fan, still same response?? any ideas? my husband thinks she's just hot. also could it be weaned too early?

 

[Longtails4Me]

You should check her temp. again. She sounds as though she has taken a backset. If you have had her a month and treated her once you are still not "out of the woods" yet.She shouldn't have scours or be breathing any faster than the other calf. It is harder to knock out respiratory problems when it is this hot,
it seems as though I am having to retreat a lot of mine this summer too. Being weaned too early probably didn't help her any, but thats not necessarily your problem. Any unvaccinated
calves, can get sick, under stress.You should probably have the vet take another look at her. If you think theres something not right with her, you are probably correct.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Cattle can get permanent lung damage pretty easy. She may have been sick a time or two prior to your buying her. Cattle that don't get proper colostrom at birth can be cronic sick cattle. If she has lung damage, she will get sick easily and will never do well - especially in heat or stress.
I would have the vet recheck her & ask him if possibly she has lung damage. Definately take her temp. Never know what you're dealing with without temp-ing.

 

[cattlemom]

Also, since you bought her at an auction there is no way to be sure that she got colostrum at birth. This is about the age that we've seen them start having trouble if they didn't get it.

 

[Bama]

You can hear lung damage with a stethoscope. They are rather cheap around 15 -20 bucks. If the lungs are full of fluid you will hear this also.

 

[clarksheila]

talked to the vet, he said she sounds hot, we put a tarp over the open area, checked her this afternoon, her panting is gone and the runny nose is gone, she has eaten about a 1/4 of the hay i gave her this morning. he said to watch her for the next day and if still concerned bring her in.

 

[Medic24]

Ummmmm.... just two cups of grain a day? you want this thing to gain strenght and grow at 4 months on essentially hay?

I would suggest checking with the advice often given on your bagged grain or the local feed store, or evne the manufacturer for the proper amount of concentrate to be given to a calf of that age......and then ease it into it over a period of several days to prevent founder ( yes cattle get foundered too)..........at that age, our calves are fed concentrates free choice.

Good luck with that calf. :cboy: