Calf bought at auction

[Sherilyn]

Hello all, I'm new to not only this board but to cow/calf raising.

We went to a cattle auction and purchased a heifer calf (over 200 lbs).. she was a beauty.
We didn't notice anything unusual at the auction but when we stopped for gas on the way home we noticed that she had been straining while trying to deficate. She had really loose stool then... anyway. The next morning she was down, hadn't eaten and wouldn't eat so we started electrolyte/vitamin liquids in her. All day long she was glassy eyed and only got up twice to strain. She almost prolapsed her rectum. Finally got hold of the vet later in the day and he told us how to do the "enema" with the garden hose. The liquid went in but didn't come out. We left her alone for about 20 minutes and when we went back she had died.
The vet said she was "constipated" and that he didn't hold out much hope for her (after hearing all of the symptoms). Said this could be caused from stress (due to the auction).
What could we have done differently?? Any pointers about buying calves in the future and what to do just as soon as we get home??
Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Sorry to hear about your calf loss! How old was the calf? (Usual Weaning age is between 6-7 months).

No offense, but sounds like your Vet barely made it thru medical school... I would think a Vet could recommend something a little more "medical" that giving her an enema with garden hose...

I've never had a constipated animal; however, I would think there were some cattle medications that would address this quickly. A "Fleets Enema"??? Or...something more bovine specific?

Possible intestinal impaction due to excessive worms? Ingestion of some foreign material leading to impaction?

 

[Sherilyn]

Thank you for your reply.

Unknown age of the Calf. The auction only advises the weight.

 

[lkcows]

With the symptoms you listed, it sounds to me like the calf may have had severe scours rather than being constipated. The most important thing to do with a calf with scours is keep them hydrated-get electrolytes down them. The baby calves I get (Holsteins bull calves) get electrolytes as soon as they get in the barn door.

I'm not a big fan of salebarns for buying calves, mainly because you don't know what problems they might have.

I would suggest going directly to a cattle producer in your area to buy calves, most likely you will get a healthier calf.

 

[alacattleman]

sounds like the previous owner got rid of it just in time.this is a lesson learned buying at the sale barn its a crap shoot if your inexperiaced. ive lost roping calves purchaced from them but all were shipping fever/ pneumonia never seen one stress cause constipation. it would be more apt to have diarrhea. there was something wrong before she got there. could have had compaction from the feed she was on too many things it could have been.

 

[AngusLimoX]

If I was a sickly calf being sold at the sales barn I would sure like owners like you! You did all you could.

Now do yourselves a favour - get to know someone personally who has healthy calves to sell, pay a little more and have something more than a vet bill in a year.

If you are new you are gonna get beat at the barn.

What are you looking for? Were you gonna turn her over? Brood cow? Feeder/ freezer meat ?

 

[Bill Elliott]

Hello all, I'm new to not only this board but to cow/calf raising.

We went to a cattle auction and purchased a heifer calf (over 200 lbs).. she was a beauty.
We didn't notice anything unusual at the auction but when we stopped for gas on the way home we noticed that she had been straining while trying to deficate. She had really loose stool then... anyway. The next morning she was down, hadn't eaten and wouldn't eat so we started electrolyte/vitamin liquids in her. All day long she was glassy eyed and only got up twice to strain. She almost prolapsed her rectum. Finally got hold of the vet later in the day and he told us how to do the "enema" with the garden hose. The liquid went in but didn't come out. We left her alone for about 20 minutes and when we went back she had died.
The vet said she was "constipated" and that he didn't hold out much hope for her (after hearing all of the symptoms). Said this could be caused from stress (due to the auction).
What could we have done differently?? Any pointers about buying calves in the future and what to do just as soon as we get home??
Any input would be appreciated.

Where are you located in FLA? We are located in SE Ala...between my Sister-in-law and I we usually have 8 calves a year that we sell/feed-out. Beats the sale-barn any day. Cheers, Bill

 

[cypressfarms]

Sherilyn,

Welcome to the boards, sorry you had to join on a bad note.

You've already gotten some good advice. If the calve you bought was 200 pounds it was not weaned. For someone to sell a 200 lb. calf at a sale barn, something is probably not right (i.e. with the calf)

Your to be commended though. You gave electrolytes and called a vet. To me that means your smart, but just new to cattle. You'd be surprised how many newbies would not have even done that. I'd find a local cattleman/woman and talk to them about some weanlings. I'm not sure what your goals are, and maybe buying from a local cattleman will be slightly more in price, but it's much better than what you have now.

There are a lot of very experienced people here on the board, that are more than willing to give good advice to people who want to learn. I would say the best thing to prevent this from happening again is to not put yourself in this position again (buying a 200 lb. calf without knowing anything about it)

Good luck

 

[AngusLimoX]

Where are you located in FLA? We are located in SE Ala...between my Sister-in-law and I we usually have 8 calves a year that we sell/feed-out. Beats the sale-barn any day. Cheers, Bill

Now that's what these boards are all about!

 

[cowpunk'd]

Was the heifer a beef breed or a dairy breed (describe calf and we might be able to figure it out if you're not sure). She was sick when you bought her. Calves with coccidiosis strain because their guts are irritated, not because of constipation. They don't eat because it hurts their guts to eat. They can shed big chunks of gut lining and still survive sometimes. They have to be kept hydrated while the gut heals. I am sorry I think the vet gave you bad advice. Calling the vet should have been the right thing to do! I am curious about the enema with the garden hose, sounds dangerous, has anyone here ever done it/ been advised by a vet to do it?

 

[Rod]

There's probably nothing that you could of done for the calf, I'm sure thats why it was at the salebarn to begin with and by the time you got it , well... it was too late! If your going to buy at a barn only buy from farmers that have a large group of calves there for sale. The ones that only have one or a handfull are usually just getting rid of problems. I buy large groups of calves each spring in that weight-range and average a 10% loss, it just goes along with that weight-range.

 

[somn]

Sorry to hear about your loss. What could you have done differently? Don't by salebarn cattle. You get what you pay for. End of story. Chalk this up as a lesson learned and move forward.

Dont listen to much to this person. We buy 90% of our cattle at sale barns across the country the death loss and sickness is not any higher of a percentage from the sale barn then the cattle we pick up off the ranches. You just need to be more selective in what you buy. Maybe until you get a better feel for cattle stay away from singles and pairs.

 

[milkmaid]

I'd be thinking less along the lines of "constipated" and more along the lines of "blocked".

 

[somn]

16 posts makes you an expert huh somn? LOL. Not all but most of the cows that go through the sale barns down here are either feeder animals, slaughter animals, or they are culls. I would never buy an animal down here at the sale barn to keep as a replacement female. I dont care how good a deal it was. You get what you pay for. You are playing with fire around here if you are buying commercial cattle from the sale barn. You will more often than not get burned pretty bad. I can see buying feeder animals there as they are gonna be fed out and slaughtered anyways. I just cant see why anyone would by animals from there for their herd when that is where most of the cull cattle go.

Posts are not what makes me an expert. Expierence at sale barns are what makes a person an expert. You should know that look at all your posts and you still know nothing.

 

[Lammie]

I have a little heifer calf I got at the sale barn and she has been doing the same thing. Had her for about a week now. She strains like she needs to poop. Sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't. She's a bottle calf and very active. I have been watching her closely. She's had scours and I have had her on electrolytes. She seems to be getting over those.

Yes, calves at the sale barn can be a crap shoot. And yes, she is a freemartin. I also got her and her twin brother. But I got her cheap enough and she'll go to the feed lot when she's big enough, with the steers.

 

[memanpa]

16 posts makes you an expert huh somn? LOL. Not all but most of the cows that go through the sale barns down here are either feeder animals, slaughter animals, or they are culls. I would never buy an animal down here at the sale barn to keep as a replacement female. I dont care how good a deal it was. You get what you pay for. You are playing with fire around here if you are buying commercial cattle from the sale barn. You will more often than not get burned pretty bad. I can see buying feeder animals there as they are gonna be fed out and slaughtered anyways. I just cant see why anyone would by animals from there for their herd when that is where most of the cull cattle go.

870 posts do not make YOU anymore of an expert than someone with 16 posts!
especially when you read some of your comments pure garbage

 

[VanC]

16 posts makes you an expert huh somn? LOL. Not all but most of the cows that go through the sale barns down here are either feeder animals, slaughter animals, or they are culls. I would never buy an animal down here at the sale barn to keep as a replacement female. I dont care how good a deal it was. You get what you pay for. You are playing with fire around here if you are buying commercial cattle from the sale barn. You will more often than not get burned pretty bad. I can see buying feeder animals there as they are gonna be fed out and slaughtered anyways. I just cant see why anyone would by animals from there for their herd when that is where most of the cull cattle go.

What is your obsession with the number of posts a person has? It makes absolutely no difference at all. There are probably thousands of people out there who don't even know about this site that know more about cattle than 90% of the people who post here. And are you saying that people like Dun, Caustic, Bez, and a host of others knew nothing about cattle till they started posting on here? WISE UP!!

 

[msscamp]

What could you have done differently? Don't by salebarn cattle. You get what you pay for. End of story. Chalk this up as a lesson learned and move forward.

Having bought many very young calves at the salebarn in years past, and not losing any of them, I would have to say your post is prejudiced at best and plain old ignorance at worst. The trick is to have enough experience and knowledge of what to look for to be able to tell the ones that are going to die from the ones that can be saved - based on her description that might have been discernable and it might not have been. It certainly helps if one knows what to do after getting them home, too. As far as I can tell the only thing Sherilyn did wrong was start off with a more difficult situation than she had the experience/knowledge to handle - there is no shame in that. We've all been there, done that at one point or another. As for your statement about only culls being sold through the salebarn, all I can say is one mans (or womans) cull is another mans (or womans) treasure. Just because a particular cow doesn't work in one operation doesn't mean she won't work in another. Just my thoughts.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

What could you have done differently? Don't by salebarn cattle. You get what you pay for. End of story. Chalk this up as a lesson learned and move forward.

Having bought many very young calves at the salebarn in years past, and not losing any of them, I would have to say your post is prejudiced at best and plain old ignorance at worst. The trick is to have enough experience and knowledge of what to look for to be able to tell the ones that are going to die from the ones that can be saved - based on her description that might have been discernable and it might not have been. It certainly helps if one knows what to do after getting them home, too. As far as I can tell the only thing Sherilyn did wrong was start off with a more difficult situation than she had the experience/knowledge to handle - there is no shame in that. We've all been there, done that at one point or another. As for your statement about only culls being sold through the salebarn, all I can say is one mans (or womans) cull is another mans (or womans) treasure. Just because a particular cow doesn't work in one operation doesn't mean she won't work in another. Just my thoughts.

msscamp, you said it well.

Katherine

 

[fitz]

Right off the top of my head I can think of six (6) salebarns anywhere from 30 to 70 miles from here. There's a lot of cattle going them each week. I'd hate to think all of them are culls. I sell most everything through the salebarns. Cattle from six month old to sixteen years old. Like everything else in life, you have to be at least as smart as what you're fooling with or you can get in trouble. This, I know from experience. But then again, I only have about 100 posts.

fitz