Calf Death....Coyotes?

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TR

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Found a dead 2 1/2 month old calf this morning. Cow was vaccinated with 8-way the first of November before she calved in the middle of December, no signs of scours or pnuemonia or any illness whatsoever. Calf was healthy and happy the day before. Any ideas what it might be? Coyotes maybe? Can anyone tell me what a coyote attack might look like? Her rear end had been eaten out, but the buzzards were on her when I found her. Had another birth last night, so maybe that attracted them? Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I sure would like to know what I'm up against in order to prevent anything from happening to any of the calves that are now on the ground or due in the next 6 weeks.

Thanks
 
I've never seen what a coyote could do to a calf but I would think it would be tore up worse than that. From what you described thats the usual place where buzzards will start, unless there is an open wound somewhere else.
 
Thanks dd, that's what I kinda figured, but I'm grasping at straws here. This was a healthy, happy, froliking, eating and pooping normal calf. I just can't imagine what she died from. I found her about 6 yards away from their bale of hay, and it looked like she just layed down and died, front legs curled under her, but back legs straight out. No crackling skin as would be found in black leg, no wounds, no bites, no snotty nose, no scours, nothing. Fat and happy yesterday. Dead today.
 
Tc":1e6n8nqc said:
sounds like blackleg or some sort of poisining.~~~~~~~~~~~~Tc
I would call a Vet. and have an autopsy done. This would better than loosing more if you can prevent it.
 
If it was a coyote attack, would there be any other marks on the carcass besides the rear being gone? Had I been thinking clearly at the time, I would have looked more carefully for tracks. I can say that there didn't look to be a struggle. No mud on her feet from trying to get away or anything. Its perplexing for sure.
 
TR":6279mld3 said:
If it was a coyote attack, would there be any other marks on the carcass besides the rear being gone? Had I been thinking clearly at the time, I would have looked more carefully for tracks. I can say that there didn't look to be a struggle. No mud on her feet from trying to get away or anything. Its perplexing for sure.

if it was a coyote attack, you should have seen some other marks. they wouldn't have just attacked the rear to take it down. the rear being gone was from the buzzards. the eyes & the hind-end are the first thing they attack. & just in case there's any confusion, the buzzards did not kill the calf, they only found it dead and took advantage of the opportunity.
 
Is it possible the calf was stepped on? I have lost a couple that way.. mom puts them up by the hay ring... usually the other animals pay attention to that.. but not always. As to the butt end.. buzzards would certainly do that.. and I think a coyote(s) would have dragged it off. also think the mom would have showed some signs of "defending" the calf...
 
If it was a coyote the calf's throat or neck would be torn up. They take down and kill their prey by strangling it. Typically the main organs would be eaten first.

Craig-TX
 
Yeah i dont think it was coyotes or there would be more damage to the calf in the neck region, possibly the ears would be shredded. we have more trouble with hog hunting dogs like currs and rottweilers than coyotes and there are tons of coyotes here. buzzards go for the butt and eyes first, coyotes go for organs. however the first thing coyotes go for (in cows) is the udder. I found a calf about the same size last year right next to the hay, he had just gone down, was still warm. I'm pretty sure his neck had been broken somehow. Trampling is a possibility, poisoning, blackleg, lightning strike, etc. i'm surprised more calves dont get injured at feeding time with the hard butting that goes on. i remember one time i found a yearling heifer that had been pushed over into a feed trough on her side with all four legs sticking out to the side and she couldnt get out. had to tip it over with a frontend loader. ANother time i found a steer with his head caught in a forked tree. wound up having to make him stand up on his hind legs to get his head out. just when you think youve seen it all, you havent.
 
had a friend who's calf got under the hay ring and was there for a while. it was crippled and worthless. there is always a;ot of pushing and shoving.
 
I found a calf dead near a hay ring a couple of years ago. Figured out it had been trampled by the larger cows. It was after a cold night, so I figured he was behind the hay to keep warm and just couldn't get away from the crowd.
 
Coyotes take down from the neck then go for the most tasty parts. If it was terribly sick though the buzzards wouldn't of ate the rear out. First come the crows they stay around death, then the buzzards circle then take the eyeballs to see if it's good to eat. If it is they will eat till another larger animal comes along such as a coyote or wild dog.
Ellie May
 
Okay, the body was too clean for a coyote attack.

What about Enterotoxemia? Head was back, front legs curled up, back legs straight out, and no other illness symptoms like scours or pnuemonia. She had just started really getting into eating grass, and was about 6 or 7 yards off the round bale when I found her. She was the biggest most aggressive calf of the bunch, as far as eating went, but hadn't discovered feed yet. This was the 4th round bale of the season for these cows, but she wasn't really interested in the other three. What do ya'll think? Apparently from what I've read, death is so sudden the only symptom is often just a dead calf, apart from some heart leisons or the clostridium toxin in the small intestine.
 
Well, the vet verdict is in, and he said most likely it was bloat that put enough pressure on the calf's diaphragm to stop her from getting air in her lungs.
 
The question now is, what caused the bloating?

dun


TR":1l9e5bef said:
Well, the vet verdict is in, and he said most likely it was bloat that put enough pressure on the calf's diaphragm to stop her from getting air in her lungs.
 

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