Calf Down

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Missy

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Hi everybody,

I have a little Brahman calf that is about 5-6 weeks old now. I bought him from the sales almost 4 weeks ago.
Anyhow he was doing ok apart from the tendons on his front legs were a bit contracted and he was having trouble following the nurse cow around in the paddock so i decided to bring him in and bottle feed him.Well he was doing super,drinking like a little piggy,bucking and playing(he had never done because of his legs) and just feeling really good. Well Thursday just gone we had a horrible cold day after a stinking hot day on Wednesday and when i went to feed up Thursday arvo he was laying over at the fence and wouldn't come for his milk. So i walked over got him up and he walked over to the milk and had a bit to drink. Definately was not himself. So i hit him with a good AB,put a planket on him and left him in the shelter.
Friday he was still down, but sitting up looking around and quite alert. He is pooing and weeing(while down) poor bugger tries to get up but cant) and his poo looks the best it has ever been,green and not too hard but not soft.
Well today is Sunday (Australian time) he is still down,still poooing weeing,drinking his milk though not as much as normal,eating soime grain out of my hand. He had his 4th AB needle today and i have given him approx 500mls of warm water with sugar in it. An old farmer suggested to do it. he loved it and was sucking on the syringe.
Now i am suspect to think it was a tick, so i checked him over and even though i couldn't find one,it definately doesn't mean there wasn't one,so i put tick stuff on him so as if one was feeding off him it should have died by now.
I am also suspect to beleive it could be a touch of pneumonia due to the crazy hot cold weather!

BUT today at lunch time, i found this (pic below) in his poo, what is it. Almost jelly like a fatty blob?????

yuk001.jpg
 
Among other things ~ AB is AntiBiotic. That is what she is refering to I believe. Missy what kind of antibiotic and how much? What is the calfs' temp, that is an important indicator. I am not too concerned with what is in the pic, though it might trigger more of a reaction from someone else. Very glad to hear he is drinking the sugar water ~ it is certainly not a long term option, but if he'll drink it like that, its a darn good short term one.
 
Sounds like basicly LA?? or Liquamycin. If you can get it, try one of the real antibiotics like Nuflor, Excenel, Micotil, etc.
By now if there hasn;t been a significant improvement from what you've been giving it isn;t going to do any good at all.
According to my converter that is 100.8 degrees.
Have you tried any probiotic type of stuff. Good chance that the antibiotic has screwed up his guts/digestion.
 
Thanks Dun,
I am looking into other AB's here as i think they are somewhat different to you guys in the USA

So is his Temp ok???
His poo seems all good,not runny or anything bad. Should i still get him on some probiotics?
Thanks
 
Missy":9lagnfkl said:
Thanks Dun,
I am looking into other AB's here as i think they are somewhat different to you guys in the USA

So is his Temp ok???
His poo seems all good,not runny or anything bad. Should i still get him on some probiotics?
Thanks

That temp for a young calf may be just a tiny bit low but it's still in the right ballpark. A lot of that depends on the accuracy of the thermometer. I've never used probiotics but I asked the vet about it once and he said if you have to give more then 2 shots of anibiotic you should give the probiotics.
 
I don;t know about Tylan. Whne it first came out as Tylan 50 it was considered THE wonder drug. Haven;t heard of anyone using it in years, don;t know why. Talk to your vet about some reall kick butt stuff. This has gone on long enough that it needs to be taken care of ASAP. With now temp (I suppose the antibiotics may be surpressing it) I wonder if antibiotics is even called for. But that's what vets are for, health issues.
 
Missy, if you're gonna change a/b get some Triprim/Trisoprim into him (those are brand names).

Yep, I'd give the probiotics. D-Scour paste (comes in a handy syringe) or Protexin (can get it in liquid/powder to add to bottle, or paste like the D Scour). Make sure he stays hydrated as well.

Good luck
 
Thanks Chippie,
OK vet seems to think it was a tick that has possibly fallen off by now!
He gave me a shot to give him which i did yesterday along with some probiotics
Fair bit worried now as his Temp is 36 degrees celcius.
He is rugged up even though it is a bit humid and muggy here today!
Any suggestions??
 
oh boy missy, whenever I have had low temps I've lost them.

Fluid and electrolyte therapy, keep him warm, try and get the temp up. Hot water bottles, heating pads, rugs, house, electric blanket anything you can think of.

:frowns:
 
Missy":34qdf1cj said:
36.5 degrees celcius about 15 minutes ago

I'm afraid you're losing him. You need to get that temperatue up to between 38.5 and 39.5. I think I did the C to F conversion right.. Contact your vet NOW.
 

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