Savannah01
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- Mar 21, 2016
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Hi, I am new to this site and would appreciate some feedback for my situation.
Some background info: I grew up on a dairy farm and raised bottle calves as a kid. However, I only raised calves that were born on the farm. We never had any major health issues. I'm sure I lost one here and there but I never had an out break of any illnesses. They were Holsteins. I now will bottle raise calves (black angus) for my father if the mother dies or won't take the calf. I am currently raising one now. I knew some people who were selling bottle calves so I decided to buy more since I was already raising one. When I got to the farm I wasn't really happy with what the calves looked like, they were skinny and a couple looked like they had some scouring. The man selling them said he had only been giving them 1/2 bottle of electrolytes and 1/2 bottle of milk ( they were supposed to be a week old) the calves were very active so I went against my gut and bought them anyway thinking that they were just hungry. I paid for them and got them loaded and then found out that they were not born on that farm, they actually came from a big dairy farm in a neighboring state. Since I had already paid for them I went against my gut again and brought them home anyway. I did ask if they had their colostrum and they said that for the 1st day they were on their mother and the second day they were tubed ( I didn't like that either) I got them home and gave them a bottle. They were all active . The next morning I gave them a bottle of milk but noticed a couple coughs and one in particular sounded somewhat wheezy, one had gunk in his eye and one had a runny nose, I also noticed scours so I decided to give them la200 since I didn't know what they had been exposed too. I gave them the la200 for 2 days and ran out I had some scour pills so the last day I gave them that. The ingredients were the same as the la200 . I was worry about over dosing so that was all the antibiotic gave. I also cut back milk and gAve electrolytes and probiotics. For a couple of days they all seemed to get better except for the scouring. By Saturday the scouring was worse so I increased the electrolytes and probiotics. They were all weak, but walking and eating. This morning I found one dead. He didn't have the symptoms as the others did except for the scouring. He seemed to be the strongest at first. Later this afternoon I lost another one. He was the one that had the wheezing sound ( not as bad as pneumonia. Just slightly when sucking) he seemed to be getting better, but he died this afternoon. I have talked to my vet and he prescribed a stronger antibiotic. I asked him if I shouldn't have given any antibiotics in the first place but he said I should have and they needed a stronger one and as much electrolytes as they would drink plus his regular amounts of milk. I kept my original calf separate and so far he is ok. I'm hoping I can save these calves but in the future I don't want to make the same mistakes. Other than not buying questionable calves , what should I have done differently?
Some background info: I grew up on a dairy farm and raised bottle calves as a kid. However, I only raised calves that were born on the farm. We never had any major health issues. I'm sure I lost one here and there but I never had an out break of any illnesses. They were Holsteins. I now will bottle raise calves (black angus) for my father if the mother dies or won't take the calf. I am currently raising one now. I knew some people who were selling bottle calves so I decided to buy more since I was already raising one. When I got to the farm I wasn't really happy with what the calves looked like, they were skinny and a couple looked like they had some scouring. The man selling them said he had only been giving them 1/2 bottle of electrolytes and 1/2 bottle of milk ( they were supposed to be a week old) the calves were very active so I went against my gut and bought them anyway thinking that they were just hungry. I paid for them and got them loaded and then found out that they were not born on that farm, they actually came from a big dairy farm in a neighboring state. Since I had already paid for them I went against my gut again and brought them home anyway. I did ask if they had their colostrum and they said that for the 1st day they were on their mother and the second day they were tubed ( I didn't like that either) I got them home and gave them a bottle. They were all active . The next morning I gave them a bottle of milk but noticed a couple coughs and one in particular sounded somewhat wheezy, one had gunk in his eye and one had a runny nose, I also noticed scours so I decided to give them la200 since I didn't know what they had been exposed too. I gave them the la200 for 2 days and ran out I had some scour pills so the last day I gave them that. The ingredients were the same as the la200 . I was worry about over dosing so that was all the antibiotic gave. I also cut back milk and gAve electrolytes and probiotics. For a couple of days they all seemed to get better except for the scouring. By Saturday the scouring was worse so I increased the electrolytes and probiotics. They were all weak, but walking and eating. This morning I found one dead. He didn't have the symptoms as the others did except for the scouring. He seemed to be the strongest at first. Later this afternoon I lost another one. He was the one that had the wheezing sound ( not as bad as pneumonia. Just slightly when sucking) he seemed to be getting better, but he died this afternoon. I have talked to my vet and he prescribed a stronger antibiotic. I asked him if I shouldn't have given any antibiotics in the first place but he said I should have and they needed a stronger one and as much electrolytes as they would drink plus his regular amounts of milk. I kept my original calf separate and so far he is ok. I'm hoping I can save these calves but in the future I don't want to make the same mistakes. Other than not buying questionable calves , what should I have done differently?
