Calf sick

[sierraoaks]

Hello - I have a three month old calf whom I have been bottle feeding since birth. He had a rough start but has been doing very well. He has had diarrhea for two days now, and we noticed a cough last night. I am giving him some electrolytes with his bottle now. No fever, eating and acting normal.
He gets a bottle twice a day, some calf start and grow crumble and occasionally a bit of alfalfa with the other cows.

Wondering if I need to call the vet about the cough in particular.........

 

[TCRanch]

He may be getting some of the replacer in his lungs, depending on how aggressive he is with the bottle. I would make sure you're not feeding him any milk replacer with soy. Good call on the electrolytes and even if he doesn't have a fever I would call or take him to the vet just to make sure it's not pneumonia. Plan B: Sustain III calf boluses for scours & Draxxin or Resflor Gold for BRD (just my personal preference).

 

[jerry27150]

if he has no temp & acts good he may just be getting extra protein from alfalfa.

 

[Son of Butch]

90 day old bottle calf... haven't you switch to drinking from a bucket yet?
Time to wean him as soon as last bag of replacer is gone... sounds like he is eating his grain mix fine.
No fever, I wouldn't waste money on a vet.

 

[SIMMGAL]

As long as the calf is still eating and doesn't have a fever, it should be fine. Could give it a shot of Draxx if you're wondering. Could try to listen to his lungs to see if they sound junky.