calf with white eyes a day after being born

[Bruce]

Had a calf born on a Friday, seemed fine. On Saturday, the calf hadn't nursed. Got the cow and calf up and helped calf nurse. 7 hours later the calf's eyes were watering and had whited over, it also seemed weaker at this time. I tried pink eye powder and LA 200. Anyone have any ideas on what is wrong?

 

[dun]

Was the coe vaccinated for IBR? Quick onset of a white haze is a sign I look for. If it has a white dot in the eye that isn;t centered I would think IBR, if not I have no idea. A shot directly into the skin of the eyeball will clear up IBR in a day.

dun

 

[Vicky the vet]

Septicemia from lack of colostrum and bacteria travellilng through the body. Just like the late pope, it can kill. Call your vet.
V

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

There are several on this board that do not believe in vaccinating their cattle herd. Sorry, but vaccination shots is a lot cheaper and less stressful on the owner than treating sick calves or having dyeing calves. It only takes one bad year to make a believer out of you.

 

[jerry27150]

i agree 100% jeanne, i used to be among the non-believers

 

[docgraybull]

Well Bruce, what did the vet say, and what was the outcome?

 

[Beefy]

Vicky, waht do YOU recommend for a calf with septicemia? for instance one that didnt get colostrum, was pelted with 4 inches of rain one day, got cold from wind blowing the next day and was pelted again with 3 inches or rain the following day, then developed a runny eye which clouded up pretty good and has already been treated for pneumonia b/c of rattling and seems to have fought it off and has to be bottle fed? Other than all that seems to be doing fine. I like a fighter.

 

[Vicky the vet]

Vicky, waht do YOU recommend for a calf with septicemia? for instance one that didnt get colostrum, was pelted with 4 inches of rain one day, got cold from wind blowing the next day and was pelted again with 3 inches or rain the following day, then developed a runny eye which clouded up pretty good and has already been treated for pneumonia b/c of rattling and seems to have fought it off and has to be bottle fed? Other than all that seems to be doing fine. I like a fighter.

Ok, you want specifics? I'll get plasma or blood from the dam or sire into the calf intravenously to get antibodies into the calf. I'll go looking for any localization of infection. I'll treat with appropriate antibiotics--every farm is different, and I'll even culture blood if the calf is febrile to find the right one! You're odds go down with the more sites you can find infection, but the most common are eyes, joints and navel.

V

 

[Salicylic]

Vicky, waht do YOU recommend for a calf with septicemia? for instance one that didnt get colostrum, was pelted with 4 inches of rain one day, got cold from wind blowing the next day and was pelted again with 3 inches or rain the following day, then developed a runny eye which clouded up pretty good and has already been treated for pneumonia b/c of rattling and seems to have fought it off and has to be bottle fed? Other than all that seems to be doing fine. I like a fighter.

Try a lead pipe and a shovel.

Why didn't it get colostrum, why did it stay out in the rain in wind for days?

 

[Beefy]

Thanks Vicki, i was just curious. I suspect her cloudy eye may be due to trauma (privet bushes). Thats a neat trick about the dams blood i hadnt thought of.

Salisilly,
You sound just like....oh wait...

She didnt get colostrum b/c she was a tall dummy calf. kept trying to suck the flank and never figured out to get under the calf and look up. I usually give them every chance to figure it out on their own before intervening. if not by day 3 i get them up. day 3 we had 4 inches of rain and with that much rain it gets boggy here. when dad and i went to run her up, they were on the boggiest side of the branch and dad couldnt drive the truck on that side without getting stuck so i told him to get on the other side to keep the cow from turning back if she went thru and i would walk her toward the pen. (done this many o time, had a bad gut feeling when i got out of the truck) well to make a long story short everything was going well and then i got the look. backed off a little and then i got the paw, and then got the introduction to the dirt by way of the head in the back as i was hauling ice. said "screw you, you *expletives expletive.* and limped off around the branch to get in the truck. It was lightning bad and starting monsooning again so we said we'd try again tomorrow. i was still ticked offfor several days and the cow didnt leave the calf and it was too boggy to get to her anyway (got the fourwheeler stuck too. bad week. tornadoes . and rained again today, wont be harrowing for a while now!). day 4-windy as all get out, i'm still in screw you mode, let the little *bleep* *bleepin* die for all i care. got a hurt back and pulled leg muscle. pretty much gave up on her at this point, then it flooded again all day on day 5 and i was certain the calf was dead and the mom had given up on the calf too. wasnt even looking for the calf and happened to find her sitting up in the branch in some privet bushes (eye was watering then). figured if the little fart was still wanting to live i'd try to save her. this was sunday, took her a bottle of whole milk (no colostrum on hand since we always milk the cow) and she downed it readily. took her across branch and gave her to mom, mom looked shocked. fed her another bottle the next morning and it was dry enough to finally get cow and calf up safely. had already decided to cull cow but milked her to see if we could get anything at all, figuring she had dried up or started to. got 2 pints in her so she might have got some colostrum but wouldnt do any good at that point anyway. been bottle feeding since and the calf is doing great other than cloudy eye. i'm not the type to throw money away, if the calf has a will to live i have the will to assist. you "bigguns" do it your way, i'll do it mine.

"Thanks for asking"

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Sounds like you had quite a time of it.
As a side note, if the calf does not receive colostrom within 12 hours, it is almost worthless. If not before 24 hours, it is totally worthless. Colostrom IN THE COW loses antibodies each hour after calving. Plus, the calf's stomach is designed to be able to process the colostrom immediately after birth. Each hour the stomach changes and is less & less capable of utilizing colostrom. So each hour after birth, not only is the cows colostrom getting less potent, the calf's stomach is getting less able to utilize what you give it.
That's why, it is imperitive to get colostrom in a newborn as quickly as possible. Ideally, we like the calf to suck within 15-30 minutes. But, we all know this is not an ideal world, and s---t happens. We intervene after about 1.5 to 2 hours - offer bottle of colostrom, if won't suck - tube it.

In your case, cow probably would have been less than willing to let you help. That is why, it is important to have cattle up close during calving season, but like I said, this isn't a perfect world, and some places just can't get that done because of facilities or land. We do what we have to.

 

[sidney411]

Beefy- Thanks for sharing your story! I totally understand your situation. The way our pasture is layed out and the fact they have free run of 125 acres it is next to impossible for us to move a cow in the right direction that doesn't want to be moved. Even on horseback and 4-wheelers, those cows can dodge and run through stuff at full speed that I would bounce off of. I hope the little bugger turns out ok for you!

 

[arneyangus]

Letting a calf go more than three hours without colostrum is crazy! I prefer to get that cow and calf up and give the calf milk from it's mother. I do sometimes keep colostrum frozen and will give that calf a bottle and hope that it will suck the cow later. If not within a five or six hours I will then get them up. MY advice when getting a cow up, is park the ATV and the horse. THe one person that feeds and cares for these cattle daily will have more luck by themselves. The cow should follow the new calf, if not she will probably follow some grain or real good hay.

 

[jt]

Letting a calf go more than three hours without colostrum is crazy! I prefer to get that cow and calf up and give the calf milk from it's mother. I do sometimes keep colostrum frozen and will give that calf a bottle and hope that it will suck the cow later. If not within a five or six hours I will then get them up. MY advice when getting a cow up, is park the ATV and the horse. THe one person that feeds and cares for these cattle daily will have more luck by themselves. The cow should follow the new calf, if not she will probably follow some grain or real good hay.

ever had a cow that ... as caustic would put it... try to blow snot in your britches..?? getting them up is not always possible.. especially by yourself..

jt

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

Letting a calf go more than three hours without colostrum is crazy! I prefer to get that cow and calf up and give the calf milk from it's mother. I do sometimes keep colostrum frozen and will give that calf a bottle and hope that it will suck the cow later. If not within a five or six hours I will then get them up. MY advice when getting a cow up, is park the ATV and the horse. THe one person that feeds and cares for these cattle daily will have more luck by themselves. The cow should follow the new calf, if not she will probably follow some grain or real good hay.

I guess the problem some of us have is this work thing kinda gets in the way of calving time. I'd love to just take a month or so off and sit around and watch my cows calve and time them to make sure that they get up and suck within three hours. Unfortunately, my employer frowns on that sort of thing. The time I'm at work sucks about eleven hours out of my day, five days a week. I still get up and do my twice nightly cattle checks and check them before bed and in the morning before work. If a cow starts calving in the morning I usually stick around long enough to make sure its healthy and that the cow is working on getting it on its feet but if I have a cow that starts having problems while I'm at work, there's not really much I can do about it until I get home. my solution is just to keep my cattle as healthy as possible. Feed them good feed, give them what they need for vaccinations etc and trust them to do what they are supposed to do which is be good at being a cow.

 

[jt]

i agree totally CRR... i have the same problem (or that is what i call it.. a job ... for which i am really grateful for)... anyway.. you do all you can, but sometimes you just have to let nature take its course... and the best way is like you said... keep as healthy of cattle as you can.

jt

 

[buckaroo_bif]

yeap...
wish i had time to sit around and watch a newborn suck...
i don't however
i do watch th eheifers an make sure everthing is going smoothly but don't have time with the cows...!

 

[Beefy]

Letting a calf go more than three hours without colostrum is crazy! I prefer to get that cow and calf up and give the calf milk from it's mother. I do sometimes keep colostrum frozen and will give that calf a bottle and hope that it will suck the cow later. If not within a five or six hours I will then get them up. MY advice when getting a cow up, is park the ATV and the horse. THe one person that feeds and cares for these cattle daily will have more luck by themselves. The cow should follow the new calf, if not she will probably follow some grain or real good hay.

ever had a cow that ... as caustic would put it... try to blow snot in your britches..?? getting them up is not always possible.. especially by yourself..

jt

for real. my cows eat grass. the "person" that feeds them is themselves. thats their job.

 

[Muratic]

She didnt get colostrum b/c she was a tall dummy calf. kept trying to suck the flank and never figured out to get under the calf and look up. I usually give them every chance to figure it out on their own before intervening. if not by day 3 i get them up.

Sounds to me like you were the dummy here. Waitin' 3 days to tend to the calf...you sure didn't learn that from here.

Salisilly,
You sound just like....oh wait...

Watch it bub. The last person that messed with kin got called out. You willin to tangle with me too???

 

[Salicylic]

Calm down, big sis, I took it as a compliment.

BTW what is in that little picture under your name? A wolf? werewolf?