Calves/Bottle/Trouble

[Tony Jr]

Hi, last Wednesday (6/23/04) I bought two little orphan calves. One was around 85 lb and the other around 60. First problem. The little (CoCo) 60 quit eating. Thursday morning was the last time she drank a bottle. I went to the vet today and he gave her a shot of vitamins, antibotics, and antibodies. What else can I do? What are some tricks to help her. Second the other calf has a rattle in her chest sometimes. She coughs a little also. :x What should I do? I'm calling the vet tomorrow, but I was wondering what ya'll know from personal experience. Any insight would be greatly thanked. :cboy:
PS. You like the ya'll don't you!!

 

[CattleAnnie]

Well, just a shot in the dark here, but would give them a good dose of anitbiotics for respiratory problems. My favorite for that is Nuflor. Works very well. Secondly, the calf that isn't nursing needs to be kept from dehydrating. Use a calf tuber to get some electrolytes down her, the sooner the better. You may have to do this repeatedly until the calf's appetite and desire to nurse come back.

A few questions for you, do either calves exhibit signs of diarrehea (sorry about the spelling, kind of tired)? What kind of antibiotics did the calf get? What kind of milk or milk replacer are the calves receiving?

Oh, and a note... a side effect of Nuflor can be a bit of diarrehea, but I've never had much of a problem with it. Better to save the calf than worry about a bit of a messy butt from medication.

Good luck with the calves. Please keep us posted. Take care.

 

[Anonymous]

If the little one has not drank a bottle in 5 days and you are not tube feeding it, it has to be severely dehydrated. Dehydration Kills. Either take it to the vet and have it IV'd or ask the vet for the lactated ringers and give it SubQ yourself. Did the vet suggest or do either of these? If they were mine at this point I would have both of them on a broad spectrum antibiotic since it sounds like they were overly stressed.

 

[Tony Jr]

The little calf had not eat'n on her own in about 4 days. We forced about 1 to 2 pints down her a day. The vet said that suprisingly she wasn't dehydrated. Update on the little calf: This morning she got up, walked over to me and the other calf, and juzzled a whole bottle. Seemed to be a little more peppy. I have been told to cruch asprin and mix with their milk. Does anyone know anything about this? How many asprin and how often? We deal with cattle, but suprisingly we've never had trouble bottle feeding. I guess because we always knew what the calves story was :heart: . As far as the second calf. I'm going this evening to get the med. Hope it fixes her right up. Thanks for you insight and look forward to more!!! :cboy:

 

[TheBullLady]

I would not give the calves aspirin.. it's hard on their stomachs, just like with humans. Make sure they don't dehydrate, and it sounds like you're on the right track.

Good luck