Dead 2 month old calf...???

[HOSS]

My neighbor called me yesterday evening and said that I had a dead calf near his fence and momma wasn't letting him get close. I went to look and it was a 2 month old bull calf that as of Thursday appeared perfectly healthy. I noticed that it dark red blood coming out of it's nostrils, mouth and the corner of it's right eye. No other marks on it's body. No sign of bullet wounds, trauma or roughed up places. When I looked at the calf on Thursday he appeared fine except for his right eye looked bloodshot and red in the front corner. He had some flies on him so I thought it was irritation from the flies. I had planned to fly spray them today. I have no idea what it died from. No vet in today so I went ahead and buried it just in case it had a transmittable disease of some sort. Any ideas? I am going to call the vet on Monday and ask. I have never seen this before :???:

 

[HOSS]

I must have a wierd problem. 70 views and no responses. I am curious as to what the vet says.

 

[jerry27150]

have any nightshade around ?

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

almost sounds like trauma? Maybe another cow hit him hard?

 

[branguscowgirl]

Bleeding could be a result of liver failure form eating a toxic plant. OR Trauma to the head from getting kicked in the noggin. Those are my two guesses.

 

[wbvs58]

Hoss Anthrax would have to be considered as a remote but important possibility.
"After death, discharges of blood from the nostrils, mouth, anus and vulva are common. "
"In cattle the disease can occur as a per acute form in which animals are usually found dead"
There tends to be areas where the disease has been known to have appeared in the past so your vet should be able to tell you whether this is a consideration.

Ken

 

[Putangitangi]

Cows returning to estrus, playing around while calves relax on the ground and get trodden on in the excitement? I had a calf of that age about three years ago with a head injury which affected one eye and his ear, must have damaged the nerves in the side of his head, so I presumed he'd been knocked quite hard. He gradually came right, but I've been more aware since then of the danger to calves when their mothers are in a temporary state of irresponsibility!

 

[hillsdown]

My first thought was the same as Wbvs58 posted Hoss . Anthrax is everywhere in the soil . You never know when it will appear again but it usually happens after a drought and then a heavy rain fall year .

Hope not , but at least there is a vaccine for it .

 

[cowgirl8]

When i have a calf die and no one else was effected or dies, i just assume that there was some sort of defect, heart, liver, something that didnt effect it until it got to a certain size. When you find any animal dead, always note at how they died by looking around the animal. Had they been there very long, how much poop was behind it. Did it just die, or can you see if it thrashed around before it died. Was the bleeding from trying to get up, if they cant right themselves they will bloody their faces. You'll be able to tell because the ground or grass will be mashed and the bloody side of their face with show it was hit on the ground. Was he bloated? It may or may not give you answers why it died, but if you find another it may help if you can relay to a vet what you saw.

 

[Nesikep]

My guess would be an injury from other cows.. somehow getting stepped on, kicked, or squashed.. or stealing milk from the wrong cow? We have a couple cows that bear a grudge against each other.. a real vendetta.. they have fought continuously for a full hour before to the point they were just resting their heads against each other, they were too tired. Whenever I have new cows introduced into the herd with calves, I make sure all the calves are up and about... Not all of them fight, there's just a half dozen of the PITA's

 

[HOSS]

When i have a calf die and no one else was effected or dies, i just assume that there was some sort of defect, heart, liver, something that didnt effect it until it got to a certain size. When you find any animal dead, always note at how they died by looking around the animal. Had they been there very long, how much poop was behind it. Did it just die, or can you see if it thrashed around before it died. Was the bleeding from trying to get up, if they cant right themselves they will bloody their faces. You'll be able to tell because the ground or grass will be mashed and the bloody side of their face with show it was hit on the ground. Was he bloated? It may or may not give you answers why it died, but if you find another it may help if you can relay to a vet what you saw.

Being a long time hunter I am used to reading spoor and noting detail. I checked all of the above after I approached the body. Calf was still warm so it hadn't been dead long. No signs of thrashing around. The body left a bowl shaped impression in the grass so it basically laid down and died right there. No blood on the grass anywhere near it. There was also no feces near the calf. Calf was not bloated. I moved each hind leg and pushed on it's hide to listen for the crackling sounds from black-leg. Nothing. I also checked every orifice for blood. Only coming out of the nose, mouth and front corner of right eye.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Poor little guy. :frowns: Sorry about your loss Hoss.........

 

[milkmaid]

Sorry to hear about the calf Hoss. Hard to say for sure without opening him up.

My initial differentials would look like this....
Anthrax
Overeating/Enterotoxemia
Blackleg
Aneurysm (lung, liver, kidney, heart, brain)
Pneumonia
Heart defect
Toxin (plant, chemical, object)
GI-related (intussuception, twist, ingested object, etc)
Trauma
Allergy/anaphylaxis
Meningitis/septicemia
Coagulation disorder (genetic or induced, eg eating a rodenticide, moldy sweet clover, etc)

....in no particular order.

If I were to rank possibilities in a 2 month old calf, I'd go with enterotoxemia, pneumonia, GI-related, probably. Curious what Lucky says too.

Next time have a necropsy done or cut him open and take pictures before you bury the calf.

 

[HOSS]

Vet suspects anthrax. She is from Texas and said that she saw several cases there but it is very rare here.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Vet suspects anthrax. She is from Texas and said that she saw several cases there but it is very rare here.

Wow, that's too bad. What is recommended for the rest of the herd?

 

[HOSS]

Vet suspects anthrax. She is from Texas and said that she saw several cases there but it is very rare here.

Wow, that's too bad. What is recommended for the rest of the herd?

A round of antibiotics and watch them closely. I have checked them twice per day. All appear healthy. I personally think it was some kind of head trauma but I am playing it safe non the less.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Vet suspects anthrax. She is from Texas and said that she saw several cases there but it is very rare here.

Wow, that's too bad. What is recommended for the rest of the herd?

A round of antibiotics and watch them closely. I have checked them twice per day. All appear healthy. I personally think it was some kind of head trauma but I am playing it safe non the less.

Good luck Hoss. I hope it is an isolated incident.

 

[wbvs58]

Just a point of note. If Anthrax is suspected by a vet it is recommended that no autopsy be performed but a blood smear taken from the discharges and stained will give a diagnosis. I think the Anthrax bacillus is easily seen but I am certainly no expert on this part just going from distant memory however the important part is not to open the carcase and spread the spores on the ground but to incinerate the carcase on the spot so it is not dragged across the paddocks.
Ken