Even more bad luck with calves

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vafarmgal

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Last night my husband and I went up to the barn to feed and as usual I go around and make sure everyone is up and ready to eat. Well, one of our big healthy holestein bull calves (120 lb) had somehow fell and his neck was all twisted around and butt was stuck up in the air and he was kicking, but im not sure how long he had been in that position. So my husband got him right side up and he was just sitting there with his head up.

When we gave him his bottle, he wouldnt suck. So as usual when they wont suck, we drenched him. As soon as my husband drenched him, we knew that he was drowned. Wasnt long after that he died.

My question is, How do you know if your in the lungs? My husband was raised on a dairy farm and has drenched hundreds of calves and this was the first time this has ever happend to him.

I thought that once you got passed the "flapper" in their throat and the tube goes all the way down that you are in the stomach. I must be wrong because the tube went all the way down last night.

Would it be possibe that our drencher was to short for this big calf or maybe where his head was all twisted something might have happend.

Any ideas?
 
I am sure there are more sophisticated tests, but once the tube is in place we put the end to our ear & listen for breathing sounds. If no such sounds are detected, we then put a shiney object at the end of the tube (a small mirror or something that would show condensation if breath were being exhailed) & watch for awhile. If still ok, we slowly begin admistering the fluids, first just a little & listen for unusual sounds in the lungs, then finally complete the procedure. We have managed to get the tube down the wrong "pipe", but extracted it before administering any fluid.
 
i straddle the calf and in effect my legs become a head gate to the calf. i then insert the tube and run it down his throat. when it is in the right place i can feel the bulb of the tube right under the skin on the left side of his neck down close to his shoulders.

not saying this is the most scientific way or totally correct, it is just the best way i know how to do it at this time. so far so good, but i guess i could mess up on the next one.

good luck

jt
 
I hate tubing calves. Hate it. I'm always worried I've got it down the wrong pipe. So far I've done OK and haven't gotten fluid in the lungs (yet).

The way I do it is to slide the tube into his mouth - slowly - and as it gets to the back of the throat they'll usually swallow it. Sometimes you have to wait a moment or two. You can feel when they've swallowed it and can be reasonably sure it's in the right spot, vs if you just run it back and force it down.

I did have a heifer calf a few weeks ago with pnemonia that wouldn't drink and had to be tubed. That one made me really nervous, because she wouldn't swallow, and so I didn't know if I had the tube in the right spot. I'd do a quick check like farminlund describes (ear or hand over the tube) and then put the milk down. She was having a hard enough time breathing before I put the tube down, and I didn't want to take too long.
 
i straddle the calf and in effect my legs become a head gate to the calf. i then insert the tube and run it down his throat. when it is in the right place i can feel the bulb of the tube right under the skin on the left side of his neck down close to his shoulders.

That is the way my vet taught me to tube calves. He said the trachea (windpipe) in calves is just under the skin in front of the esophagus (food pipe). He said to advance the tube slowly, feeling for the bulb under the skin. If you feel it just under the surface of the skin, you're in the right place. If you can't easily feel the tube, you're in the wrong place - pull out and try again.
 
he probably wouldn't eat because of the trauma, think i would have just waited for him to calm overnight sorry for your loss,but that's cattle business
 
When we bought our last tuber, it had the large egg shaped bulb on the end, and was told it was too large to get into the windpipe. (Without forcing of course) Years ago when we first got into cattle we accidentally drowned a calf, and were very reluctant to do it after that! With the new style tuber, we've never had a problem.
 
Back in my teaching days I would drench students sheep. I could tell in a hurry when I was in the lungs.


Scotty
 
Sorry for your loss, agree with all of the above, and add, as you start the milk down slowly, look and see if it is moving up and down the clear tube in unison with the calf's breathes,,, if it is...pull your tube out asap, your likely in the lungs.
 
Raise bottle calves here. Have had similar incidents and we put the calf in a normal position and waited for it to get its bearings back. Means sitting in the barn for an hour or so and posssibly an extra trip to the barn later but usually they end up nursing on their own. Only time we ever drench a calf is if we get a weak one from a salebarn. Too much stress. Sometimes doing less is more if the calf was otherwise healthy. Don't worry about it not getting a full feeding as usual either. We wait in the barn a while and get it to eat what we can then. If it didn't take a full feeding, we go back out later and try to get it to take some more. Usually by morning everything is back to normal.
 
Medic24":2ettse2c said:
Sorry for your loss, agree with all of the above, and add, as you start the milk down slowly, look and see if it is moving up and down the clear tube in unison with the calf's breathes,,, if it is...pull your tube out asap, your likely in the lungs.
I dont start any milk down til I KNOW for sure where Im at but to each his own. My way is to put the tube where you think it needs to be....most of the time youll be right but before you hook up your bag blow in the end of the tube...if the calf coughs youre in his lung
 

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