Help! Calf w/fever & labored breathing

[pdoramus]

Let me update again. This is the same calf that I got a week ago Saturday and posted to see if LA200 and Nuflor were compatible. On that first Saturday I gave him LA200 and VitBcomplex. He had labored breathing and coughing so we also gave him NUFLOR. He was progressing all week with a little coughing once in a while.

Last night he was down and breathing really heavy. It was almost a panting with a cough once in a while that rattled. He had a fever of 103 degrees. We gave him another dose of LA200 for the fever and a shot of NUFLOR for the respiratory stuff. He drank pretty well this morning, yet had to stop at times during his drinking to breathe.

Tonight there's no improvement. He is still drinking his milk replacer yet his poor little chest goes in and out with labored breathing. He still has a fever. I don't know what else to do for him. Any ideas would help. I'll call the vet tomorrow if no improvement, but I don't get home from work until it's almost too late to take him in. Thanks for your replies.

 

[Texan]

We gave him another dose of LA200 for the fever and a shot of NUFLOR for the respiratory stuff.

LA200 and Nuflor are both antibiotics for the "respiratory stuff." If they control the infection, you will then see a reduction in fever. If you want to give something additional for the fever, you need to give Banamine, aspirin, Advil, etc.

 

[msscamp]

May want to talk to your vet about Baytril (can only be administered every 48 hours, I believe). We have had excellent results with it in calves with respiratory ailments.

PS You have given 2 doses of Nuflor, I do not think you can give any more - please check with your vet before giving him another dose of Nuflor.

 

[pdoramus]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to call the vet tomorrow during work incase the calf's the same tomorrow night when I get home.

I will also try some aspirin. Do you smash them in water?? How many if he's about 75 pounds? Could the heavy panting just be from the fever?

 

[msscamp]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to call the vet tomorrow during work incase the calf's the same tomorrow night when I get home.

I will also try some aspirin. Do you smash them in water?? How many if he's about 75 pounds? Could the heavy panting just be from the fever?

If he's coughing and rattling when he breathes he's probably got a good case of pneumonia. Warm days and cold nights are notorious for causing it due to the stress of the fluctuation in temperatures. If you have a calf pilling gun, I would use that. If not I'm not sure how to go about giving the aspirin - might be able to crush them and mix them in his grain.

 

[Texan]

I will also try some aspirin. Do you smash them in water?? How many if he's about 75 pounds?

I'd give him two aspirin at a time. Just hold his mouth open and stick them on the back of his tongue. Hold his head up with your hand over his nose to be sure he swallows them. If you can do it right before his bottle, it will probably go down better for him.

 

[pdoramus]

I have a pill gun and will give him 2 aspirin tonight. I can give him a little water in a bottle to swallow with. He doesn't eat much starter yet, mainly just what I give him in my hand.

He is inside the calf shed with heat lights and lots of straw.

 

[dun]

Grind the aspirins and put them in his replacer. One should be enough but 2 probably wouldn;t hurt. When we've given them we use 1 per 100 lbs then throw in a couple of extras just to make sure. But that's with much larger cattle.

dun

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Sounds like your little guy has a serious case of pneumonia. I'm afraid if it's been going on for over a week, there is probably already considerable lung damage. Labored breathing is a key indicator of damage. Would switch to Baytril after 2 rounds of Nuflor. Banamine is also indicated for both reduction of fever & helping minimize further lung damage.


In my experience, calves that survive a really bad case of pneumonia are highly likely to become "lungers". Unfortunately, cattle have very little excess lung capacity. Depending upon the magnitude of lung damage, they may do fairly well while the weather is cool, but many die when the weather gets hot. Hope this is not your situation.

We all hate to loose one, however the song lyrics "Gotta' know when to holdem', know when to foldem'" keep coming to mind when I have one like this.

Good luck & best wishes

Brock

 

[msscamp]

He is inside the calf shed with heat lights and lots of straw.

Is your calf shed a barn-type structure or an open shed type structure?

 

[pdoramus]

The shed is enclosed with a 4 foot door. Over the door is a plastic strip door with cut flaps about 6 inch each to break the wind. It's about 40 degrees in there most of the time this time of year.

I agree with Texas PaPaw in that I think he has suffered some lung damage...maybe even had some before we got him last week. I was hoping he'd recover somewhat so I could take him to the sale on Saturday. Don't know that he'll make it overnight much less another five days. Might just have to cut my losses on this one if no progress soon. :(

Chock one up to another learning experience. He looked pretty bad when I gave him his aspirin.

 

[msscamp]

pdoramus, it is not my intent to come down on you, but the worst thing one can do with regard to raising calves is to stick them in an enclosed building of any type. The dust from the straw, the ammonia from the urine, and the lack of proper ventilation will aggravate their lungs without any illness. Couple either or all of the above with illness and it's a wreck waiting to happen. Add to that equation the heat lamps (which will intensify the ammonia, stuffiness of the enclosed building, and probably overheat the calf) and it gets even worse. An open shed is something else - as there is good ventilation and protection from the wind, plus the baby can get out into the sunshine. One of the first things I learned when it comes to calves is they don't get put in the barn unless it is absolutely, 100% necessary. I don't mean to rain on your parade and I truly hope your calf makes it.

 

[pdoramus]

He has gone in and out of the shed all week whenever he wanted to until last night when he was down. I think he has been down most of the day in the shed, but he was up standing and waiting for his milk replacer this morning. He is the only one in the pen so no ammonia smell, everything is clean.

I know what you are saying... and I don't take offense. I can take the plastic door down and allow more ventiliation. We do this when more calves are using the shed. Thanks for the suggestion. Anything to help his breathing is welcome advice for me. Thanks again.

 

[msscamp]

He has gone in and out of the shed all week whenever he wanted to until last night when he was down. I think he has been down most of the day in the shed, but he was up standing and waiting for his milk replacer this morning. He is the only one in the pen so no ammonia smell, everything is clean.

I know what you are saying... and I don't take offense. I can take the plastic door down and allow more ventiliation. We do this when more calves are using the shed. Thanks for the suggestion. Anything to help his breathing is welcome advice for me. Thanks again.

Good deal! Not a problem, and I've got everything crossed that I can cross in the hope that your calf will overcome this!

 

[pdoramus]

Thanks, I'll see if I can get the vet tomorrow or at least get some Baytril from him.

Just waiting it out.

 

[milkmaid]

How much Nuflor have you been giving? I'd stick with the Nuflor...unless you're certain the calf is not responding; if he is responding, stay with it until he's well. No on-again, off-again treatment. LA200 doesn't impress me a whole lot with respiratory problems...I think Baytril is my favorite for respiratory. I believe it's every 24 hours. Nuflor is relatively safe for long term use. "Only" causes damage to the intestinal flora which can be fixed with probiotic. Some of the other drugs cause liver and kidney damage when you start treating long-term, so that's why I like the Nuflor better than some of the others.

I had a calf once with pnemonia, that I brought in the garage and set up a space heater in front of her. She'd move herself so her nose was almost directly in front - think she liked the air blowing at her. Could always try that to get him through the night, provided he'll stay down and not knock that heater over. LOL. Keep us posted...and good luck. ;-)

 

[pdoramus]

Milkmaid,
One of the other posts said I couldn't give more than 2 doses of Nuflor. We gave one dose last week of 4cc since he's only about 75 pounds (6cc for 100 pounds subq). Last night we gave him another 4 cc. I was going to wait 72 hours to give anything else... since I thought the Nuflor lasted that long.

Can I give another dose of Nuflor? What is the wait period between doses? Am I giving the correct dose? Any other advise? I've been waiting for you to come on.
Thanks for the help.

 

[msscamp]

http://www.nuflor.com/nuflor_glance/faq.html

 

[milkmaid]

It's the recommended dosage - at a dose of 6mLs per 100lbs for one treatment, you have an X number of days before the animal can be slaughtered. Start adding to that and you have no idea what the withdrawal will be...but then it doesn't matter on a calf that age if it's a w/d of 60 days instead of 38 days.

I gave one calf Nuflor at 3mLs/100lbs every 48 hours for a solid month. Didn't encounter any problems because of it. Vet suggested as well.

If the stuff is working...in my book...why stop treating? If he's getting better there's no sense in halting treatment because you've given two doses. Finish it up so he's well. That's what's going to create a chronic case of pnemonia that doesn't respond to anything.

 

[pdoramus]

Sounds good to me. If he makes it through tomorrow, I'll start him on 2 1/2 cc every 48 hours until we see results. Thanks for the hope. :)