HELP! can't tube heifer calf...need help ASAP!

[clemmie86]

A neighboring rancher gave us a three day old heifer calf that is not doing well. My husband, (who has experience working on a ranch, went to schooling for raising calves, so knows what he's doing) can't get the tube down her throat. It seems like there's a blockage of some sort. She swallows, kinda, but doesn't want to take a bottle. We need to get some electrolytes in her as soon as possible, but are afraid of drowning her instead.

Any thoughts? My husband has never had a calf he couldn't get a tube down, and is afraid of doing more damage than good. We don't know what the rancher has done with her.

Not sure she'll make to the morning to take her to the vet.

Tammy

 

[cypressfarms]

My husband has never had a calf he couldn't get a tube down, and is afraid of doing more damage than good.
Not sure she'll make to the morning to take her to the vet.

Tammy

If you don't get the tube down her throat the calf will die. What's more damage than that? If your husband has done it before, I'd keep forcing the tube down the calf's throat until it went in. Worse case scenario, pour electrolytes down her throat - at least it'll have some chance of swallowing some.

Does the tube have the plastic ball at the end to make it easier to go down the throat?

 

[clemmie86]

Update on little heifer calf:

I did manage to get about 1/2 pint of electrolytes down her throat from a bottle. At first she fought it, but then she started sucking on it. She acts like her throat hurts and she can't swallow very much at a time. I'm giving her a bit of a break, but I want to go out and try to get at least another 1/2 pint in her before I go to bed.

Any clues to why her throat would be swollen/sore? The rancher that gave her to us is an experience rancher, so I doubt that he would do anything to damage her throat, at least not intentionally.

Tammy

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

try putting the tube through a PVC pipe sleeve that's all the way to the back of the throat and a little to the left side...

once you get the tube in, puff a quick breath into the tube and listen... you'll know if you're in the lungs (cough or lung sound) or the rumen (gurgle + a rumen smell)... also, you can kind of feel the tube on the neck if you're in through the esophagus correctly.

...if in the lungs, pull out the tube and try again until you get it there

...we've never used an esophageal (sp) feeder but I'm told that the ball tip on the end prevents entry into the lungs and only enter the esophagus (but we have no experience at that and can't confirm or deny that information)

...now the next most important part AFTER you tube in the electrolytes... pinch off the tube and remove quickly so that you don't get fluid into the lungs (risking pneumonia, yada, yada...)

...rinse and sterilize everything thoroughly prior to next use.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[regolith]

Any clues to why her throat would be swollen/sore? The rancher that gave her to us is an experience rancher, so I doubt that he would do anything to damage her throat, at least not intentionally.

One word: tube.
You have to hurt 'em to save 'em sometimes, don't worry about it.
davisbeefmasters advice is good, and I would also have said if you can't tube the liquid and she won't suck, drench (pour it directly down her throat). It's more risky than tubing, but if she's going to die of dehydration otherwise...
Small frequent feeds are good if she's sucking a little.

 

[clemmie86]

Calf update:

She's gone now. Left us around lunch time. She mooed at me this morning, and I fed her a bit, but still, she couldn't swallow. It was like pouring liquid in a funnel too fast, she just couldn't get it down. And it just barely trickled out of the bottle, so she wasn't getting a lot at a time. Came home at lunch, she'd actually moved around quite a bit, enough to knock off one of the splints on the back leg. Went in, fixed a bottle for her, went out, she was gone.

Spoke with the vet. The four curled legs got them thinking it might be curling disease, and they asked if she was Angus or Charolais. I told them she's a black cow. I'm sorry to see her go, but I think there was more wrong with her than just the legs. I'm going to research curling disease a bit, see what it says about the deformity.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[dun]

Either cut open the thhroat or have the vet do it. Look and see if you can find anything strange in the esophogous that would have prevented her swollowing

 

[cypressfarms]

Clemmie,

There are a lot of people on these boards that have a huge wealth of information. One of the biggest mistakes newbies make is not giving all the info. Just a regular born calf that needs to be tubed is an everyday occurance, but one with a genetic defect is completely different - the treatment is/can be totally different. Why did the rancher give you the three day old heifer to begin with? Did he know something was wrong with her? Probably so.


Better luck next time.

 

[dun]

Clemmie,

There are a lot of people on these boards that have a huge wealth of information. One of the biggest mistakes newbies make is not giving all the info. Just a regular born calf that needs to be tubed is an everyday occurance, but one with a genetic defect is completely different - the treatment is/can be totally different. Why did the rancher give you the three day old heifer to begin with? Did he know something was wrong with her? Probably so.


Better luck next time.

I too must have missed the part in the first post where the problems with the legs was mentioned!

 

[clemmie86]

We dissected her throat before we buried her. There did seem to be an extra large flap covering the trachea, as it covered the esophagus too, and was so large, that it bent up on one end. Wouldn't think that was normal. My husband is going to take it to the vet to see what he says. I'll post a video of it later this evening.

Tammy

 

[DoubleDRanch]

Just went through exact same thing but didn't autopsy. Dexter Calf. After failing to tube on day 2 we had vet out. He couldn't even tube the calf. He wasnt to hopeful but had us try to bottle feed but it was impossible to get more than 1/2 cup a time down and the trauma of the feeding made calf weaker each time. Calf was breathing very rapid and shallow and couldnt stand by day 3. Lost it end of day 3 in middle of trying to get milk down.

Cow was 5 years old, had lost first calf, took two months of hobbling her to nurse second calf before she accepted it and now this debacle on the 3rd calf... She is done. Any definative word on the cause of this issue?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I doubt Tammy will see your question. It's been almost 5 years.