Help..GIVEN a calf, swollen knees, very skinny..what is it??
- Thread starter b&langusfarms
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larryshoat
Well-known member
I think at this point your best bet is in hoping the calf will out grow this problem.As has been stated in many posts the original was probably an untreated navel infection.If he eats good he may grow out of it.
Larry
Larry
b&langusfarms
Well-known member
I know this seems like a completely stupid question to most I am sure, but do holistein cattle havehorns?? :?:
b&langusfarms
Well-known member
Thx Alan... 
Keren
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Hey, B & L, some people might say thats a stupid question, but I say its definitely not!
I am embaressed (sp? I can never spell that <-- word) to say that for quite a long time (as in several years) when I began working in the industry, I didnt realise Simmental cattle were horned. Simple enough reason - the Simmental association here requires all registered animals to be disbudded/dehorned within the first week of life. Oh boy, was my face red when I found out they were horned, not polled.
Yes, Holsteins have horns. If your little guy gets better, you will want to think about having him in to the vet to be dehorned and castrated.
I am embaressed (sp? I can never spell that <-- word) to say that for quite a long time (as in several years) when I began working in the industry, I didnt realise Simmental cattle were horned. Simple enough reason - the Simmental association here requires all registered animals to be disbudded/dehorned within the first week of life. Oh boy, was my face red when I found out they were horned, not polled.
Yes, Holsteins have horns. If your little guy gets better, you will want to think about having him in to the vet to be dehorned and castrated.
b&langusfarms
Well-known member
Good I am glad not everyone is laughing at my questions. Honestly I was kind of hoping he wasnt a holistein bull calf. I havent heard very many good comments about them. He will be made a steer and dehorned if he pulls through this.
hillsdown
Well-known member
b&langusfarms":3rjth9ii said:
Well I will tell you from many hundreds of calves I have raised that I LOVE :heart: Holsteins.They are great animals and delicious to eat.Don't forget the milk.......(yes from the females only)
It all depends on the quality of care that a baby is given the minute it hits the ground.Sometimes dairies don't put any extra into the bull calves that are not for future potential breeding stock so they don't even ensure that the little guys get colostrum and their navels treated with iodine.
The $ss %$^7 give the whole industry a black eye and my faith in karma says they will not be in business for long
.Look after your Holstein with suggested treatment and lot's of love, hopefully he will heal and pull through for you and you will not be turned off from the breed.
Do not dehorn or castrate him until he can handle the added stress.That is the least of his/your worries at this time.
b&langusfarms
Well-known member
I will surely wait on castation/dehorning for awhile. I just got off work and bottled him and he about bruises my shoulder butting the bottle ( ) So he is felling better and better. I have my horse trailer set up with cattle panels in front so he can go in and out. He can now go up into trailer by himself VERY fast. (we were having to lift him up to the trailer) I am wondering about the Probios. I gave 5 the first day and 10 today. How many days do you all thing I should give it to him?
) So he is felling better and better. I have my horse trailer set up with cattle panels in front so he can go in and out. He can now go up into trailer by himself VERY fast. (we were having to lift him up to the trailer) I am wondering about the Probios. I gave 5 the first day and 10 today. How many days do you all thing I should give it to him?
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
I would continue with the Probios for a day AFTER you stop antibiotics. Antibiotics kill bad bugs along with the good bugs. Probios replaces the good bugs.
b&langusfarms
Well-known member
Thank everyone very much for all the answers and help I will let you know how he does.....
3rdgeneration farmer
Well-known member
the knees do look a little big, but looks otherwise okay to me. Not too skinny. Just some FYI, this isnt a beef cow, its holstein
3rdgeneration farmer
Well-known member
The more i look at this pic, i suspect joint ill
Medic24
Well-known member
Well first off, Good Luck on your new calf....and yup... holstein alright.....keep in mind that dairies mosty beef growers consider these bulls of little value and are simply 'byproducts' of breeding and milking dairy cattle.
But, that being said, having raised many a bottle calf, I see nothing wrong with working with this one, even if he is a 'shed' animal.
First off, i know I am behind the times here, chiming in after the fact, but here goes.......... a very simple thing to check and the first thing you should do , is check for temps..........this is the most telling and simplest diagnostic test you can perform.......a fever or a subnormal temp tells you something is wrong...........a fever tells you that there is usually an infection of some sort going on, a subnormal temp tells you likely that there is either a metabalism issue, OR the calf is into a septic situation and is loosing ground, (although by that time they are down and moribound by that time, which is rather obvious by then)
Ok if it has a fever.............most calf bacterial ills are best and inexpensivelly treated with the various sulfa drugs...SMZ, Sustain etc.......... Nuflor, Batril are great newer generation drugs, but are rather pricey............the cyclines are about worthless when it comes to scours TREATMENT as well as joint ill. Sulfa drugs such as SMZ penetrate through certain membrains etc that other drugs cannot, the bones, the brain etc being some of them. Sulfa drugs do come with certain downsides, that are not too awlfull but too lenghtly to discuss here.
Of course illness from virus is best treated with supportive therapy and treatments to try and prevent 'piggyback' bacterias from invading the weakened system.
The most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with illness in calves especially is that they are so easily to die from toxemias and septocemias and require supportive therapy.
And when it comes to probious, it is a great supportive therapy as well. but save it for AFTER the finally oral treatment, so it can produce those good bateria in the gut as it should.
At some point we are faced with the facts that financially it may not be worth certain treaments and must allow things to either progress, treat more conservatively, or end treatment and the suffering of the inflicted animal.....or we can , as I am at time more controlled by our emotions and continue aggressive, expensive, and often futile treatments..........it's a personal choice that no one has a right to second guess.
Heck, if that were the case..........I would not have gotten so many 'Thank-you' and holiday cards from the children of my Vet, for whom I am helping put through school. :lol:
I admit to 'buying' one cow in particuliar many times over for all of the vet bills spent on her. Even if she has her portrait prominantly displayed in an art gallery. Good Luck! :cboy:
But, that being said, having raised many a bottle calf, I see nothing wrong with working with this one, even if he is a 'shed' animal.
First off, i know I am behind the times here, chiming in after the fact, but here goes.......... a very simple thing to check and the first thing you should do , is check for temps..........this is the most telling and simplest diagnostic test you can perform.......a fever or a subnormal temp tells you something is wrong...........a fever tells you that there is usually an infection of some sort going on, a subnormal temp tells you likely that there is either a metabalism issue, OR the calf is into a septic situation and is loosing ground, (although by that time they are down and moribound by that time, which is rather obvious by then)
Ok if it has a fever.............most calf bacterial ills are best and inexpensivelly treated with the various sulfa drugs...SMZ, Sustain etc.......... Nuflor, Batril are great newer generation drugs, but are rather pricey............the cyclines are about worthless when it comes to scours TREATMENT as well as joint ill. Sulfa drugs such as SMZ penetrate through certain membrains etc that other drugs cannot, the bones, the brain etc being some of them. Sulfa drugs do come with certain downsides, that are not too awlfull but too lenghtly to discuss here.
Of course illness from virus is best treated with supportive therapy and treatments to try and prevent 'piggyback' bacterias from invading the weakened system.
The most important thing to keep in mind when dealing with illness in calves especially is that they are so easily to die from toxemias and septocemias and require supportive therapy.
And when it comes to probious, it is a great supportive therapy as well. but save it for AFTER the finally oral treatment, so it can produce those good bateria in the gut as it should.
At some point we are faced with the facts that financially it may not be worth certain treaments and must allow things to either progress, treat more conservatively, or end treatment and the suffering of the inflicted animal.....or we can , as I am at time more controlled by our emotions and continue aggressive, expensive, and often futile treatments..........it's a personal choice that no one has a right to second guess.
Heck, if that were the case..........I would not have gotten so many 'Thank-you' and holiday cards from the children of my Vet, for whom I am helping put through school. :lol:
I admit to 'buying' one cow in particuliar many times over for all of the vet bills spent on her. Even if she has her portrait prominantly displayed in an art gallery. Good Luck! :cboy:
b&langusfarms
Well-known member
Well I wanted to give everyone an update on our baby.. You would think he was a pig rather than a calf the way he drinks his milk. He has grain and water down all the time but he doesnt drink much and eats a little grain and some hay also.(also down allthe time) We put a heat lamp out forhim at night since it is around the 30's and he sleeps right underneath it. We have started letting himout to explore a little also and he runs around and kicks his feet just like a real calf. He is on no meds of any kind right now.
Do have a question though... Vaccines and worming???? Now? Later? He would be aprox 6 weeks old now. :?:
Do have a question though... Vaccines and worming???? Now? Later? He would be aprox 6 weeks old now. :?:
b&langusfarms
Well-known member
I also have noticed his ears inside are very dirty and do cows get ear mites? :shock:
larryshoat
Well-known member
I believe there is never a bad time to vaccinate calves. Todays vaccines do an excellent job of stimulating the immune system. I firmly believe in vaccinating sick calves. If we try to wait for the calf to get better all too often we never find a time.Bovi-sheild 5 gold is one that I use a lot .The Vista vaccines are good too.b&langusfarms":34bxf5in said:
You can talk to your vet about this , more than likely he or she will tell you that I'm wrong , and it is just my opinion , but an opinion formed by treating sick calves.
Larry
larryshoat":2kx4lp1z said:
Vaccines stress (not stimulate) the immune system. Illness stresses the immune system. Vaccinating a sick animal means stressing an already stressed immune system. You want to push the calf over the edge?
While there are instances where it has been found to be successful to vaccinate a chronic animal, you will never find anyone with any training (vets) suggesting a sick, non-chronic, animal be vaccinated.
Your decisions are only as good as the information you base them on.
