Help... possible dehydration... might loose one

Help Support CattleToday:

Irishred

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Messages
79
Reaction score
0
Location
East TN
hi all,

6 holstein baby bulls (see beginners board) and we may be loosing one. They all got scours of varying degrees as somewhat expected. Have been given meds for it but one of them is not looking real good and was given another dose this AM. He is the smallest of the bunch. Sunday, in a small town with little access to things to get. Cannot get calf electrolytes and pedialyte is like 5 times as much as you would expect. Could I get Power/Gator Ade and give him a few ounces every hour or so? Would that help at all, possibly give the meds time to kick in?

Thank you
 
Irishred":3l5627g4 said:
hi all,

6 holstein baby bulls (see beginners board) and we may be loosing one. They all got scours of varying degrees as somewhat expected. Have been given meds for it but one of them is not looking real good and was given another dose this AM. He is the smallest of the bunch. Sunday, in a small town with little access to things to get. Cannot get calf electrolytes and pedialyte is like 5 times as much as you would expect. Could I get Power/Gator Ade and give him a few ounces every hour or so? Would that help at all, possibly give the meds time to kick in?

Thank you
you can buy the scour meds to give them for both probs.if you have eggs put 2 eggs in ea calves bottle of milk at ea feeding.that might help till you get meds.pen the calves alone to keep from speading the scours.
 
Thank you bigbull,

They have all been given meds for scours. The one I am worried about was given more meds this AM. The others seem to be clearing up.

I was wondering about an alternative to electrolytes that I can get on a holiday weekend now where near a large town. I can get gatorade, would that help? I'd prefer not to loose one.

It is quite warm out but they are in good shade with a breeze off the river. Yesterday, we made them a new pen with a little wire fence so they have good ventalation but they are all together.

Thank you again.
 
Gatorade will work, even mixed half and half with water, but he needs more than a few ounces . Give him 1 quart every hour until you have a gallon in him, then see how he acts . He needs IV fluids, but this weekend will be tough to get help . Is he refusing his milk at feeding time ? How old are they ? Are you feeding an all milk replacer ? What medicine are you using .

The other calves should be given 2 quarts fluid between meals .

Larry
 
now you could loose thar calf but i cant say for sure.personally ive never had success treating bad scours.if they are bad i usually loose them.gatorade might help.but personally i dont think its good for scours.
 
I'll bet Gatorade would work pretty well. Your point is simply to get electrolytes into the calf, and I don't see any reason Gatorade couldn't do that. I remember hearing once about someone "treating" parvo (also causes dehydration) in puppies with Gatorade. Can't see as it'd hurt to try, but as Larry said you'll need to put a lot of fluids into him.
 
Tea works better than most commercial electrolites, make it strong, add a little salt and sugar (just for taste an not too much as it also have a mildly laxative effect), bottle feed if he'll suck, if not tube him. Ideally it must be the SA Rooibos tea (redbush tea) if not normal English tea will do.

Lots of smaller feedings is better than one big one, the tannins in tea will help settle the digestive tract
 
Found the recipe:

For any of you who find yourselves in a bind for electrolytes in the future, here's the recipe:

One 2 ounce pkg. jam & jelly pectin

Two level teaspoons low sodium table salt

Two level teaspoons baking soda

One 10.5 ounce can beef consomme

Mix with enough water to equal 2 quarts of electrolyte mixture. BTW - the reason for the low sodium salt is that it has a better mixture of potassium and sodium, which is better for the calf.
 
or you can cal your vet, they usually have a pretty good supply and are usually good about after hours emergency.
If you are going to bottle feed baby calves you should always keep a good supply of things on hand for the just in case. A lesson we probably all have learned a time or two or more
 
KNERSIE":2xtp5aae said:
Tea works better than most commercial electrolites, make it strong, add a little salt and sugar (just for taste an not too much as it also have a mildly laxative effect), bottle feed if he'll suck, if not tube him. Ideally it must be the SA Rooibos tea (redbush tea) if not normal English tea will do.

Lots of smaller feedings is better than one big one, the tannins in tea will help settle the digestive tract

That is very interesting, I had never heard of that before but can see how it would work.

Gatorade will work as well, keep him hydrated the meds aren't going to do anything for the scours they have to run their course.
Do you have a vet around that you have a good working relationship with because they will have electrolytes at the clinic, also to you have an esophageal feeder because you will most likely need it.

But as Larry said he needs a least a litre of fluids every couple of hours to replenish his fluid loss from the scours, if he is not absorbing the fluids then he needs an IV and if you don't have the materials on hand you will lose him without a vet around.

Don't use an egg ,animal protein ....not allowed for ruminants.
 
That is very interesting, I had never heard of that before but can see how it would work.

From experience it does work extremely well and calves will usually drink it much more readily than some commercial electrolytes.

On the egg issue, oldtimers believed that you should whisk an egg into the milk or milk replacer if a calf didn't get sufficient colostrum, I can't see any benefit in doing so and the risk of e-coli is significant
 
a dairymen that i know told me about the egg in the milk at both feedings.an they milked cows for over 40yrs.an had their calf raising prgram so prefected that they only lost 1 or 2 calves a year.an theyed raise over 100 heifer calves a year.ive even got their homemade scour treatment reciepe here somewhere.an its been posted here 2 or 3 times
 
I know it was used Bigbull, but now with the feed bans it is illegal to feed animal protein to cattle ,they are to get milk from the cow and the proteins are to come from grains and hay etc. anything that does not contain animal protein.

We all have to change to new ways because what was given to them long ago is no longer appropriate, and that is that no ifs ands or buts. It is a fact of life now if we want to be producers in the time of BSE, and until they find the exact cause of it the feed bans will have to be followed.
 
Thank you all,

He is taking the milk and it is a good replacer. With the evening cooling and liquids, he looks to be a little perkier.

I will try to keep you updated.
 
Thank you Chippie. What is Spectum? a med from the doctors?

Well, I went out for the evening feed and he was real down. Couldn't stand. I fed the others and he would not eat. I moved him back to the haybale pen and he did take a pint of gatorade/water (50/50). The others are all doing much better: perky, eating and one really wanting to play. We will see how he does over the night. Thank you all.
 
Lost him last night. Had gotten several pints of gatorade water into him, but each time I went out he was further down. I guess my efforts were to late. Not knowing the early signs I guess make a difference. The other 5 boys are doing great. all up and very hungry. Still pooing on the thin side but better. Will be watching closely. Owner is just taking it as a loss, "1 out of 6 isn't bad". Still hate to loose one. This is all a learning experience for me. The next one that gets slow will get something sooner if I can.

Thank you all for your help.
 
If the others still have the runs, take a stool sample to your vet to check it for cocciodosis. As long as you have had them, their stools should be getting normal.

I'm sorry that he died.
 
If I remember right, these calves are what, 1, 2 weeks old? Not going to see coccidiosis in a calf that young.

Sorry to hear you lost him, Irishred.
 

Latest posts

Top