Joint Ill

[nagwag]

I have a 3 week old calf that got joint ill through its umbilical cord that didn't dry up with the wet spring we had. I had the vet out & the calf was septic. He gave the calf a 50/50 chance to make it. I have hit the calf with NUFLOR / EXCEED / Penicilin. He is nursing & bright eyed - just still still. Am I fighting a losing battle here or will the stiffness eventually go away? Thanks.

 

[A.J.]

It could go either way, but there's definitely a chance the calf can come out of it. If he's bright eyed and nursing, that is a positive sign. I had one with it a couple years back, and he eventually came out of it after several weeks of working with him. My vet had me give him regular doses of excede and banamine during that time. The swelling went down and He got around fine with the rest of them when I sold him at weaning. If one was kept as a replacement there might be issues of joints breaking down sooner and arthritis I would think.

 

[Son of Butch]

Have never had much luck with joint ill, even if they come out of it, always seem to lag.
When checking newborns bringing along a dip cup of iodine (the type used on dairies) works best.

 

[JMJ Farms]

I've got one right now. Hit him hard with Nuflor and Penicillin for days. Still nursing but moving slow and I just don't think it's gonna end well for me.

 

[Coosh71]

JMJ, sorry to hear that. I think your doing all you can do. Never an easy thing to lose a calf after birth. Good luck.

 

[MRRherefords]

You are doing everything you can do. We had one get the same thing and she always nursed well, but was always way behind everyone else both in growth and intelligence (such as finding creep feeder, etc.) We ended up weaning her off and getting her to 500# where she just sort of stopped growth and then took her for meat. So the goal becomes trying to get something, anything out of it, as it probably will always be slow.

 

[Lucky_P]

Some will pull through and make it to market weight. Some won't.

Just an FYI...Nuflor and similar bacteriostatic drugs render Excede/penicillin and similar bacteriocidal beta-lactam antimicrobials ineffective. They work at cross-purposes. Give one or the other, but not both classes at the same time

There are very few conditions in cattle which I'd even consider using penicillin, anymore...we don't even keep any on hand, and haven't for many years.

 

[nagwag]

Update on my calf. He is doing much better. I had to hit him hard with penicillin a second time but he is out with the herd walking without a limp. Sometimes things do work out. :nod:

 

[Double R Ranch]

We've taken on a few cases of joint ill over the years. Most didn't end well but we had gotten them after having not being treated for it quickly and was mostly lost causes at that point. We personally haven't had any of our own stock get it.
I had a holstein graft calf that ended up with joint ill last year starting via a metal ear tag that got infected. She had the tag when she came from the dairy we got her from. Didn't take it out and it soon got infected. Got the tag out and treated the ear but it spread to her joints. Vet gave her a 50/50 chance at best. Vet recommended euthanasia due to cost reasons and likelihood of not surviving anyways. We treated her hard for over a month and drained her knees multiple times. She perked up and was out on pasture but the swelling was persistent. As long as she was willing to fight we were as well. Treated her for about 6 months totals although treatments became less frequent as the months past and she one day just cleared up completely and has been fine since. Even the vet was surprised. She was supposed to be a future nurse cow but she's to high maintenance feed wise at this point and due to the lack of pampering she's not cycling consistently so we've decided to ship her. Add on the possible future arthritis from the joint ill we feel its the best thing at this point.
Just goes to show you never know how it will turn out.
Thank you for the update Nagwag. That's great news! Keep us posted!