lone calf?????

[circleKranch]

I have been noticing for the past couple of weeks on my trips out to the pasture, in the evening that I have a bull calf thats always off by himself. Generally a good 200-300 yards from the rest of the herd. What could be the issue???

I have been told it could be deaf or blind. It doesnt have much weight. Any advice??

Every once in a while he find his way back to the herd.

 

[msscamp]

I would be more inclined to think his mother has rejected him, and the lack of weight appears to bear this out.

 

[rockridgecattle]

could also have pnemonia and with that a hard time keeping up with the herd.

 

[msscamp]

could also have pnemonia and with that a hard time keeping up with the herd.

Pneumonia in August?

 

[dun]

could also have pnemonia and with that a hard time keeping up with the herd.

Pneumonia in August?

Yes, in AUgust. More common then you would think. Also harder to detect and treat because people don;t look for it or usually consider it so the problem can get out of hand.

 

[Chris H]

could also have pnemonia and with that a hard time keeping up with the herd.

Pneumonia in August?

Yes, in AUgust. More common then you would think. Also harder to detect and treat because people don;t look for it or usually consider it so the problem can get out of hand.

Yes, worse for us in the summer than the winter. We can prevent winter pneumonia by keeping the calves dry and out of the wind. Can't do anything for extreme heat, dust, and high humidity which cause pneumonia in the summer.

 

[MistyMorning]

How old is he?

 

[mnmtranching]

Hard to say without seeing the calf. But almost certainly is sick or injured. If he were blind, it would have been obvious to you long ago.

 

[rockridgecattle]

msscamp, depends on how long the calf has been observed "out of sorts", enviromental factors, and vaccination protocols. Now would be about time the passive immunity from the dam is non existent, and the antibodies in the system would be gone, if he was a spring calf.
You know the theory on half life passive immunity from the dam to the calf? That is what i am talking about.
for those that don't...
first month calf is protected once the antibodies are built in from the colostrum...reason adequate colostrum is necessary
the next month...the immunity is decreased by half the folllowing month the immunity is decreased by half again and so on untill no passive immunity is left...reason important for vacciantions to be done before passive is gone.

but the head down, unable to keep up...just a possibility.

 

[Holmesfarm]

We have the same thing going on also. the bull calf seams fine hearing ok a little small. mother seems to tell him to stay there and goes off with the herd. sometimes all day. Its week five now and he`s with the herd a more and more still doesn`t have the sponk the other calfs have had. I should add that he was born the smallest calf we have ever had and the cows are on the move grazing.

 

[circleKranch]

I think he is around 7 months old. I have only been involved with them for about a month, so I am still getting used to them. I am going to try and get him in the pen and get him ina chute so the doc can check him out. I thought about seperating him myself and putting him on some hay and feed to try and get some weight on him. We have been fortunate here in PA to have some rain for the past few weeks, so things are nice and green.

Hence, I am new to this business, any advice to this?

 

[MistyMorning]

There are some really knowledgable folks on this forum hope they weigh in on this for you. I am new too, but from what your telling us he is 7 months old and thin. Now I have a steer around that age and since he has been weaned, he tends to wander more away from the girls. Have an older steer who does the same.

That being said don't discount something wrong with him. You probably should get him checked out if he is so thin.

Hope this helps, have a great evening

 

[rockridgecattle]

circleKranch,
what are your vaccination protocols? did this calf get enough colostrum at birth? was the mother pre breeding vacinated with an FP protected vaccine? Is the mother a first time calver or an older cow? I ask this because a first timer has limited antibodies compared to an older cow in her colostrum.
Were you able to drop the calf and get a temperature on him? If you didn't and want to do it, in the rump, have a protector because the herd will respond to his beller... oh wait 7 months old he'll take you for a ride...wait for the chute :lol2:

glad to hear you are going to get a vet out Good luck

 

[I luv herfrds]

Had a steer born in '05 that was blind in one eye. Knew the yard wouldn't take so kept him for our own meat. He got punched this spring in the other eye. Stood by the fence turning in circles. Couldn't get him in at all. The group he was with went back out and got him and brought him into water.
If he is about 7 months old there is an off chance mom weaned him. Do you know which cow is his mother? If you do check her bag and see if it still has milk in it or if it is completely flat. The cow could be running him out of the herd. Some cows are like that. Get rid of any bad mothers.
Since you are saying you are new to this here are a couple of tips.
Get a cow book. You can find them at some feed stores normally in the early part of the year just before calving.
Have all of your cows tagged. Enter their numbers in the book and write any notes on that animal. Bad mother, good mother, ship etc.
We tag our calves after the first sucking and they are flat out asleep. Tags are your choice. We use the Ritchey engravable ear tags. We also start the numbering by using the last number of the year, example this year was 701, 702 and so on. we also tag heifers in the right ear and bulls in the left. Easier to know what you are looking at in the pasture. Since the bangs tag goes in the right ear might want to do heifers in the left ear.

Raising cattle is a learning experience. There are alot of people on this site who you can pick their brains
I won't say it. ;-)

 

[Beefy]

The calf probably could be or has been sickly. but it sounds more like to me he is just secluding himself from the herd, trying to get more to eat without the competition. This is what bull calves instinctively will do when they are weaned. Ideally it would be good to know the calfs history> who his mamma is, is she still on the farm (maybe she was sold and he was orphaned) or maybe his mom is laying in a ditch dead somewhere? if she is still there and alive is she still milking? is she a very young cow or a very old cow or maybe she is just mastitis ridden? did she wean the calf b/c she couldnt support the two of them, or because she wanted to, or what? is the calf deteriorating to the point of near death and wandering off to die? is it just malnourished from lack of milk and a little stunted? maybe he is just a loner? my money is on he figured out there is more to eat where there are less cows. i would probably get him up and deworm him and put him somewhere with more grass and less competition (with an easy going buddy).

 

[msscamp]

could also have pnemonia and with that a hard time keeping up with the herd.

Pneumonia in August?

Yes, in AUgust. More common then you would think. Also harder to detect and treat because people don;t look for it or usually consider it so the problem can get out of hand.

I learn something new everyday - thanks dun!

 

[msscamp]

msscamp, depends on how long the calf has been observed "out of sorts", enviromental factors, and vaccination protocols. Now would be about time the passive immunity from the dam is non existent, and the antibodies in the system would be gone, if he was a spring calf.
You know the theory on half life passive immunity from the dam to the calf? That is what i am talking about.
for those that don't...
first month calf is protected once the antibodies are built in from the colostrum...reason adequate colostrum is necessary
the next month...the immunity is decreased by half the folllowing month the immunity is decreased by half again and so on untill no passive immunity is left...reason important for vacciantions to be done before passive is gone.

but the head down, unable to keep up...just a possibility.

My apologies, rockridge, I stand corrected on the possibility of pneumonia in August.

 

[rockridgecattle]

no apologies needed. but thanks

 

[Coweena]

Thats what I thought too.....Pneumonia in August??? But guess what, cows arent the only things that can get it in Aug. Had a summer cold that wouldnt go away.Kept feelin worse and worse till I finally broke down and went to the Dr. ........Pneumonia. Craziest thing I ever heard of , I thought it was just a winter thing. Nice big shot and three weeks of anti.s cleared it right up.Never had pnuemonia in my life till this summer.

 

[msscamp]

no apologies needed. but thanks