Losing Calves

[lastchanceranch]

I am hoping some can help us here. Over the last month or so we have lost three calves. We have a fourth one that is not looking so good. They have all had the following symptoms. They become weak in the hind quarters, droopy ears, slugish, but still have a healthy appetite. This all happens a day or so before they die. We appreciate any and all feed back we can get on this.

 

[larryshoat]

Calves on cows or bottle fed ? What age calf ?

Larry

 

[rockridgecattle]

If you have that many dropping dead in so little time my first suggestion would be call a vet...after the second one and get a post done so you know what you are dealing with and what the treatment method is. You can give us all the info in the world, but tests, vet visit will provide the best answers for you and your herd.
This is affecting your bottom line so call the vet!

 

[grannysoo]

Call the vet!

 

[lastchanceranch]

They are spring calves. They were pulled off the cows in late Sept.

 

[hillsdown]

First thought is pneumoina,,where is your ;location as it is important that we know what climate you are in..

Were the calves vaccinated and if yes with what?

Next calf as soon as it starts to show symptoms , I would hit it with Nuflor, why Nuflor and not exceed or draxxin ????Because it is a broad spectrum antibiotic not just for pneumonia so it will attack everything.

BUT, call your vet, losing them at this age is very very expensive...you are going to have to talk to one anyways to get the good meds anyways..

 

[lastchanceranch]

After reading more and talking with others I think we have WMD. As for going to the vet any of you that have been in a partnership will understand that both parties need to agree in order for anything to happen. The calves are located at another farm and managed under our partner. Trust me I know this affecting our bottom line - both my husband and I work out to support our hobby/love of cattle. I know that it is not pneumoina. We are also in a selenium defecient area in Wisconsin. We typically do not vaccinate our cattle for things. But we are not against it either.

 

[tom4018]

I would for sure call the vet and have one posted, it is the only sure way to tell what is causing the problem. All we can do here is guess. Vaccinations are insurance, one dead calf pays for a lot of vaccines. We paid that tuition before ourselves.

 

[hillsdown]

After reading more and talking with others I think we have WMD. As for going to the vet any of you that have been in a partnership will understand that both parties need to agree in order for anything to happen. The calves are located at another farm and managed under our partner. Trust me I know this affecting our bottom line - both my husband and I work out to support our hobby/love of cattle. I know that it is not pneumoina. We are also in a selenium defecient area in central Wisconsin. We typically do not vaccinate our cattle for things. But we are not against it either.

Read this:
http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:_pl ... cd=2&gl=ca

If it is white muscle someone has missed the boat because at that age there are definitive symptoms..

Put some %^^%# minerals out for your animals ....Get them all rounded up and give them a shot of selenium (while your at it vaccinate, as diseases like black leg are not picky in whom they kill)...or wait until your whole herd is dead and your partnership problems will be resolved as there will be no cattle left...BTW over dosage of selenium has almost the same symptoms as under dosage..

Get your vet out asap even if you have to foot the bill yourself ,and then get a better partner ,,,one who perhaps cares about the cattle.

Good luck, and I really mean that ...Get your vet involved NOW....

 

[lastchanceranch]

Thank you for all of your help. As for a little clarification all of our cattle have free choice mineral while they are on our property. The calves have only been with out since we moved them in late Sept. I appreciate the link and will dive into it shortly. I may be wrong and WMD can't take affect that fast. We are going to talk with the vet and see what we can come up with. Thanks again to everyone who responded. If you havn't guessed it already we are still rookies in the beef business. Thanks again and have a great day!

 

[hillsdown]

I hope everything works out for you ,,, Happy Thanksgiving.. :tiphat:

 

[larryshoat]

Check for temp with a good thermometer . Let us know what you find .

Larry

 

[lastchanceranch]

Sorry for the delay in my findings. I was correct and it was WMD. Turns out it has been a real problem in our area. The vet said that we were doing everything right in regards to the feed but we just need to start giving all our calves a shot of MoSe(sp) He said that he has been tourning a lot of farms lately with all the same problem. This year has been the worse case he has ever seen. Thank you again to all of those that offered words of advice. Take care and have a very Merry Christmas.