Need advice on a Poor Steer

[oscar p]

A neighbor gave my son a limosine steer that is poor as a snake. He said he just started down hill and never stoped.He grazes good,nibbles at feed,drinks good.This is not a little calf,if he was fat he'd weigh 500lbs. His stool is a normal patty. I wormed him heavy,and gave him 2 shots of XnL. He dont have a fever,or a cold. My neighbor say's he's looking better.I see him every day so I can't tell.I 'm thinking of sticking a magnet down him,for hardware disease. What do you all think?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

The magnet won't hurt him, but i bet the worming will turn him around.

 

[Beefy]

what did you worm him with?

 

[oscar p]

Wormed him with Ivomec Plus.

 

[Beefy]

reason i asked was i had one that got like that was ~450-500. we wormed em all with ivomec pour with no improvement and after that became apparent then went back and wormed with ivomec plus injectable and he still didnt improve. in fact he went down about a week later. had a good appetite the whole time. i had to get him up for a week before he would get up on his own. thought maybe it just needed some time to work so kept watching him and feeding him real good. well several weeks i couldnt tell any improvement, he was still skin and bones so i slipped some valbazen in his feed and within a week i could tell a tremendous difference in him. i think he must have had tapeworms.

yours could be several things but if he doesnt get better you may try that or better yet get a vet to evaluate him.

 

[oscar p]

We have had him going on 3 weeks. I kept him by his self for two weeks, then put him in with 2 other steers on feed 24/7,and a bermuda hay field.I haven't seen him eat feed but one time and he just nibbled a little.He grazes along side the others,and stays with them.I just dont know about him.

 

[TheBullLady]

That seems odd.. that he's with two other steers, and you still only see him "nibbling" at his feed. Especially if he doesn't have a temp. I would assume since he's not eating aggressively, he doesn't feel good. Have you considered taking him to a vet?

If he had hardware, you'd probably see either diarreha, or signs of stomach distress.. like kicking at his belly. Maybe he has some type of blockage? I had a cow that had her unborn calf laying on part of her intestine... she had similar symptoms.

 

[oscar p]

His stool is normal, his nose is wet,but he looks like crap. I haven't considered a vet, because I dont spect he's worth the vet bill. I'm going to give him a shot of nuflor tomorrow evening,and go from there.

 

[SRBeef]

We have had him going on 3 weeks. I kept him by his self for two weeks, then put him in with 2 other steers on feed 24/7,and a bermuda hay field.I haven't seen him eat feed but one time and he just nibbled a little.He grazes along side the others,and stays with them.I just dont know about him.

I don't think I'd want himin with my other healthy cattle until I figured out what the problem is. He could be spreading it around to the rest of your herd by stools, etc. May not be worth the grief. Maybe just get him out of there or maybe the spreading is done...jmho.