Normal stomach lining? pics

[regolith]

I know the vet said call asap for a post mortem if I lost another to bloat... this is my youngest calf, it's the weekend and I've already buried her. 6 1/2 months old, saw her sitting by the fence yesterday afternoon when the other three were charging around nearby. Didn't go to check. This morning, same place, feet up.
I've never seen her or any of the other three calves in the group with bloat.

the other three calves this morning

She wasn't scouring - obviously if what was in her gut passed through she would have been. All the ones in the main group (26 calves, older than these four) look a touch wormy & are just about due another drench now, six weeks since I drenched them.

 

[dun]

Out of curiosity, what did the liver look like? any spots or lesions?

 

[regolith]

I didn't pull out the liver... should have done, we're right in the middle of FE season and this group of calves haven't been treated at all for FE. Spore counts that cause Facial Eczema (liver damage) haven't risen in this area this year.
Just thinking I've been really stupid because I took my cell phone and the vet's number to the paddock to use if I saw anything abnormal, and I know the last 'bloat' death I cut open had no sign of scours, and none of that dark veining. Everything seemed to be changing colour even in the few minutes I spent on her. There was froth trapped in the rumen also.

 

[wbvs58]

There is often not a lot to see with bloat Reg. One of the most significant findings is often a very pale liver as the blood is squeezed out of it.
Ken

 

[regolith]

Interesting. My cow 16 everything was very pale inside... not like this calf. I thought normal when I cut this one open and then it seemed like everything I moved got darker and more purple. If those photos don't set any alarm bells off I guess that's pretty normal?
What other things might cause sudden death? Obviously she must have been sick when I saw her yesterday or she would have been running around with the other calves. Just no rhyme or reason to the bloat, saw one about a week ago 24 hours after they were on the new break, just one calf, have been checking them after every move since and never seen a sign of it again... haven't seen any signs in the adult cows for several weeks now. These four calves weren't getting regular shifts, they went backwards at weaning and I just keep them on a paddock of long grass and move them before the cows are due to graze it, they'd been in that paddock for about two weeks.

 

[dun]

The reason I asked about the liver goes back to when we had an epidemic of bloat until we discovered the problem. Every one that bloated that died had a badly damaged liver. One that had bloated several times that we ended up saving and finally butchering a year later had the same thing. If the liver was damaged before we got them or it happened during their stay was never determined although some only started having issues after several months while others were bloating. In our case it turned out to be arsenic poisoning. We were about 30 miles south of a dry lake. Anytime there was a wind from the north the dust would blow down and coat everything (and thicken the air) with dust. There was a lot of arsenic in the dust from the dry lake. Some animals never had an issue and others would bloat everytime the wind blew. Being a bit slow witted it only took a year and over a dozen dead animals before we figured it out.

 

[regolith]

The herd has liver damage; I do know that. Of the eight culls I sent in January 3 of them were listed on the killsheet as having cirrhosis. I suspect I've already culled the worst of them (because some cows that used to be good haven't been performing well this year and a lot of those have gone). Most if not all the farms they were leased to last year did not adequately protect them against FE.
However, of the four animals I've lost to bloat two of them shouldn't have had any FE damage at all... doesn't rule out damaged liver from other causes. This calf, and a 2 yr old who was with a grazier last year who keeps tight control of the FE risk.

That's an awful story about the arsenic - sometimes you're 'lucky' and it's the first cow on the cull list you find lying dead, next time it might be the best one. My vet hasn't got any bright ideas on this situation.
Still trying to deal with all the challenges in bits and pieces, like there's no possibility of seeing the whole picture and finding a common cause for the health problems this year. I was counting up and I have lost an incredible number of calves this year, the only deaths of keeper calves I've seen since 2005. One maybe blocked guts, one clostridia, one I suspected BVD PI (didn't grow) and now this one, out of 49 calves tagged.