I am new to cattle. I bought a 400lb steer and recently put him on new grass after coming from auction and hay for two days. Now he has the runs, not chewing cud at all, and his penis is big and belly is hanging low. what should be done? Is this bloat or an absess? He is still eating grass and walking. He did have his horns cut recently. I did feed him some corn and he was eating a lot of dirt/manure off barn floor. Now he is licking his mouth a lot.
not chewing cud/ manure runny/low bellied steer
- Thread starter ashcivic
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rockridgecattle
Well-known member
hi,
if it were still available i would recommend Dr. Bells. However, i guess the first thing would be some bloat ease and maybe some rumminex(sp?) boluses. That's a place to start.
T
if it were still available i would recommend Dr. Bells. However, i guess the first thing would be some bloat ease and maybe some rumminex(sp?) boluses. That's a place to start.
T
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Sounds like accidosis (licking dirt). Put him on just hay & water. You should give him some Probios to get the rumin working again. From all his stress (trucked, auction, trucked, dehorned, new feed, etc) the good bugs in his gut have been killed.
New cattle should ONLY get good quality grass hay & water to be safe for a few days.
Grain is fine after a few days of being HEALTHY, but only 1% of his body weight/day. So if he's 400#, he will be able to get 4# a day (2# in AM & 2# in PM). If you are wanting to feed more grain, wait 7 days of him cleaning up his feed than up it slowly every 7 days til he's getting 3% of his body weight.
Don't understant the "penis is big & belly is hanging low". There is a condition called water bellie, where their sheath gets fluid in it, but I'm not familiar with it.
New cattle should ONLY get good quality grass hay & water to be safe for a few days.
Grain is fine after a few days of being HEALTHY, but only 1% of his body weight/day. So if he's 400#, he will be able to get 4# a day (2# in AM & 2# in PM). If you are wanting to feed more grain, wait 7 days of him cleaning up his feed than up it slowly every 7 days til he's getting 3% of his body weight.
Don't understant the "penis is big & belly is hanging low". There is a condition called water bellie, where their sheath gets fluid in it, but I'm not familiar with it.
Ditto to what Jeanne said. Use a coarse, stemmy grass hay (but good quality - no mold!) and only feed him that and free choice water. If you can, give probiotics and a few ounces of baking soda (sodium bicarb) to stabilize the rumen pH and repopulate the intestinal bacteria. Even if the initial problem wasn't acidosis from grain overload, any diahreaa causes the rumen environment to become acidic, and should be treated the same as a grain overload.
thank you for the responses. I will try those things but I will have to find and buy them. Is baking soda something that can be used on its own? How much and does it go in the water? Is there anything I should put in their water? What other things do cows eat out of a garden? I read somewhere that they eat radishes. corn stalks, potatoes? Anything else that they ea and how manyt? Should I have some type of lick block for them? What is the purpose of that and what is it? Any remedy to keep the flies down? I see some really big flies that are yellow color from the manure. The cow has a tight net on his head around his cut horns and I should cut it off. I don't know how to trap him to cut the twine net off of his cut horns.
gertjie
Well-known member
ashcivic":krtcjud5 said:
I believe you are looking for Bicarbonate of Soda, and yes it can be used on its own. You can disolve it in a bit of water. You can find out from your local vet what the dosis is, as far as I know it is 100 grams of Bicarbonate of soda/ 200 kg.
gertjie
Well-known member
I believe you are looking for Bicarbonate of Soda, and yes it can be used on its own. You can disolve it in a bit of water. You can find out from your local vet what the dosis is, as far as I know it is 100 grams of Bicarbonate of soda/ 200 kg.[/quote]
Sorry! I believe you work in LBs. That would work out to 0.22lb for a calve of about 440lb. The dosis for a grown animal is 0.551lb.
Sorry! I believe you work in LBs. That would work out to 0.22lb for a calve of about 440lb. The dosis for a grown animal is 0.551lb.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Rule #1 - if you own an animal larger than you are capable of HOLDING - you need FACILITIES to restrain the animal. For your health and theirs. If you cannot control/contain the animal, and it is sick, they can/will die. It is your responsibility as an owner to provide health care, and that requires a way to control them.
Having said that, and since you don't have anything you can try the following:
If you have a secure pen, you can tie one end of a gate securely and crowd the calf by swinging it against him. You can have a hook on the wall, that you can attach a chain to (the chain needs to be securely attached to the back end of the gate.)
Why are you trying to feed him "out of a garden"? They love squash (after you break it open).
You should provide loose mineral "free choice" every day year round to cattle, but since this is probably a steer you plan on feeding out & harvesting, you can get by with a trace mineral salt block (the red one). I can't belive I just typed that - I NEVER recommend salt blocks! :shock:
Flies: If you are talking about the gold colored funny looking flying bugs that are on the fresh manure piles, they are harmless. If you are talking about flies on your steer, there are many products you can use to help keep the flies off him. Go to your local feed store or Central Tractor.
Someone else will have to advise on the "net" on his head. Don't know what you mean, unless the previous owner tied baling twine around the base of the horn?? Again, as I previously posted, you have to be able to control/contain him to remove it.
You may be able to get a rope halter on him & tie him to something VERY secure, that he can't get his legs broken.
Having said that, and since you don't have anything you can try the following:
If you have a secure pen, you can tie one end of a gate securely and crowd the calf by swinging it against him. You can have a hook on the wall, that you can attach a chain to (the chain needs to be securely attached to the back end of the gate.)
Why are you trying to feed him "out of a garden"? They love squash (after you break it open).
You should provide loose mineral "free choice" every day year round to cattle, but since this is probably a steer you plan on feeding out & harvesting, you can get by with a trace mineral salt block (the red one). I can't belive I just typed that - I NEVER recommend salt blocks! :shock:
Flies: If you are talking about the gold colored funny looking flying bugs that are on the fresh manure piles, they are harmless. If you are talking about flies on your steer, there are many products you can use to help keep the flies off him. Go to your local feed store or Central Tractor.
Someone else will have to advise on the "net" on his head. Don't know what you mean, unless the previous owner tied baling twine around the base of the horn?? Again, as I previously posted, you have to be able to control/contain him to remove it.
You may be able to get a rope halter on him & tie him to something VERY secure, that he can't get his legs broken.
Baking soda... (aka sodium bicarbonate) when you give it as treatment, it ought to be put in capsules and put down his throat like pills, or else put in a quart or two of water and drench him (give orally). For preventative measures - ie when feeding large amounts of grain - it can be sprinkled on the grain.
For treatment purposes, at least 3-4oz for a mature animal, repeated in several hours, esp if there's no improvement. An ounce or two for your steer should be adequate, possibly repeated in 12 hours. You ought to also give probiotics after giving the bicarb. An acidic rumen environment kills good bacteria so the pH needs to return to normal before it's really beneficial to give probiotics.
For treatment purposes, at least 3-4oz for a mature animal, repeated in several hours, esp if there's no improvement. An ounce or two for your steer should be adequate, possibly repeated in 12 hours. You ought to also give probiotics after giving the bicarb. An acidic rumen environment kills good bacteria so the pH needs to return to normal before it's really beneficial to give probiotics.
One reply said that they never recommend salt blocks. why is that? I was told to buy a red salt block and did so. One of my heifers licked it a lot and then died the next day. She began having very bad breathing and stopped eating. I tried giving her an antibiotic shot but she died very soon after the shot and her breathing was loud. Could this be a respiratory illness? I am new with cattle so I do not always know the warning signs in time. Should I take the salt block away from the others? Could the salt block contribute to illness? Is it ok to feed cattle whole corn kernals or is it best to give them cracked corn grain?
millstreaminn
Well-known member
I'm pretty sure your heifer didn't die from licking salt. Probably some other cause there. It is okay to feed whole corn to cows. Cracked corn is easier to digest but whole is better than nothing.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Actually, whole corn is healthier than fine ground corn, and is just as easy to digest & utilize. You will see whole corn in the fecal matter, but all the "good" has been digested out of it. Cracked corn goes thru the system & comes out with the manure also, you just don't see it.millstreaminn":3524mvt1 said:
"They" used to say that cracked corn was 8% more efficient, so if it cost more than 8% to have it cracked, it wasn't worth it. But now, the latest "research" said that whole, cracked, flaked or rolled corn was just as efficient. Hard to believe that steamed flaked corn isn't better utilized (it looks soooo good!)
The reason you were told that salt blocks weren't good, is simply because the cattle CANNOT get enough minerals out of a trace mineral salt block. They can lick all day & not get enough, therefore you need to be feeding "loose" mineral free-choice year-round.
You need to watch your cattle & determine what a normal breathing pattern is so that when they have respiratory problems, you can tell if they are breathing different.
They are like people, they will get runny nose, run a fever (ears are usually lower if they have a fever & look "depressed")
If they are weazing, yes that's usually some kind of respiratory problem. If they are off feed, yes they are probably sick.
Thank you for your reply. Should I sprinkle baking soda on top of the whole corn? Is baking soda necessary to help digest? How much whole corn is too much per day? I have a 600 lb holstein that loves the corn and I don't want want him to get sick from eating too much. Should I put baking soda in their drinking water troth? How is the mineral trace bags fed to the cows? just in a big bowl and let them eat as much as they want? What happens if they do not get enough minerals?
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
As I said above, you START feeding any calf with 1% of his/her body weight & SLOWLY work up to 3% of their body weight. So if you have a 600# animal, they can safely eat 18# a day of grain (best 1/2 in AM & 1/2 in PM). Don't just dump that much to him right away if he hasn't been getting that much. You must increase SLOWLY.
