Older calf and diarrhea...help

[BAR_R]

We have a cow calf pair that we were trying to give some extra feed to and now the calf has bad diarrhea. Cow has no issues. We brought the pair in from the pasture and put them in the barn. They have free access to pleanty of water. There is also quite a bit of good alfalfa mix hay in the pen. The calf is 5 months old and was doing great before. He still has a real good appetite and drinks water. His ears are up and he seems to have a good vitality. After 3 days we gave him some penecillin to try to help. There has not been a change. Now today he does have some mucus in his nose.

Now we are stumped...any suggestions?

 

[larryshoat]

What kind of extra feed, how much of an increase, how fast did you increase it ? My guess is, just from your post is that the calf got too much of the extra feed .

Larry

 

[BAR_R]

They were on alfalfa and clover pasture. Now the calf is getting about 3-5 pounds of a corn, oats, cotton seed pellet, grain mix. Cow is getting about 10-15 pounds of the same mix.

 

[Keren]

Check the grain you are feeding the cow, to see if it has urea in it.

The calf might be eating the feed itself and the urea is directly causing it to scour, or else the urea is coming through the milk and making the calf scour.

Or it could just be that the calf has stuffed itself and is taking a while to get used to the feed.

Good luck

 

[larryshoat]

Are you sure the calf didn't somehow get into the 10-15 lbs that belonged to the cow ?

Larry

 

[milkmaid]

What color is the calf's manure?

Could be something like acidosis from getting into the cow's grain, or a bad case of coccidiosis, or just the runs from a change in diet. How long as this been going on?

 

[Susie David]

First of all...the condition of the stool needs to be defined here, clear or lightly tinted, foul smelling, off color, forms a patty on the ground, any sign of blood, mucus, alot of factors that all could be normal or could be a indicator to take quick action.
Change of feed can cause calf squirts....green pasture squirts, excess feed.
DMc

 

[BAR_R]

More of a milk chocolate and it does have that odor of bad gas. Kind of a sick sweet smell. It seems to be thicker than yesterday but still very runny. No blood in any movements we have witnessed. We moved him and his mother outside to a paddock of their own this morning. They will be back on the same kind alfalfa/OG pasture that they came off. This will be the third day and he does not seem to be looking any worse. He walked right out on the halter when we were moving him. I am just hoping the little pig ate too much (or the dumb farmer fed too much.)

I called the vet because I needed to restock my NuFlor and they said he might need a shot of that or Baytril. We are going to go home at lunch and check on him.

 

[milkmaid]

Sounds like acidosis. Usually caused by grain overload and results in grayish manure with a very sickly sweet smell. If you encounter it once you know it instantly the next time. If it's been 3 days and he's still alive and walking he'll probably pull through this fine. If you wish to hasten the process, give him 1-2 ounces of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and probiotics. No need for any antibiotics; don't waste your money.

 

[TexasBred]

BAr_R...why did you think the cow and calf needed extra feed? If they were doing well with the grazing I'd just return to square one. :nod:

 

[BAR_R]

the shots were for the snotty nose he had. We put them back out in field and he is a new little man. We will bring them back in the barn tomorrow and start them on beet pulp and alfalfa hay. Work them both up like you should to a larger grain ration.

As for our intention we are going to show them as a cow/calf pair at the Iowa State Fair. She is a really good cow and has done such a good job with this calf. She is halter broke and easy to work with. We wanted to put a little bloom on them before the show. One more class for the kids to show in.