So I'd posted this the other day and it evidently got lost along with the rest of the May posts. Ah well. Anyway, here's the story again.
I was given a free calf Friday morning, she was approximately 48 hours old and had been hiplocked for an extended period of time during birth, and afterwards could not stand. Front end worked fine, back end did not. She also had extensive swelling from spine to hock on her right hind leg. I gave her dexamethasone, banamine, antibiotic, vitamin B complex, multimin... she got everything I could think of.
She was fine until Saturday afternoon; she was in the backyard under a tree and I'd been picking her up and making her stand everytime I walked past. Picked her up once, had her standing okay and putting a bit of weight on the left hind (remember the right hind was swollen and she wasn't using it), put her back down under the tree, went inside to check email and when I came back out ~30 minutes later she was dead as a doornail. :???:
So I cut her open and had a look. Small spots on the lower lobes of one lung, little bit of hemorrhage on the exterior of the pulmonary artery, otherwise fine. Cut open the leg, tons of subcutaneous fluid from spine to hock and extensive, extreme deep bruising (dark purple muscle tissue) around the hip joint and the bruising went down to the bone -- like what you'd see in a deer hit by a car. So I'm thinking perhaps there was a blood clot that came loose and caused a heart attack or stroke? Any other ideas?
The rest of my questions -- anyone ever seen a calf paralyzed following birth and did they recover (ie would this heifer have had a chance or was she a hopeless cause)? Anyone ever seen a calf with that much swelling and soft tissue damage from birth (and what part of birth could possibly cause that? and why just one leg and not the other?), or was it likely caused by something else (being stepped on)? Any other thoughts on the situation or possibilities for death?
Thanks-
I was given a free calf Friday morning, she was approximately 48 hours old and had been hiplocked for an extended period of time during birth, and afterwards could not stand. Front end worked fine, back end did not. She also had extensive swelling from spine to hock on her right hind leg. I gave her dexamethasone, banamine, antibiotic, vitamin B complex, multimin... she got everything I could think of.
She was fine until Saturday afternoon; she was in the backyard under a tree and I'd been picking her up and making her stand everytime I walked past. Picked her up once, had her standing okay and putting a bit of weight on the left hind (remember the right hind was swollen and she wasn't using it), put her back down under the tree, went inside to check email and when I came back out ~30 minutes later she was dead as a doornail. :???:
So I cut her open and had a look. Small spots on the lower lobes of one lung, little bit of hemorrhage on the exterior of the pulmonary artery, otherwise fine. Cut open the leg, tons of subcutaneous fluid from spine to hock and extensive, extreme deep bruising (dark purple muscle tissue) around the hip joint and the bruising went down to the bone -- like what you'd see in a deer hit by a car. So I'm thinking perhaps there was a blood clot that came loose and caused a heart attack or stroke? Any other ideas?
The rest of my questions -- anyone ever seen a calf paralyzed following birth and did they recover (ie would this heifer have had a chance or was she a hopeless cause)? Anyone ever seen a calf with that much swelling and soft tissue damage from birth (and what part of birth could possibly cause that? and why just one leg and not the other?), or was it likely caused by something else (being stepped on)? Any other thoughts on the situation or possibilities for death?
Thanks-