Persistant Pneumonia...need suggestions

[Luv4whippets]

My friend picked up a 400# Holstein steer from an auction after nobody bid on him. I have a place in the barn to quarantine so I offered to care for him a couple of weeks until he was better. Well, we are probably on week 6 now. (I've lost count) When she brought him over his temp was 105.3, white as a sheet, very labored breathing, drooling, and very wet cough. I started him on Nuflor before we even unloaded him. Banamine IV to bring down fever. That was round 1. About 3-5 days after the last injection of Nuflor, he started coughing again. Round 2. After round 2 we were good for about 1 wk. Then he spiked a fever again, wet cough, drooling copiously.. I gave some Banamine and had the vet out. He started us on round 3, this time Naxcell. Again there was some improvement but the Naxcell gave the steer diarrhea. I started Probios and it helped very much. After a couple more days, more WET coughing and we began round 4, this time Naxcell again. Today is day 1 after finishing Naxcell and you guessed it, he's still coughing. Suggestions?
I fully expect this calf will have lung damage but why won't the WET cough go away?
Shouldn't he have more of a smokers type cough from lung damage?
What would you do next?
Would vaccinating him be helpful at all....I know it would be risky since he never gets better but would he become immune and fight off what lingers?
He eats and drinks EVERYTHING I put in front of him, even if he's feverish.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience with me!

 

[redcowsrule33]

I would have another talk with your vet, try something different that might help fight mycoplasma ie. Draxxin. But I think you are looking at a chronic lunger if he has had these issues for 6+ weeks and he is eating through all of this, which suggests chronicity. There was a reason no one wanted him! You might eventually get him to straighten out but the will probably never do well. But since you have this much invested in him, see if the vet can get you something different.

 

[Luv4whippets]

Thanks Redcow... today is day 2 w/o antibiotics and I didn't hear him cough once this morning. I know exactly why noone wanted him.....but I had really good luck with my first sick calf so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try this guy. I'm 50/50 now.

 

[larryshoat]

I would vaccinate with Bovi-Shield 5 Gold every 14 days until he is better or dead, give him a shot of Draxin as was suggested. There is a new nasal out called Inforce 3, we're using it in baby calves, but I have not used it in sick cattle so at this point I'm not recommending it to anyone.

Larry

 

[Luv4whippets]

Thanks Larry...that has been my strategy with the antibiotics as well. One way or another, somethings got to give!

 

[piedmontese]

DRAXXIN

 

[dun]

Why in the world would you keep vaccinating a sick animal?

 

[larryshoat]

Why in the world would you keep vaccinating a sick animal?

Several years back when we would wean a group of calves there were always a couple that were not good, we would put them in a pen, they just about always died, they were just chronics. One day we had some vaccine left over and we gave it to those calves, they got better and from then on we started doing that with good results.

At some point you have to ask the question "why doesn't this Steer get better", he's had several rounds of some of the best antibiotics we have. At some point we have to stop asking "what's wrong with the antibiotic" and start asking "what's wrong with the calf". Not all vaccines will be good for this job, but the Bovi-Shield will.

Larry

 

[Stocker Steve]

Hot weather is hard on chronics.
If you can get him off the meds I would make him into burger before summer.

 

[GMN]

Warmth is the best thing for him. Have you tried some enterlyte HE a nutritional supplement, or some milk replacer for added energy. Sound slike you have done the round of all antibiotics, and thats ometimes can do more damage than good on some organs. Some animals just don't make it, no matter what you do or how much you spend.
Raw eggs also are good to mix in with milk replacer for added energy.

 

[djinwa]

Why in the world would you keep vaccinating a sick animal?

Several years back when we would wean a group of calves there were always a couple that were not good, we would put them in a pen, they just about always died, they were just chronics. One day we had some vaccine left over and we gave it to those calves, they got better and from then on we started doing that with good results.

At some point you have to ask the question "why doesn't this Steer get better", he's had several rounds of some of the best antibiotics we have. At some point we have to stop asking "what's wrong with the antibiotic" and start asking "what's wrong with the calf". Not all vaccines will be good for this job, but the Bovi-Shield will.

Larry

Does the veterinary world know about this discovery? Maybe you should contact them so they can do a study to prove to the world that this works. The Bovi-Shield company should be glad to prove this so they can make millions off of it. The study would need to pick calves randomly - one group gets the vaccine, the other group a placebo, without the evaluator knowing which is which, so he isn't biased. People tend to believe what they want to believe.

The cure I can guarantee will work is a bullet, but I realize that isn't as fun as playing vet.

 

[hillsdown]

Why in the world would you keep vaccinating a sick animal?

Several years back when we would wean a group of calves there were always a couple that were not good, we would put them in a pen, they just about always died, they were just chronics. One day we had some vaccine left over and we gave it to those calves, they got better and from then on we started doing that with good results.

At some point you have to ask the question "why doesn't this Steer get better", he's had several rounds of some of the best antibiotics we have. At some point we have to stop asking "what's wrong with the antibiotic" and start asking "what's wrong with the calf". Not all vaccines will be good for this job, but the Bovi-Shield will.

Larry

Does the veterinary world know about this discovery? Maybe you should contact them so they can do a study to prove to the world that this works. The Bovi-Shield company should be glad to prove this so they can make millions off of it. The study would need to pick calves randomly - one group gets the vaccine, the other group a placebo, without the evaluator knowing which is which, so he isn't biased. People tend to believe what they want to believe.

The cure I can guarantee will work is a bullet, but I realize that isn't as fun as playing vet.

Actually vets do know this, I had a chronic Holstein steer and no matter what I did he would relapse. I finally gave him a regimen of Nuflor so far off label that it was insane ,my vet said if the symptoms came back vaccinate him, kill his immune system completely and start from scratch. The dose/regimen worked and he never even had a snotty nose again. He lived through another winter and a really hot summer and is now resting peacefully in my freezer as some of the best grass finished beef we have ever tasted ...

Mt last one was a twin heifer , she was sick from day one, no matter what I tried she would always relapse. My vet vaccinated her during herd health and she rebounded really well. Unfortunately she relapsed again in the early new year and died . So yes you are right that they will die sometimes no matter how hard you try, but I believe Larry knows what he is doing ,just as I have great confidence in our LA vet specializing in Dairy cattle .. Just because vets do not share all their secrets don't believe for a second that they do not know most of the tricks out there. They also like to hear knew things that I try that works for my herd, so they have more info and ideas to go on when there seems to be no answer's for some cases. ;-)

 

[piedmontese]

i definately agree with u that vets have alot of tricks and secrets for cures.it is especially interesting 2 talk with an older vet.however some of the old time vets secrets that once worked may not work nowadays.treating cattle is just like treating humans as n that one remedy may not do a thing 2 help and it can completely cure another.still some people insist that there way is the only way and that it will work 4 all.

 

[Wisteria Farms]

I had the very same situation.. VERY SAME... I treated this calf and treated this calf.. and to be honest I DID do what hillsdown suggested and dosed her very far off label with Nuflor (no effect from DRAXXIN)... She would rebound and then do great for a few weeks and then relapse. We lost her a few weeks ago.. it was hard on me because I fought with her for so long (she was born the end of May and got sick the end of June) but I know I did everything I could to keep her alive and I just couldn't. I "sheepishly" gave the vet my notes on what I had done and she said, "This is exactly what we would have done... you probably gave her better supportive care than we would have"... that made me feel good... and I knew that she died because she just couldn't fight it.. not because I failed her. Its really hard on you, I know.