Picked up a wire??

[Sroem]

This is my first post-- I just found you tonight.
My son has 2 steers he was fattening as a FFA project.
He has been doing all the feeding for the last 3 weeks-
I went out Sunday to feed for him and got shock
one was down about 250 lbs since I last saw it. (the kid did not notice!!!) I think he may have picked up a wire.. so I put 2 magnets down him. plus some LA 200 and Sulpha-- (to fight any infection. ) It appears he stopped eating I cannot get a vet to come out-- one said he was pretty much a goner..
Tonight I was able to get him to drink 2 gallons of warm water
and hand fed him by shoving some grass and appled dipped in Molasses down the side of mouth-- he chews very slowly..and has
no interest in grain or alfalfa.
The steer is 10 months old he also had diareah-( although now
not much going in so not much going out-)-I did see him
urinate about 45 minutes after he drank.
He breathing is normal and he does not appear to running temp
coat condition is surprisingly good.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Need to find a good Vet. Am sure others around.

Your son didn't notice the steer had lost 250# !!! And, son is in FFA? Something wrong here, for sure. Don't get me started...won't touch this one...sorry.

 

[Sroem]

Yes.. I was bit upset.... The chapter is not what it used to be when my sister and I were in it.
big budget cuts... we are in the second to the lowest paying district in our state and our adviser's resume includes a stint as a preacher. (He does mostly welding projects not animal science). I have heard FFA stood for Father Feeds Animals..
I blame myself for over estimating the boy's ability and powers of observation. I just want see if I can keep this fella alive-- and take over the project.

 

[okbob]

need to get him to a vet may be really loded down with worms

 

[Sroem]

We injected Ivomec II. We have been using the shotgun approach to treatment. Trying everything I can think of.
I considering probiotics ... he needs to eat and needs to get his guts working. The vet who said he was a goner.. did suggest trying to get the rumen from a fresh butchered cow and somehow
extracting the active cultures from it, which then could be tubed/drenched into the steer????

 

[hillsdown]

Could be acidosis.Do you know what your son was feeding him before the steer went off of feed?

I would demand that the Vet comes tomorrow morning no ifs ands or buts.

Sorry I don't have much experience with this problem.Do a search and see what treatments there are.

 

[Gale Seddon]

Sroem, you mentioned putting two magnets in the steer. I think one will 'magnetically negate' the other?

Hope you can get this guy back on the right track!

 

[CWT Angus]

Please get that poor guy to a vet. If your vet will not/can not come out, then find another. If you don't have a trailer, borrow or rent one and take him to the state university or another vet. Either way- demand that he gets seen. Sometimes we have to be insistant to get our animals the proper care. Please keep us posted on his condition.

 

[cattleluvr18]

Yes.. I was bit upset.... The chapter is not what it used to be when my sister and I were in it.
big budget cuts... we are in the second to the lowest paying district in our state and our adviser's resume includes a stint as a preacher. (He does mostly welding projects not animal science). I have heard FFA stood for Father Feeds Animals..
I blame myself for over estimating the boy's ability and powers of observation. I just want see if I can keep this fella alive-- and take over the project.

dont take over the project. teach him whats he's doing wrong and what he should be noticing. his FFA chapter sure aint doin the job.

 

[tytower]

Yes.. I was bit upset.... The chapter is not what it used to be when my sister and I were in it.
big budget cuts... we are in the second to the lowest paying district in our state and our adviser's resume includes a stint as a preacher. (He does mostly welding projects not animal science). I have heard FFA stood for Father Feeds Animals..
I blame myself for over estimating the boy's ability and powers of observation. I just want see if I can keep this fella alive-- and take over the project.

dont take over the project. teach him whats he's doing wrong and what he should be noticing. his FFA chapter sure aint doin the job.

Yep agree with this .
If you keep your son involved and discuss each treatment you try and go to a vet with him doing some of the explaining , no matter what the result Your Son will get a very valuable lesson in animal care ...and a bigger one in the depth of his father's love for him. Pretty good opportunity to turn adversity into gain.

 

[Sroem]

He did not make it through the night. I opened him up. He had lots of blood in the colon. We found the magnets but they had not attracted any wire but the were coated with very fine metal filings.

 

[Sroem]

I just realized I missed reading post. ..To the man from Down Under...This is his mother taking care of the steer. And yes, I try to turn life's challenges into learning experiences where possible, but I think this was a message to me that my son is more of an artist/cartoonist than a cowhand.

 

[Keren]

I'm sorry you lost the steer.

3 weeks since you had last seen the animal???
You need to be a guide and a help for your son. How can you do this without looking at the animal for 3 weeks?

Don't blame your son for not noticing the steer had lost weight. If he is inexperienced he may not know what a sick animal looks like and what a healthy animal looks like. That is why you should have been watching him and the animal.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss and I just hope you have learnt a lesson from it all.

 

[fourstates]

Just an fyi, don't put more than one magnet in the animal. They can stick together thru the walls of the digestive tract, pinch off an area causing a massive infection. I doubt in this case the magnets did any harm or any good.

Sorry for you and your son.

 

[msscamp]

3 weeks since you had last seen the animal???
You need to be a guide and a help for your son. How can you do this without looking at the animal for 3 weeks?

Don't blame your son for not noticing the steer had lost weight. If he is inexperienced he may not know what a sick animal looks like and what a healthy animal looks like. That is why you should have been watching him and the animal.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss and I just hope you have learnt a lesson from it all.

Thank you, Keren. My sentiments, exactly.