A
Anonymous
We are half way through our calving season. This is the worst year for continued cold wet weather...-10C at night and +1or 2 occasionally during the day... Lots of snow and ice and lots of puddles and mud during the day. Putting out fresh bedding is a daily chore. Despite that we have only treated 2 calves for fever.
So last night we go out and feed the cows as usual, and then we do a calf check. We tend to ignore the ones peeling around and focus on the ones laying down. We approached one calf and he lurched to his feet, hips wavering and we attempted to catch him. Being 3 weeks old he got away on us but its how he got away that was disturbing. He was absolutley uncoordinated .... throwing his front legs up and forward...it appeared as though he may have had twine tying his limbs together. He was taking great leaps and doing his best to remain upright. Then we lost sight of him in the herd.
When we found him the second time he was in a corner of a fence floundering in a 6 inch deep puddle of water. It was obvious that he was trying to get out of the puddle but kept floundering in it. Falling down, lunging again, Its like he could not get his legs to work. We rescued him from drowning and put him on the back of the truck. I was holding him down and it was fairly easy to do. His breathing was fast and had a 'catch' at the end of each inhale and I'm thinking.... pneumonia, diptheria? I had never seen diptheria before. Is his spasicity due to high fever? Could this be Meningitis? The most puzzling thing is that he is alert and normal appearing from his neck up. All these maladies are going through my head but the calf is soaking wet from an icy puddle and first and foremost needs drying.
We put him in the hotbox and I give him a dose of Nuflor and a dose of Banamine. His temp is 100.1
We return 2 hours later, and find him crashing around in the hotbox. He is dried off so we put him in a bedded stall for the night. If he stood still he looks perfectly normal..... His eyes are bright, ears perky..his breathing is now silent.. certainly not dull in any way. But still he flounders in the stall and falls down several times. As he walks he picks up each front leg bending at the knee enough to bring his hoof to his elbow, then throws it way out front. When he tries to back up, his hind end sinks, then he falls on his butt.
We have had cattle all of our lives and had never seen anything like this. I get out the Merck manual and look up everything I can think of... Nervous system anomalies, Rabies, Encehalomyeltis, toxicities, a host of other things that don't even come close and come up empty. Most puzzling.
This morning he is fine... Walking normal... bawling for mom. You would never know he went through such a crisis last night.
Do you have any idea what just happened here? Any insight would be most appreciated.
[email protected]
So last night we go out and feed the cows as usual, and then we do a calf check. We tend to ignore the ones peeling around and focus on the ones laying down. We approached one calf and he lurched to his feet, hips wavering and we attempted to catch him. Being 3 weeks old he got away on us but its how he got away that was disturbing. He was absolutley uncoordinated .... throwing his front legs up and forward...it appeared as though he may have had twine tying his limbs together. He was taking great leaps and doing his best to remain upright. Then we lost sight of him in the herd.
When we found him the second time he was in a corner of a fence floundering in a 6 inch deep puddle of water. It was obvious that he was trying to get out of the puddle but kept floundering in it. Falling down, lunging again, Its like he could not get his legs to work. We rescued him from drowning and put him on the back of the truck. I was holding him down and it was fairly easy to do. His breathing was fast and had a 'catch' at the end of each inhale and I'm thinking.... pneumonia, diptheria? I had never seen diptheria before. Is his spasicity due to high fever? Could this be Meningitis? The most puzzling thing is that he is alert and normal appearing from his neck up. All these maladies are going through my head but the calf is soaking wet from an icy puddle and first and foremost needs drying.
We put him in the hotbox and I give him a dose of Nuflor and a dose of Banamine. His temp is 100.1
We return 2 hours later, and find him crashing around in the hotbox. He is dried off so we put him in a bedded stall for the night. If he stood still he looks perfectly normal..... His eyes are bright, ears perky..his breathing is now silent.. certainly not dull in any way. But still he flounders in the stall and falls down several times. As he walks he picks up each front leg bending at the knee enough to bring his hoof to his elbow, then throws it way out front. When he tries to back up, his hind end sinks, then he falls on his butt.
We have had cattle all of our lives and had never seen anything like this. I get out the Merck manual and look up everything I can think of... Nervous system anomalies, Rabies, Encehalomyeltis, toxicities, a host of other things that don't even come close and come up empty. Most puzzling.
This morning he is fine... Walking normal... bawling for mom. You would never know he went through such a crisis last night.
Do you have any idea what just happened here? Any insight would be most appreciated.
[email protected]
