Rough week

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I mentioned in another thread, that I lost a calf last week due to it getting too cold (like almost frozen like a rock cold) in that Polar Vortex. Then yesterday early morning 2:30am I viewed cameras and thought 1 cow was starting to "think" about calving. Slept, and rechecked at 4:30am - calf dead. What the h$ll? Backed up recorder - cow went into labor at 3:15 - born at 3:45. Sac over the head and cow didn't get it cleaned off in time. One of the reasons to have camera - but my timing was off. I can't stay awake all night. Bummer! This is a great cow - 9 years old with an udder a 2 year old would be proud.
This morning, a recip cow (also 9 years old) calved with a beautiful red, blazed face heifer. Cow has been a recip since she had her own 1st natural calf - terrible udder - did not want to perpetuate that. This was the first calf that couldn't get on the teat. We went out and put cow in chute, couldn't get calf on big teats. Got a bottle of colostrum out of her, pulled in the cow that lost calf yesterday, put in chute. Gave calf bottle of fresh colostrum, then put calf on cow - no problem. Put O-No-More on calf and put pair in a pen. Cow was sooooo happy to have a baby - just licking her like crazy.
In the meantime, yesterday, I found our oldest bull calf in bad shape. Dehydrated, tongue hanging out of mouth. Got pair in barn - turns out he has Listeriosis (used to be called Circling Disease). So, now we get to tube twice a day and give Pen shots twice a day. Woohoo!!
Shouldn't complain. We had another red heifer born this evening - makes a total of 10 heifers out of 29 calves - with 5 to go.
And it's 35F and RAINING. Have a bunch of newborns out and about that have NOT figured out where the calf sheds are yet. Might have an interesting morning.

 

[Silver]

It's a tough game we play, and sometimes it seems like we can't win. Things will come around, but I feel for you in the meantime.

 

[Allenw]

Seems like bad luck runs in bunches, just have to get through it.

I wish it was 35 here we've had fog since yesterday morning and been below freezing since last night. They're talking Friday before we're back above freezing.

 

[Bright Raven]

Bad luck. Go play with Grizzly and leave your bad luck behind. Lol

 

[True Grit Farms]

That stinks, sounds like 3 years ago around here.

 

[wbvs58]

That's a tough patch to go through Jeanne hope things are on the improve now.

Ken

 

[sstterry]

turns out he has Listeriosis (used to be called Circling Disease).

How did you diagnosis it, and what do you think is the cause? I know that there can be a few causes including spoiled silage and that it can be passed through the dam's milk.

 

[WinterSpringsFarm]

I feel your pain Jeanne, had the first of my 20-20 embryos show up 20 days early, heifer, and dead. Just the way it is from time to time. Hope your luck gets better!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

turns out he has Listeriosis (used to be called Circling Disease).

How did you diagnosis it, and what do you think is the cause? I know that there can be a few causes including spoiled silage and that it can be passed through the dam's milk.

Listeriosis is a "rule out everything else" kind of thing. He has paralysis on his face - can't shut his eyes (putting oil drops in his eyes), his ears are hanging, no temp, kinda drags hind legs (just a little), and can't control tongue/mouth. It is always a possibility when feeding wet feed. All our hay is baleage. It is found in almost all soil (and we had a lot of mud when putting up hay). It is not passed thru the milk, but a calf can get it from sucking a dam's udder after she has been laying in baleage. With this crazy weather, we have put end/bad bales out for them to lay on. But, the tricky part is that it has to enter the blood stream thru an open wound. Like, if he got a hard piece of hay poke a hole in his mouth. If he dies, vet has to take his brain to test for rabies. Looking at maybe a week to two weeks of treatment & tubing if he survives - still alive this morning. Long commitment.
WinterSprings - that really sucks!! He is one bull I was planning to sample this year.

 

[sstterry]

It is not passed thru the milk, but a calf can get it from sucking a dam's udder after she has been laying in baleage.

Here is what I found on it out of curisoity.

The reservoirs of infection are the soil and the intestinal tracts of asymptomatic animals.
Infected animals can shed L. monocytogenes in the feces, milk and uterine discharges.

It sounds like a rough and intensive road when treating a calf.

 

[JParrott]

This weather is terrible. Rained for two days, been right around freezing for the past 24 hours and dropping steadily with north winds all day down to about 11* tonight.

Guess I better go get some syringes.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

This weather is terrible. Rained for two days, been right around freezing for the past 24 hours and dropping steadily with north winds all day down to about 11* tonight.

Guess I better go get some syringes.

We are at the 2.5" mark for rain, could be more by now because it hasn't stopped yet, but the cold front hasn't gotten here yet.
These poor cows are putting up a good fight. We can only pray for a better spring than last year.

 

[Nesikep]

yup.. that's a rough start.. I had one abort from what I'm sure is pine needles.. seems to happen when we have a heavy snowfall and they can reach the laden branches.. Well, you're dumb enough to eat them and abort, on the truck you go.. I'd rather have a live calf though.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

sstterry - from what I have read & been told - it is prevalent in the dirt - and they don't just "catch it", it has to enter thru the blood - so generally some open cut/puncture - like getting poked in the mouth with stemmy baleage. No matter, he is not going to make it.
Ron - yes, Grizzly still keeps me laughing!!! and we had 2 red heifers.
Allenw - I wish it would stay FROZEN. This warming, thawing, rain, then subzero is going to kill ME, let alone these poor calves. One day we're freezing, can't put enough clothes on, then we're stripping our clothes off trying to work.
And I said we were down to 5, but I lied - have 6 left.

 

[TCRanch]

Sorry to hear that. Seems when it rains, it pours - figuratively and literally. Yea on the graft, sure hope the bull calf pulls through!

Edit: just saw your last post. Sorry about the bull calf

 

[sstterry]

sstterry - from what I have read & been told - it is prevalent in the dirt - and they don't just "catch it", it has to enter thru the blood - so generally some open cut/puncture - like getting poked in the mouth with stemmy baleage. No matter, he is not going to make it.
Ron - yes, Grizzly still keeps me laughing!!! and we had 2 red heifers.
Allenw - I wish it would stay FROZEN. This warming, thawing, rain, then subzero is going to kill ME, let alone these poor calves. One day we're freezing, can't put enough clothes on, then we're stripping our clothes off trying to work.
And I said we were down to 5, but I lied - have 6 left.

I am sorry he is not going to make it. It is always tough to lose one.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Yeah, out of 20+ fall & now spring bull calves, he was only 1 of 4? left a bull. Was one of the best ones - a Classified. Oh well, at least it wasn't a heifer!

 

[MRRherefords]

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully your luck changes soon. (And hopefully this rain quits soon too.)

 

[gizmom]

So sorry to hear this. Just heart breaking.

Gizmom

 

[lithuanian farmer]

Sorry to hear that. It seems that when where is one problem, more will come soon after. Hopefully, it'll end soon for you. For the past 2-3 years we'd lots of problems. This year it seems to be quite good, except for only one lost calf, and it was a bull calf thankfully.