Sale Barn Bottle Calves HELP

[Hereford2]

I just got 2 Baby calves from the Sale Barn yesterday, 1 was brand new hadn't even gotten up yet, the other one had nursed from her mom. I gave them Each a half of a gallon of Clostrum, which they drank down, I'm wondering what shots they need being from a sale barn, I have raised 2 dozen calves,. Only one was a sale barn calf and it was an adventure I don't care to repeat.... . Any advice is WELCOME!! :help:

 

[CG1]

Ugh. The sale barn bottle calves break my heart.

I give a shot of vitamin A&D and selenium right away. I give them a good iodine clean. Soak the belly...I also clean their hooves. Mine always seem to come with navel issues.

I give them 2 weeks then give them a nasal pneumonia vaccine. I give an 8 way at 8 weeks and give tetanus to my bulls and band them. Don't forget to booster them.

I'd give a few more days of colostrum if you've got it. The local dairies around here give me buckets of it when I'm in need.

 

[Hereford2]

Thank you for the advice!

 

[Hereford2]

What do you clean their hooves with?

 

[CG1]

What do you clean their hooves with?

Iodine. I drench the belly and take a rag and wash down their hooves with iodine. Whether it works or not I don't know but a vet told me to do it when I was taking in a lot of sick ones and I haven't lost one in years.

Why were these calves sold like this? What breed are they?

I keep these little ones really dry, clean and warm. I usually blanket them each night and keep them in the barn for 2 weeks. That way I can keep a close eye and notice any changes. As you know they can turn so quickly. But for me it's navel ill and joint ill that always seem to sneak up on me when they are sold like this.

 

[Hereford2]

They were split from cull cows. They are Angus.

 

[Hereford2]

What are the signs of Navel Ill?

 

[CG1]

What are the signs of Navel Ill?

Hard navel, bad suckle, fever. My sick ones always tend to walk around with an arched back. Just generally unwell.

That's the part of cattle raising I'm ashamed of. People are terrible. Poor cow, poor calf

 

[greggy]

Give the one who was not on mum plenty of colustrum, I would say 3 days if you can get it, prob eqv to 2 feeds of your 2 quarts....or split it into more feeds but similar volume, or 10% of body weight.

Buy a really good milk replacer, follow directions and split feed over 2 feeds at least, I would prob do 3 for first week.

I do not give mine anything else, so is a bit of a crap shoot as could have been exposed to anything in yards.

The colustrum, if good quality from a good cow, should help them keep most things at bay. No point vaccinating too early from what we do down here, if you follow the directions, you prob cant go far wrong.

Hydration is important, as is getting nutrient, so good milk replacer in adequate amounts should keep you busy for a few weeks and give you time to work out what else to do relevant to your area.

I do not think if from sale barn would be much different if handed from your neighbor, apart from being able to find out history etc of parents and property...

 

[darcelina4]

I've bought lots of fresh bottle babies. I've not lost a single one. Dont give ant vaccines as they dont have the mechanism in place to get any good from them until a couple of months old. Did you give them real colostrum or the powdered kind? I would get another 1/2 gallon of the real stuff into them asap. Do iodine or chlorhexidine the navel. Do good calf care- keep them dry and out of the wind, feed at an exact time each day, feed milk at 103 degrees, feed all milk protein milk with no soy or sprayed plasma, ect. Some of the healthiest calves I've gotten at the sale barn. I've bought lots of farm calves and lost a few mostly due to the "bad information " aka lies ive been told by a few people. Keep your thermometer handy and take their temperature often. Have meds on hand to treat if temp is under 100 or over 102.6. If sick at all add an electrolyte bottle at noon. Again just do really good basic calf care and they should do well.

 

[Hereford2]

I gave the calf ,that hadn't nursed, Clostrum from a cow. Then I gave him another gallon of powdered Clostrum broken into 2 more feedings. I'm going to be feeding them both fresh whole Jersey Milk, from our milk cow, so I won't be messing with replacer if I can help it. Is it to late to put iodine on their Navels?

 

[Hereford2]

They both got over a gallon of Clostrum.

 

[darcelina4]

Not too late to do the navels.

 

[Bright Raven]

I've bought lots of fresh bottle babies. I've not lost a single one. Dont give ant vaccines as they dont have the mechanism in place to get any good from them until a couple of months old. Did you give them real colostrum or the powdered kind? I would get another 1/2 gallon of the real stuff into them asap. Do iodine or chlorhexidine the navel. Do good calf care- keep them dry and out of the wind, feed at an exact time each day, feed milk at 103 degrees, feed all milk protein milk with no soy or sprayed plasma, ect. Some of the healthiest calves I've gotten at the sale barn. I've bought lots of farm calves and lost a few mostly due to the "bad information " aka lies ive been told by a few people. Keep your thermometer handy and take their temperature often. Have meds on hand to treat if temp is under 100 or over 102.6. If sick at all add an electrolyte bottle at noon. Again just do really good basic calf care and they should do well.

Intranasal vaccines are effective at anytime from birth to death. There may be a period when a systemic vaccine is ineffective but research using intranasal vaccines demonstrate that there is special tissue in the nasal cavity of calves that can mount an immune response at anytime beginning at birth.

Thus, using intranasal vaccines like Inforce 3 (IBR, PI3 AND BRSV) can be very beneficial. Also, not a vaccine but First Defense boluses can provide antibodies against Escherichia coli and Coronavirus which cause scours. First Defense can be given at birth and anytime during neonatal life.

Your protocols are excellent. You are getting a good stock of antibodies in them. If you ever start having trouble with some of the respiratory viruses (IBR, PI3, BRSV), you might consider the Inforce 3 Intranasal Vaccine.

 

[Hereford2]

They both had Yellow Watery Diarrhea, when I fed them tonight, they both drank a full bottle,. Is there anything I can do for them before morning? I

 

[snoopdog]

If you don't have a thermometer, get one immediately.

 

[Bright Raven]

I agree with getting temperatures. You can use a drug store anal thermometer. Also, it does not hurt to be proactive on scours (watery diarrhea) especially if it has a fetid odor. Usually caused by Escherichia coli, a universal bacteria. There are several common scours boluses such as sustain. They commonly contain chlorotetracycline which helps them get over bacterial gastrointestinal bacteria such as E coli. You need to get a calf bolus gun. They are plastic and very cheap.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Colostrum is a laxative. You may be a little heavy on the colostrum. After 24 hours old, colostrum is NOT beneficial. They no longer can utilize the large protein particles in colostrum (after the 24 hrs old).
Cowgal & Darce gave you some good advice.
BrightRaven is spot on using Inforce 3. All my newborns get Inforce 3, Selenium, AD&E & Iodine naval.
Never heard of cleaning their hooves - but that sounds like very SOUND advice!!

 

[Bright Raven]

Colostrum is a laxative. You may be a little heavy on the colostrum. After 24 hours old, colostrum is NOT beneficial. They no longer can utilize the large protein particles in colostrum (after the 24 hrs old).
Cowgal & Darce gave you some good advice.
BrightRaven is spot on using Inforce 3. All my newborns get Inforce 3, Selenium, AD&E & Iodine naval.
Never heard of cleaning their hooves - but that sounds like very SOUND advice!!

Colostrum is rich. It can definitely contribute to the diarrhea.

 

[Buck Randall]

They both had Yellow Watery Diarrhea, when I fed them tonight, they both drank a full bottle,. Is there anything I can do for them before morning? I

Keep them hydrated by offering an extra feeding with an electrolyte solution (I recommend Epic, Land O'lakes+add pack, or Bluelite replenish, avoid using Resorb or cheap store brands).

I don't generally recommend antibiotics for calf scours. Most cases of scours are not caused by bacteria, so the antibiotic serves no purpose. In cases of bacterial scours (E. coli, Salmonella) the bacteria are resistant to all of the labeled oral antibiotic treatments anyway, so don't bother with boluses or treatments in the milk. Call your vet for an appropriate injectable treatment.