Severe Hair Loss 6wk Calf

[pickinwildflowers]

6 week old orphaned calf losing all her hair. Skin is dry and flaky but no spots or lesions. Calf is otherwise healthy with good energy and appetite. Was sick for a few days at 3 weeks old but pulled through except for the ongoing hair loss which has spread over approx %75 of her body and is bleeding where she has been rubbing it. Vet has no answer. Please help!

 

[Nite Hawk]

Sounds possibly like mange. Maybe get a second opinion..

 

[pickinwildflowers]

Skin is dry but smooth where hair is missing. No lesions or scales.

 

[chippie]

edited because I could read the post well on my phone.

Did your Vet see the calf in person? and agree with Alan (below) if he/she did.

 

[Alan]

A: find a better Vet, no clue is not a good answer from a Vet
B: remember for this type of thing all Internet folks can do is guess, like my guess. Lice or food allergies?
C: hope it works out for you and :welcome: to CT.

 

[Lucky_P]

Nutritional stress or febrile illness can disrupt hair growth, causing generalized hair loss - may be related to the previous bout of illness weeks earlier.
Look up 'telogen effluvium'.

 

[skeeter swatter]

Probably from being sick, if so it will grow back. Have seen this lots, but not to that extent often.

 

[pickinwildflowers]

http://books.google.com.au/books?id...pyrx5hJM&dq=effluvium+cattle&output=html_text

I looked up Effluvium as recommended. and found this article on Anagen Defluxion which sounds like a possibility. Basically hair loss following illness/fever as a few of you have already suggested.

Has anyone seen such extensive hair loss before? Considering the calf is otherwise healthy, am I being negligent by not paying $200 for a vet to come out?

Thanks

 

[pickinwildflowers]

 

[chippie]

I would not pay a travel fee for a calf that tiny. I would haul it to the veterinary clinic.
About being negligent by not getting it examined by the Vet, what would you have done if it happened to your dog?

 

[skeeter swatter]

On a different subject, is that a Kelpie?

 

[pickinwildflowers]

She is indeed a purebred Kelpie. 10 months old and more energy than she knows what to do with. She is fiercely protective of the little calf. Are you a fan of the breed?

 

[skeeter swatter]

Actually not been around them much, but they look cool!

 

[glacierridge]

Likely fever.
We had one that lost a lot on its head.

That's lot of hair gone, could at least call a vet before seeking treatment to see if they would rather have you monitor it first.

 

[aprille218]

Have you tried anything to treat the hairloss? How about an ivomec injection or shampooing? Ask the vet if either is advisable.

 

[ShayneThill]

You can ask a veterinarian for help. When we caught by hair loss problems, we can wear synthetic hair extensions, so I was wondering if there are any wigs for animals? Ha ha ha. :banana:

 

[sim.-ang.king]

From my experience with k-9's i'm going to say it has mange. There is never any peeling, scabbing, but it will have stuff that looks like dandruff, when they have mange. 3 weeks is plenty of time for mange to take over, if they have plenty of mites. You can see from the picture below that it looks like the hair just never was there. Fall and spring are hot times for mange, specially if you have lots of coyotes, or foxes in the the area. See if you can give it a shot of Ivormec (don't know what the label says about ages, believe it only applies to veal calves), and keep it warm if it gets cold out, won't do it any harm to try.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

6 week old orphaned calf losing all her hair. Skin is dry and flaky but no spots or lesions. Calf is otherwise healthy with good energy and appetite. Was sick for a few days at 3 weeks old but pulled through except for the ongoing hair loss which has spread over approx %75 of her body and is bleeding where she has been rubbing it. Vet has no answer. Please help!

rubbing sounds like some kind of parasites, haul her in for a vet to determine what is going on. I have never seen that much hair loss and I have seen some lousy animals!

 

[ShayneThill]

You can ask a veterinarian for help. When we caught by hair loss problems, we can wear synthetic hair extensions, so I was wondering if there are any wigs for animals? Ha ha ha. :banana:

I checked that it may in lack of trace element zinc, so change the diet for it.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Looks like mange or lice to me. The vet can tell with a simple skin scraping on a slide.