Sick calf - need information

[just learnin]

We have a 3 week old dairy calf on the bottle. Last week we took it to the vet, because it stopped eating, had a cough, and appeared lifeless.
He gave it Baytril, Bovi Sera, and Banamine. By that afternoon it was feeling better. We gave it electolytes for two feedings then put it back on milk and water.
The last two days it has been acting strange. Doesn't take the bottle immediately and waon't take the water at all.
We keep feed and water out.
It is in a barn with hay. We had two calfs in there, the other one appears fine. We removed it today.
This morning it has yellow white paste looking diarreah all over its rear and tail. It would not eat anything and appears depressed and lifeless. It is standing and walking, but very slow.
I keep calling the calf "it", because when we bought it the guy said it was a bull, but the vet said it is a heifer. He said it is most likely a free martin.

Please any help would be appreciated. Waiting on a call from vet clinic.

 

[movin' on]

Yeah, it sounds like a common case of scours. There's lots of different schools of thought that can be used to "treat" the scours, but rehydration is of the utmost importance. If you have to use a tube to get the fluid in it, then do it! Baytril and Nuflor are both good drugs for treatment. Baytril is a very fast acting drug that only sticks around for about 36 hours so the first dose it had is long gone. Consult your vet and se what he/she says.

 

[just learnin]

Got meds from the vet and tubed the calf with resorb.
Thanks

 

[movin' on]

perfect!

 

[redfish]

Try draxxin and probios. Alittle banamine, and put some suger in its rations, milk or save a calf, or water.

 

[milkmaid]

Sounds like she's just having a relapse... in other words, she should have been retreated after she started feeling better. Keep her hydrated, keep giving her probiotics and electrolytes, and do get some more antibiotics into her.

Best of luck to you.

 

[just learnin]

Thanks, calf is doing better this evening. It took the resorb and butler from a bottle and we are down to one shot twice a day.

 

[just learnin]

Went out yesterday to feed calf and she couldn't get up. Wouldn't drink. We carried it to the house and tubed it.
Took her to the vet. He gave us the option of putting her down or trying an iv with dextrose. He is concerned about the Neurological signs. He did the iv, but all it did was make her jitter. Her eyes are not responding to light and she can't stand.
He checked the fecal and found nothing. He kept her last night and said they would do what they could and see what happens. Her temp was 96, but he did not think that was to awfully bad. We thought she might of went into shock from hypothermia. She has been in a barn that is dry with hay, but it did get cold over night.
She seemed better the day before. She was drinking from the bottle and eating calf feed with sweet feed. She was up walking and had energy.
Vet said that he doesn't know, could possibly be polio.
I haven't heard from vet this morning, but I doubt she made it through the night, if she did I just don't think she will be right.
Most I am sure would have already put her down. I wanted to yesterday, but we decided to do all we could before we gave up. We have already spent more than we should have.
I thought we could save it, but it possibly had Neurological problems from the begining.

 

[just learnin]

We picked calf up from vet today.
It is able to stand, has trouble walking very far.
It is having normal fecal.
They are not sure what happened or what is wrong.
They told me not to give it any water.
I am giving small amounts of resorb and will start on small amounts of milk replacer tomorrow. It is also on 2 clicks a day of "Fasttrack".
Vet is concerned about its urine, said it may have an issue there. Kidney disease, diabetic.

Has anyone had an issue like this?

 

[Alice]

We picked calf up from vet today.
It is able to stand, has trouble walking very far.
It is having normal fecal.
They are not sure what happened or what is wrong.
They told me not to give it any water.
I am giving small amounts of resorb and will start on small amounts of milk replacer tomorrow. It is also on 2 clicks a day of "Fasttrack".
Vet is concerned about its urine, said it may have an issue there. Kidney disease, diabetic.

Has anyone had an issue like this?

I may have...however, I've never known a vet concerned enough about a baby calf to go to the lengths your's seems to have. So, the one's I've had in this kind of distress either pull out of it with the doctoring we do, or they don't...

Alice

 

[just learnin]

The vet has been great.
If we are willing to pay the money, they are willing to do what they can.

Hopefully she pulls out of it.
She took a pint of Resorb last night and we had to tube the other pint. I am going to give her some milk in just a little while.

Thanks

 

[just learnin]

calf didn't make it.

 

[Kelly]

I am sorry about losing the calf after trying as hard as you did.
All we can do is try our best sometimes and of course pray that they will pull through.

 

[just learnin]

Thanks

 

[milkmaid]

Sorry to hear about the loss.

FWIW, for next time, when they get dehydrated and have been scouring for some time, they fall into a state of acidosis and their blood sugar also drops. Treated, of course, by sugar (dextrose) and sodium bicarb to bring levels back to normal. "Neurological signs" -- low blood sugar can bring on some really weird symptoms. Been there seen that, don't care to deal with it again. Had a calf with seizures due to it (she died shortly after); had I known what and how to treat her I could have saved that calf. Oh well, live and learn, I know now. So far I haven't lost another calf to the same problem, *knock on wood*.

A temp of 96 is evidence of an animal in severe shock and hypothermia -- 102.5 is normal for a calf. Personally I'd find another vet for your animals; a temp of 96 is BAD, and for your vet to say otherwise is ignorance. Second, your vet should not have said to withhold water! an animal that was dehydrated and/or is sick needs fluids to recover.

 

[just learnin]

Sorry to hear about the loss.

FWIW, for next time, when they get dehydrated and have been scouring for some time, they fall into a state of acidosis and their blood sugar also drops. Treated, of course, by sugar (dextrose) and sodium bicarb to bring levels back to normal. "Neurological signs" -- low blood sugar can bring on some really weird symptoms. Been there seen that, don't care to deal with it again. Had a calf with seizures due to it (she died shortly after); had I known what and how to treat her I could have saved that calf. Oh well, live and learn, I know now. So far I haven't lost another calf to the same problem, *knock on wood*.

A temp of 96 is evidence of an animal in severe shock and hypothermia -- 102.5 is normal for a calf. Personally I'd find another vet for your animals; a temp of 96 is BAD, and for your vet to say otherwise is ignorance. Second, your vet should not have said to withhold water! an animal that was dehydrated and/or is sick needs fluids to recover.

Milkmaid thanks for the reply.
This calf was doing better the night before. It was drinking resorb from the bottle and the last time I checked on it, she was eating feed. The next morning we found her laying down, she couldn't stand or eat. Her eyes were weird looking.
I thought hypothermia and shock. We got her to the house and called vet. We took her in and he gave us two choices, the first one being putting her down.
I believed 96 temp was near death. When normal is 102.5.
When I picked her up at the vet yesterday she was much better.She could stand up on her own and had normal fecal. She was having some trouble when we got her home, it took her awhile to get up and she was walking real good.They gave her dextrose while we was there and it made her jitter and she urinated all over herself.
I thought yesterday she might have a chance.
I was floored when they told me I shouldn't give them water. They said all they need is the milk and told me to take the bucket of water out.
Thanks for all the info.

 

[milkmaid]

I've had them go downhill fast too... always makes me so frustrated. If it was a question of (my!) will power they'd all get up and be healthy little calves running and playing, but it doesn't always work out that way.

On the upside, you've probably learned a lot with this one and it's given you a lot of knowledge for the next one. Whenever I've lost one, I always mentally file the time and expenses and everything under an imaginary health class, like "Bloat 101" or "Scours 201", or something like that. That way I feel like it was a valuable investment and I don't feel quite so badly about losing them. :lol: ;-)

Have a great evening!

 

[just learnin]

My husband has always said you pay for education one way or another.
I have learned from this.

Thanks again

 

[Alice]

I've had them go downhill fast too... always makes me so frustrated. If it was a question of (my!) will power they'd all get up and be healthy little calves running and playing, but it doesn't always work out that way.

On the upside, you've probably learned a lot with this one and it's given you a lot of knowledge for the next one. Whenever I've lost one, I always mentally file the time and expenses and everything under an imaginary health class, like "Bloat 101" or "Scours 201", or something like that. That way I feel like it was a valuable investment and I don't feel quite so badly about losing them. :lol: ;-)

Have a great evening!

I am so sorry you lost the calf.

milkmaid, you said this just the way it needed to be said.

Alice