sick calf relapsed

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i have a calf (about 80lbs) who came down very sick.. i treated him with 5cc of nuflor on a tues and he did fine.. the following wed he was looking puny again. all i could put him him wed night was some micotil.. it did no good at all. thurs eve i thought he was a goner.. (layed flat out, had to make him get up) i put 6cc of nuflor in him then, and then again sun eve 6 more cc..

and again tues 6 more cc.. he is nursing good and eating good now.. my question is.. how long do i need to treat him to keep him from relapsing again.. i know the doctor will always tell us to take our entire prescription when we get sick..

my thought was to put about 6 more in him on fri and hope that gets it, but i would appreciate someone who has experience/knowledge in this area to advise..

thanks gene



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> i have a calf (about 80lbs) who
> came down very sick.. i treated
> him with 5cc of nuflor on a tues
> and he did fine.. the following
> wed he was looking puny again. all
> i could put him him wed night was
> some micotil.. it did no good at
> all. thurs eve i thought he was a
> goner.. (layed flat out, had to
> make him get up) i put 6cc of
> nuflor in him then, and then again
> sun eve 6 more cc..

> and again tues 6 more cc.. he is
> nursing good and eating good now..
> my question is.. how long do i
> need to treat him to keep him from
> relapsing again.. i know the
> doctor will always tell us to take
> our entire prescription when we
> get sick..

> my thought was to put about 6 more
> in him on fri and hope that gets
> it, but i would appreciate someone
> who has experience/knowledge in
> this area to advise..

> thanks gene

I have had a little experience with the same thing. Small calf under 100 lbs, runny nose trouble breathing, physically weak. Ive had several like this, one I took to a vet. He gave me 1 gram of Naxcell premixed. And like you where using, Nuflor. The Naxcell I am assuming was an anitinflamitory fever reducer. And the Nuflor was to follow the Naxcell after something like 5 days. But about the Nuflor and Micotil I have been told that the Micotil will knock something that small down for a while making them appear worse.But that may not allways be the case. The Nuflor and Micotil both, for me have usually been effective within the first couple of doses or does not work at all.I have had a few herd calves who have been relapsing. Im not sure what to try next. If nothing else seperate the Cow and Calf away from the rest of your herd. Make sure that the calf is nursing, it may be to weak.

Keep an eye on em and Good luck.

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Naxcel is an antibiotic with zero withdrawal to slaughter. Just a different one, not an antiinflammatory. I've had much less luck with it than Nuflor or Micotil, but each area is different. In Canada it is marketed as Excenel.
 
> Naxcel is an antibiotic with zero
> withdrawal to slaughter. Just a
> different one, not an
> antiinflammatory. I've had much
> less luck with it than Nuflor or
> Micotil, but each area is
> different. In Canada it is
> marketed as Excenel.

this little calf.. is still alive, but you can tell he doesnt feel just right.. looks weak, droopy head/ears..

he is up and down.. one day seems to be better and the next he looks down again.

i suspect that he didnt get enough colostrum at birth.. he has been weak all his life.. 4 1/2 weeks. and i figure he will not make it if he doesnt hurry up and get better. he would not make another relapse. any suggestions appreciated.



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There is a simple serum test which can tell you if he received enough colostrum. If it is low, you can either give a serum transfusion, or blood from the dam or sire (less likely to cause reactions from them, but I still cross check for reactions before I give.) The serum would be available through your local vet college for sure, possibly also your vet. I've kept calves going but it's a heck of a lot easier with a good immune system...the antibodies from the dam will be dropping naturally starting around 2 months and the calf's immune system starts kicking in then... Good Luck! V
 
> There is a simple serum test which
> can tell you if he received enough
> colostrum. If it is low, you can
> either give a serum transfusion,
> or blood from the dam or sire
> (less likely to cause reactions
> from them, but I still cross check
> for reactions before I give.) The
> serum would be available through
> your local vet college for sure,
> possibly also your vet. I've kept
> calves going but it's a heck of a
> lot easier with a good immune
> system...the antibodies from the
> dam will be dropping naturally
> starting around 2 months and the
> calf's immune system starts
> kicking in then... Good Luck! V

thanks v however, i am not familiar at all with this serum/blood transfusion thing.. i take blood from the mother and put into the blood stream of the calf? what type reaction do they have? would this be ok to do even without a serum test?.. i guess what i mean is, could it hurt anything to just do it anyway?

it sounds to me like you are saying if this little feller can make it to 2 months, his own immune system may kick in to help him get ok. am i understanding this correctly?

thanks gene

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