Sick calf??

[Jaidee]

Hello every one. I am very new to this board, and I did read all the old posts here to see if anyone had anything like what I am seeing. First of all, Booboo is our first beef steer, my first cow at all! Am a horse person. He is about 8 months old now and was doing GREAT until last week. I have noticed him laying down more (never a good sign in horses, lol) and occasionally he makes an "urrp" sound kinda low. I thought maybe he was coughing up some cud or something. But, he has been slightly off his food, and this morning he did not eat his grain at all. He is still eating hay. I noticed that his back fentlocks look like they are beginning to knuckle a bit, and he acts like his back feet are hurting. He likes to stand (when he stands) streched out. He does not look bloated. When I gave him his food, he got up, drooled a bit, ate a bit, then laid back down. He acts like his back is hurt, kinda stiff. We have a lot of ice right now too.

I do not have a cow vet that comes out, I would have to take him into the vets office, and that is a problem, because we have not made him a pet. He is not halter broke, and other than going in the general direction, I walk behind him, he is difficult to get going where I want him to go.

I am bringing him in the barn tonight to monitor how much water and hay he is eating.

When he was casterated, the vet gave him a tetnus shot and his vaccinations, again being a horse person, I have no idea what they gave him.

Any ideas? He is a nice animal and I dont want to see him get sick, I dont even know IF he is sick or if this something that they go thru? He is with my weanling filly (same age as him) and they get along well, no kicking or anything. They have a nice 1st cut round bale to eat, NO MOLD, and I feed them grain individually. They seem to like each other.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!!!

Connie, in Fenton, MI

 

[rockridgecattle]

advise...the vet.
Take temperature
Sounds like pnemonia. Call the vet now, tonight and get the drugs necessary. Nuflor or micotil, or excede or draxin plus and anti inflamatory. If the vet is not available call a local neighbor who has cattle and see if they have anything.
If all you have is LA200 and you can not find anything stronger use that and get the vet called as soon as possilbe.
Pnemonia has a way of damaging the lungs and making a healthy animal chronic.
Did his vaccinations get boostered?
Did you buy it? When? Raise it from birth?

 

[TNfamilyfarm]

Pneumonia, upper resp infections(URI) are the common illnesses in cattle.unless its a small calf a temp is out of the question. Do you have a chute in the barn? Yes, put him in it and give some antibiotics (see previous post). No, this is the hard way! have plenty of help, lasso his head and rope him to a strong post. once there you can halter him to the post. The help should grab his tail and pull it to the side until on his back. Holding it there, will keep him from kicking.
what type of grain and how much does he usually get? to much is not a good thing.
If it's not an URI then Check on selenium deficiency in your area. They make shots for that.

 

[Jaidee]

Thanks for the reply!!

I bought Booboo when he was 4 months old, in August. He got all of his shots (vet did them when he was casterated) in October. He ate all his food tonight. I tried to get him in the barn, in a stall, but he was not cooperative , and I was afraid that he might slip and fall, so rather than risk him hurting himself to get away from us, I offered him his grain and his hay. I got this batch of feed, and it looks like they mixed more molassas in it, so put some of my horses oats/soybean 14% mix in it to dilute the molassas (horses dont get any), and he ate it up. He did not breathe hard (although I certainly was) when I was trying to get him in the barn. I did not hear him cough at all. But after he ate, he laid down again. He got up again about 30 minutes later, and ate his hay. At night, he gets one flake of third cut alfalfa, and three flakes of first cut tim/orchard grass hay. During the day he is on a round bale, tim/orchard grass, and has his grain in the morning too.

Taking his temp will be like tempting death. I cannot get near to him, and he would certainly be against me violating him . Hopefully, he will not go any worse....will call vet on Wednesday morning first thing unless he gets worse, then will call tomorrow.

He is drinking his water right now, am still worried about his back fentlocks....but he was moving ok when running me all over the pen trying to chase him in the barn!!! I wonder if he slipped on the ice and hurt himself? Oh yeah, I did see him trying to lick or scratch his right flank a few times today, It looked like my horse did when he had a mild colic episode.

My horse vet does not do cows....the vet I took him to for his casteration does not come out to my house, I would have to take him there, and I have a 2 horse trailer. The last time they had to tranq him just to get him so that he didnt hurt them.

I didnt want to make him a pet, but I guess if I do this again, will halter break the silly thing incase of injury or illness. Live and learn.

Thanks again,

Merry Christmas!

 

[dun]

How much grain are you feeding how often? Get some plain grass hay or at least knock off the alfalfa.

 

[angie2]

Your steer eats better than I do :shock:

 

[Brad D]

The guys said it right call a vet if you are unsure. If it looks like it has the runs i wouldn't feed it any grain it needs something like grass to plug it up and keep some nutrients in it. I've noticed that when calves have a fever they sit on thier tails,so if the tail looks fanned out or flatened most likely it has a fever and is going to need medication soon.
Merry Christmas

 

[larryshoat]

Try to get his temp, if over 102 treat with antibiotic. I'm wandering if this calf is foundered.

Merry Christmas

Larry

 

[angie2]

I never thought of founder.......

It sounds as though temp and vet are not an option for her.

Jaidee, how is he doing today?
Do you have gates? Help?

 

[Jaidee]

He seems to be doing a bit better today, he ate his breakfast, and wanted his green hay, but only got the 1st cut round bale. But he is munching on it today. He still stands streteched like he would to pee, but will stand on all fours. I bedded his run in shed deeply last night with straw, and it looks like he slept all night. (he is a bit spoiled isnt he??) He is out with the filly and looks happy. His back fentlocks down to his hoofs appears a bit swollen, like a horse that stocks up, but he is walking ok. I have seen him drink too. I am going to call the vet tomorrow morning and see what they think.

The best I could do is get him in the stall, and use a gate to try to hold him long enough to give him some medicine. Will need more than my hubby and I though, the steer is STRONG.

Sheesh, I am really cow ignorant. I didnt even KNOW they could founder.

THANKS again everyone, what a great board!

MERRY Christmas!!

 

[rockridgecattle]

streched out as if to pee, still say pnemonia.
If you have him in a stall make sure well ventilated. This too can cause pnemonia.

What type of mineral is he on. You mention you have horses. I don't know if they have the same mineral requirements as cattle. You might need a cattle mineral, free choice as well as salt free choice.
back hocks....selenium deficent? maybe.

Merry Christmas everyone

 

[angie2]

Again why would anyone raise cattle that didnt have the facilities to work them. It just blows my mind the audacity of some people.

I would normally agree with that. However, she does not raise cattle, she has one steer. She has only had him since August. She will learn. We all do.

 

[rockridgecattle]

you don't have the ability to work up the animal, okay, there are ways around this that cost little.
Have you got a good sturdy fence? How about 2 - 8 or 10 foot pannels? a halter? a few heavy chains? good rope?
HEre is what you do
Tie or chain a pannel to the good fence, one end. Make the other end open 45 degree angle or a bit more.
A rope to the good fence, tied well,
laid on the ground and then wrapped one time(do not tie yet) about calf butt high on the pannel. Now you have a squeeze.
Animal goes in head first to the narrow end.when he gets there pull the rope, close the end and tie fast. (takes practice.
Done this many times when calving, treating etc. Will work until you can afford something if you want.
If you have a second panel attach to the end of the first to make like a load chute.

This will also work when loading. Park the trailer along that good fence and set up the pannels parrallel to the fence. Now you have a cheap loading chute for the calf. Works for cows, will work for this fella. Just rember to tie the pannels well.

 

[larryshoat]

Maybe contact someone that raises cattle in your area to help. Over the years I've helped many people with their cattle problems. They will probably be more willing to help than what you might think.

Larry

 

[Keren]

Hi Jaidee, hope Booboo is doing alright.

Couple of things:

- You really should get him to the vet. Rig up some gates like rockridgecattle described, and put him in your horse trailer. Or otherwise, it might work to put some feed in there for him (maybe make him wait a bit longer than usual for it) and he may hop in there and you can close the gate behind him. If your vet deals mainly with horses, then he probably will not have a cattle crush, only a horse crush, which is insufficient for cattle not broken to lead. SO, find another vet to take him to, that has a small set of cattle yards and a crush. Most large animal vets will have some sort of working area, that they can deal with unbroken animals.

- Its hard to diagnose anything from what you have mentioned. I too am wondering about 'founder' - (hot feet, we call it here). Because I am guessing he has had a LOT of feed. I can make the feet and legs swollen and painful, usually starting with the back legs. The other thing I was thinking, but I have only ever seen it in goats and sheep, was urinary calculi, the main sign of which is standing like they are going to pee, but nothing coming out. It usually happens in sheep and goats on a high grain diet, usually with lots of lucerne/alfalfa hay. Never seen it happen in steers, though, just a thought. The other thing is maybe he did slip on some ice and hurt his back/legs. I think you really need to have someone see this calf in order to properly diagnose it.

- With him living with horses, just make sure what you are feeding both him and the horse, is safe for the other animal to eat. Some horse mixes are not good for cattle, and some cattle mixes are not good for horses. Especially if they are a total feed with minerals etc in it, well what is a complete mineral ration for a horse is not a complete mineral ration for a cow, and vice versa. Also you have to watch out for things like rumensin in cattle feeds, which shouldnt be given to monogastrics (horses), and horse additives which (depending on the additive) shouldnt always be given to cattle. So bottom line is, either feed them both the same feed, suitable for all animals (here we have Hobby Farm Pellets or Town and Country Pellets, which can be fed to sheep, cattle, deer, goats, alpacas, horses, pigs, rabbits and chooks - almost any animal) or you have to be absolutely certain that they cannot eat even a mouthful of the other animal's feed. Even a mouthful of grain spilled on the grass can be dangerous. Many of these cases are cumulative and recurrent, so nothing happens to the animal directly after he eats a bit of it, but after months of eating the feed, they can get mysteriously sick, for no apparent reason.

- You said you didnt want to make him into a pet - good on you for thinking this way. You are protecting yourself and your family. BUT - halter breaking him will not turn him into a pet - it will just give him some ground manners. It is not too late to halter break him, and seeing as you only have one steer and no cattle handling facilities, I think the best thing for you to do is to have him halter broken, so you CAN work him when necessary. If you like I can PM you some information about halter breaking a bovine.

Good luck with him, let us know how he does.

 

[Jaidee]

Hi All,

Again, thank you for all the input, your knowledge really has helped me with our guy. I did call my vet, and we took him there. They were able to get a temp on him, and said no temp (was 101). Told me the same thing you all did, no alfalfa, and cut back on his grain. They think he will be fine, and told me don't look at him too close. He is a cow, not a horse. Cows lay down a lot more. They were not concerned about his legs (I pointed it out) and how he stands.

I do feed his grain totally separate from the filly's. The filly eats in her stall, and the steer eats in his pen. When he is done, I take up his feed dish.

He was a bugger to get in the trailer, whew. Once in, he was fine, rode well, and we off loaded him into a stock. Then turned it around and re-loaded him, so all went well that way. I may never get him back into the trailer, LOL> Hopefully his only next trip will be to the processor.

I did figure out a way to corner him using my round pen panels, if I need to give him any medications.

Again, thank you all so very much for your help. This is a great board, and I am so glad to have found it. I am learning everyday with Booboo, and we plan to do another one after he goes to the processor......so the question is....what is the best breed to do?

He is an Angus x Hereford (sire) x Angus x Shorthorn (dam). I am not really all that happy with horns, and the man I bought him from didnt have him casterated or dehorned when young, so I had to casterate him after the fly season (in October) and it seemed that he went thru alot more than if he would've been done early...

 

[Keren]

Good to hear he is doing okay!

As a general rule of thumb, he should eat his food within about 10 minutes. If he is still eating after that, then he is getting too much. Cut it down so that he has eaten it all in 10 minutes. Of course, some animals vary with how quickly they eat, so this doesnt always work.

As for the breed for your next one . . . I would say anything as long as it is quiet. You are probably better off with British breeds or British cross (Angus, Shorthorn, Hereford, Poll Hereford and crosses of these) as these are generally quieter animals and will be easier for you to handle. If you want something bigger and more muscled, look for one of these breeds crossed with a European breed (Limousin, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Saler). If you dont want horns, you need to get one that the farmer has dehorned, or a polled one (meaning they are born without horns). Polled breeds are Angus and Poll Hereford. Herefords are always horned. Shorthorn, Limousin, Charolais, Gelbvieh and Saler are horned, but you can get polled individuals as well. Ask the farmer.

Its also probably better if you can get him direct from the farmer, already dehorned (if necessary), castrated and had all his shots. Yes, the older they are at castrating, the more stress it causes them.

I still think it would be a good idea to halter break the next one.

Hope everything goes well from now on!

 

[msscamp]

Try to get his temp, if over 102 treat with antibiotic. I'm wandering if this calf is foundered.

Merry Christmas

Larry

That is what I'm wondering, too. The stretched out position sure sounds like he's trying to get pressure off his back feet.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

If possible try parking your trailer in his pen or up to a gate and feed him in there - then you will never have a problem loading him when you need to. Depending on the trailer's configuration you could even work him in there (shots temp etc)

 

[sparky1]

If he is still making a funny sound and sr
trechn out as u say I would shoot him with pnumonia meds asap u can do this if u can get close enough with out facilities just stick em and go