sick heifer

[3G-A-farm]

Hello. Been trying to find information on the web about a sick animal I have. She lost a LOT of weight in a short period of time and had the runs real bad, worse than all the others after green up. We had her tested for Johnes, it came back negative. Our vet said the tests showed liver problems with GDT, brought about by too much feed as a youngster. We purchased her at a dispersal sale. Could someone please show me where I can find some information about this problem? Thanks in advance. Our vet is a young man just starting out, but has been very good in previous dealings with him. I question whether we can rule out johnes yet. She is coming upon 3 years old.

Thank you in advance for all the help.

Regards,

Bill

 

[hillsdown]

Hi Bill while I am typing this MM or someone else has already responded so if the info is duplicated I apologize.First the cow is almost to young to test for Johne's so you would have to repeat the test a few times more.Next does she have a calf at her side/ is she bred and do you suspect the dispersal herd might be Johne's positive?What ph balancers have you given her thus far keopectate etc?And a list of worming mineral and vaccination protocals to help eliminate other diagnoses?Also feed she is receiving.Has (BVD)?? been ruled out?

 

[3G-A-farm]

Hello hillsdown. Thanks for the reply. She has no calf at side, she lost it shortly after a very long delivery, in excess of 12 hours. Took me some time to find here after work one night. cannot read the vets writing, go figure. He gave her a worm shot, two large doses of vitamins and had us quarantine her. She has had approx 100 lbs of 125 feed and free choice good hay. She has gotten rid of the runs, but is still VERY thin. I vaccinate with Ultra Choice 8; cattlemaster 4 +VL5; and ivomec pour on. We have just given her a second 30cc dose of an antibiotic that was prescribed by vet.

Vet said to turn her out after the shots and let her get bred. She was a long time coming back into heat, but has had 2 cycles recently about 22 days apart.

 

[hillsdown]

Well it sounds like she has everything possible as a far as vaccinations are concerned.If her fecal matter has started to became solid then she may be over the hump.One clear way to tell is if the tail is relatively clean.As far as Johne's that still may be a possibility however if she cylcles regularily then you can almost rule that one out.The first thing to go on a johne's cow is they stop cycling it is like anorexia in women.Also the fact that she is cycling is a plus to begin with she must be in better shape than you thought.Hopefully we can come up with some other helpful ideas but in my opinion I would let her get reconditioned a little more before breeding her back.It will take alot of time for her to put the weight back on it's amazing that they can drop a couple hundred pounds in a few days yet it takes months for them to put it back on sometimes especially if they have been sick.Also she needs to get used to good quality food again so be really careful with her diet.Someone that might be able to help is Kernsie hopefully if he sees this he will respond if not you could PM him.Sorry that's all I can come up with at this time.

 

[milkmaid]

It may just be post-partum problems, either metabolic or an infection, that caused her to drop weight. There's a whole host of fresh cow problems that can cause diahreaa, and often times, once they slip into a negative energy balance, it becomes a downward spiral.

I'm not familiar with "liver problems with GDT" - can you elaborate? - but I am familiar with the "fatty liver" condition often seen in overconditioned dairy cows. Often diagnosed simultaneously with ketosis in heavy producers, and I've seen cows drop 200+ pounds within a 48 hour span.

Until a cow comes back into a positive energy balance, she won't cycle, so it appears that your cow is improving, esp since she's had 2 cycles. She may or may not breed back... if you have the pasture I'd be inclined to just let her put weight on and sell her in the fall.

 

[hillsdown]

- but I am familiar with the "fatty liver" condition often seen in overconditioned dairy cows. Often diagnosed simultaneously with ketosis in heavy producers, and I've seen cows drop 200+ pounds within a 48 hour span.

Ditto MM seen the fatty liver a few times especially with Holsteins being fed to rich of food while dried off but the ones I have seen that dropped 200-300 lbs in a coulple of days were terminal to much damage was done that no amount of feed, drugs or PH balancers made a difference also Bill said the cow lost her calf right after birth so she was dryed off right away which makes a big difference she might have been able to maintain and heal because she wasn't milking.I guess I should have asked the breed because I know fatty liver is not that common in beef.That could be the liver condition the Vet was referring to.

 

[milkmaid]

- but I am familiar with the "fatty liver" condition often seen in overconditioned dairy cows. Often diagnosed simultaneously with ketosis in heavy producers, and I've seen cows drop 200+ pounds within a 48 hour span.

Ditto MM seen the fatty liver a few times especially with Holsteins being fed to rich of food while dried off but the ones I have seen that dropped 200-300 lbs in a coulple of days were terminal to much damage was done that no amount of feed, drugs or PH balancers made a difference also Bill said the cow lost her calf right after birth so she was dryed off right away which makes a big difference she might have been able to maintain and heal because she wasn't milking.I guess I should have asked the breed because I know fatty liver is not that common in beef.That could be the liver condition the Vet was referring to.

I have seen them come around after dropping that much weight, but it took months before they even looked semi-normal.

To me, it would be more probable that the cow had a uterine infection, or that the downward spiral began prior to calving, and even though she wasn't lactating after she calved, she still couldn't pull out of it.

FWIW, although fatty liver is most common in fresh dairy cows, it can occur in any over-conditioned cow, not just ones fed large amounts of grain or rich feed.

 

[3G-A-farm]

Hello to all and thanks for all the help and suggestions. As I stated before, I read the boards every day, just don't post too much as I am still a beginner.

A- the cow in question is a Registered Black Angus. She is from some pretty good lines and is very docile. My father went out to look at them today and said he can see a difference in her rump. he only gets out there every few days, as he doesn't get around too well. I see her 3 or 4 times a day.

B- I have read alot on the web about Johnes and was worried it was that. But she has been cycling these past 2 times, after a 7 month delay after calving.

Thanks again and will keep all posted. I sincerely appreciate the help.

Regards,

Bill