sick momma cow

[Holmesfarm]

we have a 8 year old herford momma cow that has a 11 day old baby both seemed to be doing good ,noticed that she didn`t have a big bag like other years but baby doing good. she went off feed I think on Friday. tried to get her in the barn and she went down on us only a few feet from barn,Weak. some how she got up enough energy and made it to the barn on her own.Got the vet out to see her. checked her inside and out no temp.. not sure what the problem is . He thinks maybe she is calcium defency . and that would make her go off feed and not drink.Oh yah we caught a 7 month old calf that we though was weaned sucking on her. got him out of there fast.vet thinks maybe he could have sucked her dry ,Vet put in a IV with electrolytes and calcium . he thought that would make her drink alot but she only drank a little. the next morning same took on little water no feed but shes up and moving a bit more letting the baby nurse he has lots of work because she is not making much milk. Vet also has us giving her penicillin incase there is something else going on . waiting for the vet to get back to us today. the baby is strong but worried that he might not be getting enough milk. and with the temps in the single digits two nights in a row how long can she go with out food in her stomach to keep her warm and make milk for the little one.worried.

 

[milkmaid]

Couple possibilities...

ketosis
uterine infection
displased abomasum

Is she eating anything? have a strange appetite, like rocks, etc?

 

[Holmesfarm]

shes not eating a thing keep trying to temp her she comes to see what you have puts her nose in it and walks away.drinking a little. still waiting for the vet to get back to us.

 

[Roadapple]

If ketosis, does she have a strong smelling breath? Does her breath smell like fingernail polish remover? Signs include a decrease in appetite and milk production over a period of 2 to 4 days; an extremely fast loss of weight; dry firm feces and often constipation; temperature, pulse, and respiration are normal.Milk production will drop severely if they do not die, and it may take as long as 30 days to recover. Even then cows will not regain former production levels till next lactation. More common in dairy than beef, but all domestic animals are subject to having ketosis. I wonder if perhaps hardware?

 

[hillsdown]

Couple possibilities...

ketosis
uterine infection
displased abomasum

That would be my top three also.MM what is the test you can do for a DA with a stethoscope and flicking your finger around the abomasum if you here a ping it is displaced. Something like that maybe you can explain it better how to do it.

BUT wouldn't the vet have caught all of that???????/

IMHO,I would pull the calf for now and bottle feed it so the cow can get her strength back. She can't get healthy and make milk at the same time, also they need to drink a lot of water to produce milk.

 

[milkmaid]

Depends how good the vet is or even if he's a large animal vet if he'd even think of DAs. Besides, DAs are a relatively uncommon occurance with beef cattle, so it may not have even crossed his mind. A stethoscope placed in the area of the flank or last rib on the left side will help detect most LDAs (occasionally you may have a RDA which is much more serious and would be found on the right side). You're right, flicking with a finger near the stethoscope will produce a characteristic "ping" - similar to flicking a pop can - if the abomasum has flipped. It's actually harder to hear the difference between normal and abnormal than one would think, but you've got a pretty good chance of making the right guess visually if you have a fresh cow off feed that has no temperature, no unusual appetite (a good sign of ketosis), and doesn't act "sick" yet won't eat.

Ketotic cows... I've never had good luck with the "breath test;" I simply cannot smell that sweet odor that's supposedly characteristic of ketosis.

I'd leave the calf with her. If you pull the calf she will totally quit producing milk and may dry herself completely up by the time you have the problem fixed. Supplement the calf, but leave it with her, and she'll have a good chance of coming back into milk.

Last thought for this post... if your vet is so clueless as to not even check for a DA, you may be better off to ship the cow than to pay him to try to correct an LDA, if that truly is what she has. Vets who can do a good job fixing a DA without the cow relapsing at some point, are hard to find.

 

[Holmesfarm]

looked up the three things you listed . the vet did check for displaced abomasum I think .he was thumping his finger on her sides. but I will ask him .She still is the same drinking little but still getting up and down . missed the vets call he couldn`t make it out today .he says he will call back tonight. the problem is theres not enough big animal vets they have know time. thank you milkmaid and hillsdown . i`m still worried but you gave me something to look up and read about and made me feel useful. I will let you know how things turn out.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Has she pooped? What did it look like? Texture, number of times in half a day etc.

Hardware or blockage (plastic bags, twine, etc) another possibility.

 

[Holmesfarm]

no she has not pooped nothing going in and nothing coming out three days.the vet came out last night 9;30 . ruled out displaced abomasum. IV her with more electrolytes . he says it`s internal a tumor maybe.have to work on getting the baby to take a bottle so far no luck he rather have moms milk.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

If she hasn't pooped in three days she is probably going to die. Better get the little guy on a bottle or you will lose him too.

I bet she is stopped up with some kind of trash.

 

[Roadapple]

If she has'nt ate in a good while, she probably ain't gonna poop. I'd stick a $2.50 magnet down her on the chance it's hardware. If it ain't, it ain't gonna hurt her anyway. Had one once would'nt eat, had'nt eaten in a couple days, got her in the chute and stuck a magnet in her and she walked right over to the bunk and started eating. End of problem.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

magnet sure wouldn't hurt. Curious why vet thinks tumor as opposed to something else? If she dies cut her open and see what what's in there.

 

[Holmesfarm]

had the vet put her down this morning. the calf drank a hole bottle going to try and put him on a nurse cow.

 

[Alice]

had the vet put her down this morning. the calf drank a hole bottle going to try and put him on a nurse cow.

If you got the calf to drink a whole bottle after having only nursed his mother, good on you...and to that I'll add...you might not let him get outta the habit of drinking from a bottle. No, that doesn't mean I wouldn't try to put him on a nurse cow, heck no. I'd just hate for him to get out of practice with the bottle, like maybe every day, or so, give the little guy something in a bottle, even if it's just a pint of milk replacer.

I know what it is trying to make a calf drink a bottle that's only nursed it's mama, and I think I hate that frustration almost as much as the lousy scours.

Alice

 

[hillsdown]

had the vet put her down this morning. the calf drank a hole bottle going to try and put him on a nurse cow.

Sorry to hear that did you get her posted?
Glad that the calf is accepting the bottle.

 

[Holmesfarm]

He was good and hurngy this morning and drank two quarts is four quarts a day the right amount? this was our first cow to dye on us not a good day we did not post her.just want to keep the calf alive.thank you to all that replyed. I have learned so much on these boards but somethings you have to learn the hard way

 

[rockridgecattle]

feed smaller amounts more often if it is a younger calf. Consider 3-4 feedings for the first couple of weeks, then 3 feedings and then when the little bugger is good and strong and off to a good start 2x. Little stomach can not hold so much at once. Might find he goes off in a few days

 

[Caustic Burno]

He was good and hurngy this morning and drank two quarts is four quarts a day the right amount? this was our first cow to dye on us not a good day we did not post her.just want to keep the calf alive.thank you to all that replyed. I have learned so much on these boards but somethings you have to learn the hard way

Do you have a nurse cow or a cow you could graft the calf to. The calf and you would be much better off.
You are going to have a lot of money and time invested in a calf that is going to be behind. You can raise them on a bottle but you can't compete with a tit that has a fill up anytime its wanted and was designed for the job.