Sick or injured calf

[kdougl]

Hi guys,
I'm a new member. I've actually been lurking as a non-member for quite some time, but I had a question I wanted to ask, so I registered as a member today.

By way of introduction, I'm not a big rancher. I have six acres devided into an alfalfa field and pasture. For the last couple of years I have been buying day-old Holstein bull calves from a dairy down the road. I bottle feed them and raise them up to about 700 lbs and sell them at the livestock auction.
Because of my small acreage, I only raise about 3 or 4 a year. This year, I also purchased (actually traded for) an Angus heifer which I had bred and which should calve next June.

Anyway, yesterday morning I went out to grain my calves. They are about 4 months old. One of them hadn't come into the barn. I walked the fence line until I spotted him. He was laying down, wedged in between a pile of irrigation pipe and the fence. He appeared to be stuck so I moved some of the pipe and drug him away from the pile. I tried to make him stand but his hind legs didn't seem to work. I brought some grain and water out to him but he didn't eat or drink very much. I wasn't sure if he was injured or sick. I gave him a shot of LA200. Later that afternoon, I came home from work early to check on him. He hadn't moved. I tried to get him to eat some grain but he had no interest. By evening he could barely hold his head up. I covered him in blankets, but this morning he was dead.

I see three possibilites.
1- My heifer (who is an ornery cuss) might have butted him into the pile of pipe and causing some type of spinal injury.

2- He worked his way behind the pipes trying to get at some grass and got stuck. Laying against aluminum pipe all night might have froze him to the point where he couldn't move his legs. (it was about 10 degrees F)

3- He simply caught some sort of illness and died.

I'm very depressed about losing this calf. For one reason, I get attached to the animals which I bottle feed. But also because I run so few cattle that a single death represents a large percentage of my "herd".

My question is, do any of the causes which I listed sound reasonable to you, or do you have any other guesses which might have caused this?
I'm asking because I'd hate for this to happen again.
Thanks in advance.

Doug

 

[sodfarmer490]

well, when i come across something like this , i can't quite figure out the reason , first i take their temp. if elevated, then i know what i am up against. if no temp, then i am back where you were, just not knowing, and trying get them in and get them warm and wait, til you can get a better handle on it.
i have seen pneumonia take them quick, cause you just didn't see the early signs and by the time you do, it is too late.
that's why i hate bottle calves, is you get too attached.
holsteins don't seem to have the greatest immune systems, either, so i would always be looking for pneumonia signs. just as a matter of course, visually check each ones breathing, if you see one breathing faster and shallower than the other, pull him in and take temp. saves them to get them full of micotil, early.

 

[hgfarmer]

You shouldnt have had piles of pipe lying around and he wouldnt have got caught.... but most of us are guilty of having thins lying around in the pastures but if it is cleaned up the chances of things like this happening are limited. By the way get you a jersey momma to raise those calves.... they can raise way more than 4 a year! We have great luck with them.

 

[milkmaid]

Could have been temporary nerve damage and he went into shock and died. I've seen shock alone kill more than one animal. It's cold in our area of the country nowdays, and that could have been a contributor.

 

[Beefy]

was the calf cast (meaning he was laid out on his side in such a way that he couldnt get up?) cows will sometimes get cast even just on a hill. sometimes they can get pushed over while they are laying there and get cast. i've had big calves pushed over into a feed trough and get cast. anyway, if so, it doesnt take them long to bloat in that situation. did you notice any signs of bloat?

sometimes cattle will get in a position like that and struggle a few minutes and then just give up on life and you cant do anything about it. others will freak out and die.

the combination of a stressful situation like that and the cold is enough to kill one.

so who knows. i have two piles of irrigation pipes in the pasture up against a fence and countless other junk. weird things like that happen.

 

[angie1]

We had a large steer stick his head through a drag once and pull it around the pasture and through the fence. What a mess. I felt so stupid when the vet came . It was leaning against shed, I think he was scratching his head on it (?). Not there anymore......

 

[kdougl]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

The calf was not cast.
It was lying on it's stomach with it's feet under it. If I didn't know better I would have thought it was just resting.
When I tried to move it, it would struggle a bit with it's front legs, but the hind legs just stayed where they were.

One of my other calves seems to be walking a bit stiff as well.
I wish this cold spell would snap for a while.
It hasn't gotten above freezing for several days now.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

sounds like something is wrong and contagious, might want to call a vet.

 

[Beefy]

you have vaccinated for blackleg havent you? what kind of feed are you feeding? botulism can cause paralysis of back legs.

 

[milkmaid]

How about minerals? what kind of salt/mineral program are your calves on?

 

[kdougl]

you have vaccinated for blackleg havent you? what kind of feed are you feeding? botulism can cause paralysis of back legs.

I sure haven't.
Excuse my ignorance but I've never heard of it. Is blackleg vaccination something I can pick up at a feed store, or farm supply?
I've been feeding them calf starter, (though I'm about to switch to a cheaper grain mix), they've been eating whats left of my grass, and lately I've been throwing some alfalfa hay out to them.

 

[kdougl]

How about minerals? what kind of salt/mineral program are your calves on?

So far, just a salt block.
Is there a specific mineral/salt block that you recommend?

 

[milkmaid]

The stiffness in the others might have something to do with a selenium deficiency. The area you and I are in is pretty deficient in selenium, and a lack of it can cause something commonly known as "white muscle disease." Basically, selenium is required for proper muscle function... from the basics like legs and tongue, to lungs and heart.

Personally, I'd probably give them all a shot of Bo-Se or Multimin/Mineral Max, as that's a lot quicker than waiting for them to eat loose minerals or a block, and you're not at the mercy of their digestive system.