sickly calves

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wagyu girl

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Our calves were recently weaned so are rising 1 year, and they were looking pretty good, it is winter and the feed is coarse and dry. We supplement hay and have just started with a grainmix pellet to help them grow. There are about 60 calves and of those about 10 look really poor. They have very wet rears and are wobbly in the legs. One went down and it has been in the stable for 3 weeks it is a bit stronger but still looks pretty awful. We have tested for just about everything including pestivirus. Three of the worst ones have a swelling under their jaw that is spongy but quite firm. The vet has been out and so far no luck. They aren't wormy, no liver fluke and they are still eating.We have injected coppernate this week under vets advice (the area was copper deficient in the past) Any ideas?????
 
Hi WG and welcome. The fluid under the jaw certainly sounds like hypoproteinaemia, usually from parasites. Have you done them for fluke, even though tested -ve? What part of Qld are you from, is it a fluke area? I live East of Stanthorpe, we have had a lot of rain in last 12mths and fluke has reappeared after being absent in the dry years. I have paddocks that are still drying out.
Ken
 
The vet said he tested for fluke, worms pestevirus, coccidosis, etc......so far no luck I will ask about the fluke again, what kind of fluke areyou referring to, liver??I too still have paddocks drying out and springs where there were none. I am sad that we have at least 10 animals that seem to be not holding any condition and are very week, they are all 2 years and under. Thanks for your input TB. I treated my really sick calf with a drench three weeks ago and his swelling went down almost immediately even though there was a very low worm count in his stool. There is another calf with the swelling I noticed yesterday when we branded our weaners. That was an experience!!!
 
Did you use a grubicide shortly before this problem started? If you have heel flys in your area it may have been the wrong time to treat for warbles/grubs
 
Wagyu girl, you may not want to give your exact location, but if you can narrow it down a bit it helps to help you eg whether or not you are in a liver fluke area. We are on the northern edge of the New England Tableland and while we are not normally real bad for fluke in drier years, the rain we have had lately certainly brings it to the fore.
A neighbour of mine recently lost 3 Alpaccas, supposedly from fluke. As feed became scarcer in winter they grazed the greener wet areas below their dam, an area they avoided when more feed around, they got an acute dose of immature fluke.
I don't know a real lot about fluke, but I believe tests for it are not absolute, an individual test is unreliable, needs to be on multiple samples to get idea of herd status. But again it comes back to geographic position to know if it is a possibility.
Ken
 
Worm counts are a funny thing- they vary day to day and sample to sample thru out the day.
You can even have one come back clean and take another one in 6 hrs and have it be loaded.
I had sheep and did alot of playing with fecals- after about two weeks I threw the solution out and haven't done one since
to me they are useless(except to make the vets money :) )

IF you treated one for worms and the bottle jaw went down- I would treat them all.
 
We are in the south east queensland hinterland west of the sunshine coast, the vet is coming back on tuesday to get samples to send to the DPI. Today the calf actually looks better and has started eating a food supplement meal advised by the rural store manager. Who knows, the feed is down and they are eating a lot more from the creek area???? But we have now started them on a Riverina mixture to help them grow. Some are doing very well. Thanks to all for their input I do appreciate any advice as we are very inexperienced but really love the farm and the cows. New babies are dropping as we speak and they all look great so far. Wish us luck for this our first drop under our own steam.
 
I wouldn't have thought that fluke would be a problem where you are, but vet would know what is in the area. Get plenty of samples sent from as many calves as possible and it should shed some light on it. It is important to know especially if you are new at it.
I used to do a lot of 4wd ing through the state forests up your way, Kennilworth, Imbil, I used to illegally bush camp. I knew those tracks inside out, I could get around that place better than the rangers, very beautifull area.
Best of luck with your calving, I think the Wagyu are pretty good in that department, but with 100 there is always room for something to go amiss, but not too serious I hope. Stay in touch and don't be afraid to ask any questions.
Ken
 
My daughter sent me a message today while we were on the gold coast picking up some furniture from our old place. She saw a dingo in our paddock with the cows and new calves. I will be letting some of the locals know and hopefully they can help us out. Our maiden heifers, in with the cows are all pretty feisty and certainly not scared of dogs. I think they will be more than a match for 1 dingo but a pack I think we may be in trouble. My Maremma and my donkey may have to go out in the paddock at night for a while.Who'd have thought we'd have dingo problems, but the locals say they are real trouble killing stock especially lambs and baby goats.
 
Bye the way my calf looks a lot brighter today and seems to be loving the pellets with a little molasses on top.
 
After a number of weeks enjoying the Hilton accommodation at our ranch my sickly calf #52 decided to leave with his peers upon finding a gate left open. He was looking much better but still very thin with a big belly now though. We mustered the cattle today to take the bigger steers, older cows and heifers we didn't want to keep into one mob and he still looks ok, I do have another one though that looks pretty bad though. I decided to worm all the young weaners regardless of the worm count as there are too many of them that look a bit sickly and we can't seem to find anything wrong. I did notice though that a couple of the cows had a funny patch of hide lifting, it was somewhat circular and under neath was a bit of infection and a bit yuck any ideas?
 
If the worming doesn't count then I would ask about the pellets you are feeding. There are starter grains/pellets, finisher grains/pellets, etc. Start on the wrong one and you can kill them.

The lifting of the hide can be ring worm and what weeds do you have in your paddocks? Fireweed is poisonous to livestock, so is lantana.
 
The pellets were advised by the Riverina feed agent, (Xcelerate) when he came to look at the stock, they do not get unlimited feed and they still eat the paddock and some hay also.We do have lantana throughout the gullys of the property, I did a burn on Thursday and need to do more to try and get rid of some of the undergrowth, what does the lantana do to the cows? it has always been here and the cows have been here for ever too. I am trying to clear it out because I don't like it, did not know it was poisonous.
Thanks again.
 
Don't forget to let google be your friend.

I googled it for you.

Toxici ty
All forms of lantana are thought to be toxic, with the
red-flowered forms being the most dangerous to stock.
Lantana poisoning in cattle is quite common and
causes major economic losses. most cases of
poisoning occur in animals newly introduced into
areas where toxic forms of lantana are already
growing. Older cattle that are used to grazing lantanainfested areas are not as susceptible. During droughts
or when other feed is scarce, stock are also more
likely to graze lantana.
early symptoms of lantana poisoning include
depression, loss of appetite, constipation and frequent
urination, followed by 24–48 hours of jaundice. The
eyes of poisoned animals can also become inflamed
with a slight discharge. The muzzle may become
inflamed, moist, and very sensitive, with a pink
nose. Photosensitisation usually follows with death
typically occurring 1–4 weeks after the appearance of
symptoms.
This slow and painful death is due mainly to liver
insufficiency, kidney failure and, in some animals,
myocardial damage and internal paralysis.
 
WG,

Give me the first 4 ingredients listed on the bag of feed tag.

Q. Is sulfur listed as a trace mineral on the tag?

SL
 
Wagyu Girl,
Sorry for such a late response, as I am just seeing this post. I think you have Monensin poisoning. Probably the feed mix has this ingredient in it. Check and see. Cattle respond differently to different levels of Monensin. You may have seen some with stiffness in their legs when they walked; now some are getting hit harder internally.
Diareaha, weakness in their legs; wobblliness, and an inability to stand. They also develop bottle jaw, where their lower jaw fills with water; it distends, but feels tight.
Pull the feed away from them for now, if you haven't already, and re-calculate later. Sometimes more is not better. This feed just helps in the fermintation process and helps them to digest their food. Of course it has a lot of other added benefits as well.
I hope you have already cured your problem.
Chuckie
 
Re:
Any ideas?????
Yes, tell me everything you know about those "grainmix pellet ".
Who made them? Who distributed them? And the first 4 ingredients.
I have a pretty good idea your vet knows exactly what your problem is, but don't want to tell you.
Prescribing copper is the clue.
Re:
One went down and it has been in the stable for 3 weeks it is a bit stronger but still looks pretty awful.
Did he remind you of Steve Wonder with his head movements?


Re:
The vet said he tested for fluke, worms pestevirus, coccidosis, etc...…
Tell him to test for toxic poisoning, specifically sulfur poisoning and have the "grainmix pellet ' tested for sulfur.
Look him right in the eyes and tell his straight out exactly what you suspect and watch his face when you tell him. If his jaw drops, he knows!
Now ask him for a yes or no answer to this question.
Is corn gluten toxic?

Good luck
SL
 
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