Sore on the nose

[akfarmgirl]

Has anyone seen anything like this before? This is the same calf that had the sore ears (gave him a shot of Ivomec), he is now scouring and has this sore on his nose. He also has a smaller one on his bottom lip. We are never getting a calf from the farm we got him from do to this calf having so many problems (and we found out after the fact poor farm health management) but we have him now and are doing the best to take care of him.

 

[milkmaid]

How old is the calf?

The picture is really small... I can't see it very well. However, check the interior of the calf's mouth; I've seen something that looks sort of like that before and the calf also had lesions on the inside of its mouth.

 

[akfarmgirl]

Sorry Milkmaid I can't figure out how to make the pictures bigger. He is 3 weeks old and does have sores in his mouth and one on his bottom lip.

 

[akfarmgirl]

I FINALLY got a picture to go bigger!!! Yeah!! So her is a better picture of the sore on his nose. He also has them in his mouth and 1 on his bottom lip???

 

[milkmaid]

Do the ones in his mouth look anything like this:



Has he been vaccinated recently?

 

[akfarmgirl]

Yes, his mouth looks like that. No he has not be vaccinated. (We were told that he was but when we started having problems with him and called the farm in which we got him and the farmer finally told us that he doesn't vaccinate) We have ordered vaccines and are waiting for them to get here. Side note Milkmaid what is your farms vaccination schedule? The area we live in we have heard so many different opinions of vaccines I just want an "honest" opinion of vaccines?

 

[K2011]

We just had a cow that had wooden tongue....I suppose calves could get wooden tongue too?....

 

[milkmaid]

ak, I'd suggest giving your vet a call about this calf. The one in the picture I posted had just been vaccinated with a modified live vaccine and afterwards was showing signs of just about everything I'd vaccinated her for... something I'd heard can happen but had never seen it before. My vet and I decided the lesions in my calf's mouth looked like BVD (bovine viral diarrhea virus) lesions and so just to be on the safe side, I had an ear notch taken to test if she was a BVD-PI calf. Results came back and she's not.

However -- in your case, if the calf hasn't been vaccinated he has no reason to be showing those lesions unless he's infected with BVD, or is a BVD-PI (peristantly infected) calf. Call your vet and tell them you have a suspected BVD-PI calf and have him tested; if he is PI you don't want him around any other cows, and esp not any pregnant cows.

As far as my vaccination schedule, I use a modified live vaccine for BVD, IBR, PI3, and BRSV, a killed vaccine for lepto, and a killed vaccine for the clostridums such as blackleg and redwater. The first time the animals are vaccinated I give a booster in about 4 weeks, and then yearly after that. For my animals I use Bovishield Gold FP 5 VL5 and Ultrabac8.

 

[larryshoat]

The Bovi-Shield line of products that Milkmaid mentions are my choice as well .Modern modified live vaccines are safe and effective . I lived through the days of risky vaccines and saw the disasters that came with them . Believe me todays vaccines are nothing like those, but yet the legend lives on . I have given thousands of doses of Bovi-Shield products and I can't think of 1 case that I thought that it caused a problem .

Larry

 

[milkmaid]

I'd never had a problem with MLV before either... this one I never would have noticed except that the calf wasn't nursing. She'd drink water and eat grass okay, but wasn't nursing off the cow. Oddly enough she not only had BVD lesions, but also IBR plaque on her tongue and a snotty nose w/an upper respiratory bug. Lungs were okay though. It really appears as if she was showing signs of everything in the MLV vaccine, which was very peculiar.

I know I'd never dare vaccinate an unvaccinated bred cow with a MLV after this. Theoretically it shouldn't cause problems, but there's always that possibility...

I still intend to give MLV to all open cows and calves in the future though.

 

[akfarmgirl]

At what age do you vaccinate calves?

 

[milkmaid]

Ideally I'd vaccinate around 3-4 months and then again 4 weeks later. Sometimes I'll give a third dose too. A calf's immune system isn't working on its own until about that age so it's pretty much pointless to vaccinate them younger. Maternal antibodies from the colostrum stay in the calf's system for several months and protect it against disease.

 

[larryshoat]

I brought back an old thread discussing Vacc and worming . My question to you is if your calf is protected by maternal antibodies why is it sick ? I suggest you read the thread, think about it, talk to your vet, decide for yourself .

Larry

 

[akfarmgirl]

Now I may be wrong (and I am sure I will be told if I am) but wouldn't this calf have been protected by maternal antibodies IF his mother had been properly vaccinated? We found out after the fact that the farm we got him from does not vaccinate ANY of their cows.

As we have talked to Vets, Cattle owners and the extentsion office about this calf there is a belief in Alaska that we are so far away from the diseases in the lower 48 that we don't "need" to vaccinate.

Everyone who has seen this calf (including vets) says it can't be BVD because there has been no cases of it in Alaska as far as anyone can remember but I am forcing the test to be done. Twenty dollars for piece of mind.

I am concerned about where we can get future calves do to the attitude of those around us. Shipping them in from the lower 48 or Canada is so expense and difficult with a border crossing.

My husband and I are just hobby farmers with 3 cows right now. We are hoping to get up to 20 head. This is more of a family project with our 12 year old daughter loving and learning every minute of it. It is getting us out of the house and outside as a family.

 

[larryshoat]

Now I may be wrong (and I am sure I will be told if I am) but wouldn't this calf have been protected by maternal antibodies IF his mother had been properly vaccinated?

Yes, provided the calf consumed adequate amounts of good colostrum soon after birth . We do know that passive transfer of immunity is not always successful and I think this is the cause of many calf problems .

Larry

 

[milkmaid]

Now I may be wrong (and I am sure I will be told if I am) but wouldn't this calf have been protected by maternal antibodies IF his mother had been properly vaccinated?

Yes, provided the calf consumed adequate amounts of good colostrum soon after birth . We do know that passive transfer of immunity is not always successful and I think this is the cause of many calf problems .

Larry

True if the calf is simply infected with BVD but not persistantly infected. If the calf is PI, maternal antibodies from colostrum will do nothing for him -- PI calves are created during gestation and their status is determined by birth.

AK, please keep us updated and let us know what the test results are on this calf.

 

[larryshoat]

Now I may be wrong (and I am sure I will be told if I am) but wouldn't this calf have been protected by maternal antibodies IF his mother had been properly vaccinated?

Yes, provided the calf consumed adequate amounts of good colostrum soon after birth . We do know that passive transfer of immunity is not always successful and I think this is the cause of many calf problems .

Larry

True if the calf is simply infected with BVD but not persistantly infected. If the calf is PI, maternal antibodies from colostrum will do nothing for him -- PI calves are created during gestation and their status is determined by birth.

AK, please keep us updated and let us know what the test results are on this calf.

Yes, thanks for the clarification MM . If this is a PI calf it will have to be destroyed .

Larry