sudden death calf

[scott wilson]

We have been raising an orphaned calf in the barn for the last three weeks. She was supposed to be to be 4-5 weeks old when I brought her to the barn. She has been getting two quarts of mike replacer along with free choice hay and and calf starter pellets the entire three weeks. She developed scours last week and we treated 4 days with tetramycin. The scours got better. The last two days her hay consumption noticeably increased. Tonight my wife gave the calf her evening 2 quarts at 7:30. I came by the barn at 8:30 and the calf was dead and bloated. She had drank all her milk. How could I have avoided this.
Last week I found a calf dead in the hay. This calf was not swollen so I thought she just got stepped on. Any possibility of black leg or the deaths being related?

 

[TNfamilyfarm]

it sounds nutritional..........did the calf drink much water? 2 quarts of milk replacer is insufficent at 2 months old. then compound her lack of fluids by the scours and you really get into a negative balance. are there any problems absorbing vitamins in your area? do you have some minerals out fot these calfs? are you getting them from the same people or sale barn?

 

[scott wilson]

The calf that died in the barn has been 14 miles from the rest of the heard. She had been getting 1 gallon in the AM and 1 in the PM but she was only drinking a little over half. A friend of mine works for UGA managing thier cow heard and he recomend I go to 2 quarts per feading when she developed the scours. Being reluctant I did try three times per day but found thier was milk left over. AT 2 quarts she was readily drinking it in less than a half hour. She had free choice water in a bucket and she was drinking some it it as well. The calf drank it's milk at 7:30 and at 8:30 she was a ballon. My wife remarked to me how the calf was starting to eat a lot more hay.
The other calf was in a pasture with momma and 43 other calfs as well as 55 cows. Thier are mineral blocks available. I will be moving the heard to my place next week. I will be able to watch them closer then.

 

[Limomike]

Im not sure what would cause the bloating.. maybe some others on here have a better idea than me. But as far as blackleg .... it usually strikes older calves.. 4-700 lb variety.
I really wouldnt suspect it was that. I have seen blackleg, and it is very noticeable in the legs of a calf, if you cut open the leg and see the meat that looks "blood shot" or like dark jelly.

 

[holly heifer]

I would guess your calf died from bloat. One of mine from last
spring would have died if I had not been there to call the vet.
We had to tube her to get the gas off and give her bicarb.
For some reason an occasional bottle calf will have a digestive
bloat problem. My premie twin from last year would bloat
on milk replacer so I had to give her "store bought real whole milk-- Walmart LOVED me! ) Sorry for your loss

 

[Alice]

Ok, when you brought the calf in it was 4-5 weeks old. That means she was what, almost 2 months old when she died, is that correct? She scoured a week ago while she was eating dry calf feed and hay as well as the milk replacer, correct?

Had the calf been on it's mother before it became orphaned? If so, how in the world did you get it to drink milk? Out of a bottle, or a bucket? And, what kind of milk replacer was it?

What I'm getting at in this round about, dumb way...I've never had a calf scour at that age, especially if it was eating dry calf feed and hay. What kind of hay was it? Grassy type coastal bermuda hay or alfalfa hay?

All of the multitude of bottle babies that we've raised here came from the sale barn...a lousy start for any of them to begin with. Only one or 2 of them, at that age, showed signs of being chronic bloaters.

Let's go back to the hay...what kind was it...

The calf you found dead in the hay, how old was it? Was it an orphan? I'm kind of confused here. Sorry...

Alice

 

[Alice]

Ill bet he is feeding alfalfa hay and the hay is to rich and it bloated up and died. Probably say with other calf found dead in the hay.

Kind of my thought...especially since the calf began to eat more of it in the last couple of days. But, maybe not. I'm also wondering about the milk replacer and why the calf scoured at that age...which could also have something to do with alfalfa if it hadn't been eating it before.

Scott, there's lots of variables here. And, lots for us to learn from. Thanks for posting this. I'm real interested in hearing more.

Alice

 

[GMN]

Is this a orpahaned beef calf or dairy?

Dairy calves 2 months old do get scours, depending on the bug, E-Coli, Salmonella which can kill any calf. First sign of scours, I would have treated with Deliver and Nuflor or Excenel, firmed up the scoots first, and not fed as much milk replacer. If it gorged on hay, especially high protein hay, I imagine that caused it to bloat. Bloat can come on very fast, and even with treatment, sometimes it can be too late. I had a calf 3 months old be fine and then an hour later so bloated, that the Vet punctured its stomach, but even then it was too late.

Gail

 

[scott wilson]

Ok, when you brought the calf in it was 4-5 weeks old. That means she was what, almost 2 months old when she died, is that correct? She scoured a week ago while she was eating dry calf feed and hay as well as the milk replacer, correct?
This is correct but only a handful of calf starter and picking at the hay mostly.

Had the calf been on it's mother before it became orphaned? If so, how in the world did you get it to drink milk? Out of a bottle, or a bucket? And, what kind of milk replacer was it?
The calf was with it's mother until the mother died. I just put the milk replacer in a bucket. After a few days she would be waiting eagerly for her bucket to be filled. I can't recall the name brand of the replacer but the bag is fancy and it cost $47. My wife picked it up and she always buys what she thinks is the best.

What I'm getting at in this round about, dumb way...I've never had a calf scour at that age, especially if it was eating dry calf feed and hay. What kind of hay was it? Grassy type coastal bermuda hay or alfalfa hay? The hay was fescue (same stuff we feed our saddle mules.)

All of the multitude of bottle babies that we've raised here came from the sale barn...a lousy start for any of them to begin with. Only one or 2 of them, at that age, showed signs of being chronic bloaters.
She had never shown signs of bloating before but she did eat way more hay that day than she had been.

The calf you found dead in the hay, how old was it? Was it an orphan? I'm kind of confused here. Sorry...
The dead calf in the hay was jut a few weeks old. It was with it's mother. I'm hoping this was just a case of cows crowding around the hay and the little one getting stepped on. They will be off hay next week when I bring the heard home to my place.

 

[Alice]

Fescue hay...right there could be the problem.

I don't know enough about fescue hay to talk about it intelligently, but I have read here and other places that fescue can be toxic. It might be fine for your mules, I dunno...I don't know enough about mules to talk intelligently about them either.

In any case, you might have the hay tested and talk to your county agent about the results. I once read that just because fescue hay can be advertised as good, and safe to feed, it should always be tested. I wish I could remember where I read that.

Alice