Sudden death in 2 week old calf

[4luvofcattle]

Need some possible ideas, if anyone has them. I went through our modest cow herd of 30 after I got home from work. I checked the three cows we have left to calve and looked over all of the calves (20 heifers and only 6 bulls -- lost one heifer born backwards early in the season). Calves appeared to be fine laying around soaking up the sun in the 50 degree weather or running around the pen with their tails up. So I walked to the shed to get the 3 buckets of grain/mineral mix to feed in the bunks and called for the cows to come to the bunks. I dumped the pails and when I got to the last pail, I noticed a calf sprawled out by the bunk gasping for air. It was a calf I had seen just 5 minutes earlier curled up comfortably on the corn stalk pile. (I know this calf because the mom is so protective that I have to make sure I know where her calf and the cow is all of the time.) I called for my daughter to help and by the time she got there (30 seconds), the calf would not move for 10 seconds and then sprawl out, gasping for air. We were able to pull the calf out of the pen immediately and I checked the throat for anything caught in it, but nothing and the calf never took another breath.
My husband had seen it nurse the night before, so it was a complete shock that anything was wrong with it. We had the vet come and post it about an hour later and he found nothing really wrong with it. We thought maybe a cow kicked it and broke a rib and punctured a lung or kicked it in the head, but no broken ribs and now signs of muddy hoof prints (we just had 1 inch of rain, so the cows' legs are muddy). The only thing that look abnormal was that the trachea was "pale" which could mean she was losing blood somewhere. There was no signs of it in the body cavity. He did not look at the brain (he said he wasn't "good" at it, so it wouldn't show anything.)
So I guess I am looking for some ideas. Maybe it was a broken vessel from head trauma earlier in the week, maybe an aneurysm in the brain? I hope it it is one of those two and not a contagious sickness to pass on to the remaining 25 calves.
Our cows are feed with an alfalfa/cornstalk/wet cake mix in a mixer wagon and then are give their minerals (both force feed and lick tubs - my husband is a feed salesman, so he has them on a balanced diet). Any ideas or unfortunate experiences??

 

[bandit80]

If the vet couldnt find anything, not sure what it could be. However, it sure sounds like the calf got kicked, stepped on, etc. Murphy's law at work here. *hit happens.

 

[Lucky_P]

I see a fair number of calves with congenital cardiovascular anomalies - ventricular septal defect (hole between the left & right ventricles), patent ductuc arteriosus, anomalous displacement of the left coronary artery to the pulmonic trunk(left ventricle gets only de-oxygenated blood, at low pressure), and various other malformations.
Unless you do a detailed cardiac dissection and actually look for these abnormalities, you'll miss them - and everything else about the calf may look normal.

These calves often look completely normal, and are usually ust found dead, usually sometime before they hit 2 months of age. But, if you happen to see 'em in distress, they'd probably look like a respiratory issue - I had one in my own herd a few years back, that I initially thought had pneumonia at 3-5 days; treated him with Baytril, seemed to improve for a day or so, then died. Had multiple heart defects - I'm surprised it lived as long as it did.

Have seen calves with cranial fractures and brain hemorrhage, from being kicked in the head (by a horse), so that's not out of the realm of possibilities - but less likely.

 

[4luvofcattle]

Lucky_P --- Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it. Two days have passed and the rest of the calves appear to be healthy and with your plausible explanation, I am able to rest a little easier. I know that "stuff" happens, but with only 30 cows and now at 2 death loss - 7% loss, just trying to make sure I am doing what I can to minimize future loss. Thanks again.

 

[Black and Good]

4luv,I feel ya. I've got bout 35 cows and I've lost six this year. Most years I don't lose but one maybe two. It just happens the "unforseen". Good Luck. B&G

 

[Nesikep]

I don't believe anyone when they say they don't lose calves... This is my 20th season on a herd of about 20 cows, Last year I lost 2, (one born backward with hind legs forward, the other, who knows why), and 1 this year, a twin, also backward with hind legs forward... I'm thankful I managed to save the cow both times and had a calf they could adopt. Our first year, we lost 1 cow and 4 calves out of 12... (1 broken leg, 2 suffocated at birth, and one just *way* too big).

To me, it sounds like it got stepped on as well.. especially if it was around the feed bunk... The cows are usually pretty careful about not stepping on a calf, but if a boss cow pushes them they may do it accidentally... I try and give the calves a place to go where the cow's can't get to (an electric wire at about 30" does the trick) and make it as enticing to go there for the calves as possible just to keep them away from the feed bunk... We have lost one that way as well.

I say Murphy was an optimist!

 

[rockridgecattle]

Did you happen to notice the color of the lungs? How about the shape and size of the heart?
Did you notice if this calf was as active as the rest or one of the ones to hang back, out of the action?

 

[4luvofcattle]

Did you happen to notice the color of the lungs? How about the shape and size of the heart?
Did you notice if this calf was as active as the rest or one of the ones to hang back, out of the action?

When the vet posted it, he said the color of the lungs appeared normal. I would describe them as deeper pink. As far as activity, we didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and with a small herd, we check each one for scours signs and make sure each one is nursing. My husband noticed her nursing the night before and right before I feed the cows, she was curled up sunning herself --or so it appeared. I don't remember how activity she was the days before that. But we didn't notice any breathing issues, but what are you thinking rockridgecattle. I am always open to thoughts and even if it doesn't apply to this one, it might help me down the road. Thanks.

 

[Bovinelover]

My friends just lost a 2 week old bull calf - sudden death. He appeared healthy just hours before they found him dead. When the did a post-mortem exam, they found that his lungs and kidneys were totally full of blood. Any ideas?

 

[dun]

Laid on, stepped on kicked, butted hard. Those would be my ideas