Two new free orphan babies added to my little family-----Pic

[backhoeboogie]

it.was not trying to sound like a butt head just could not agree with never tube feeding a calf no matter what.

You didn't sound that way at all. I thought it was all good discussion. There is a tube kit in the cabinet that has never been used. Like I said, a person needs to be a little more stubborn than the calf. They can be shut in the medina gate and backed into the corner. I get straddle and pull the head up with one hand and the bottle in the other. Gently squeeze the jaws. They eventually swallow. Once they nurse any, pressure is reduced. If they quit nursing I start the massaging with the towel again. Then I go back to the force feed. Usually one time is all it takes.

YOU did not sound like a butt head. Maybe I did

 

[Sir Loin]

Update:
8 AM feeding

A new first. This was the first time she made a sound by crying for her food.
Lungs must be getting stronger.
Downed 15 oz from baby bottle.
SL

 

[chrisy]

Update:
8 AM feeding

A new first. This was the first time she made a sound by crying for her food.
Lungs must be getting stronger.
Downed 15 oz from baby bottle.
SL

That sounds like good news SL, I hope she hangs out and gets stronger by the day...what will happen to her if she does make it?
you are doing a sterling job.

 

[Sir Loin]

Update:
Tried an early noon feeding. She drank very little.
She had a good bowel movement and urinated clear urine then went back and laid down.
Seems to be having some labored breathing. Could just be the heat and high humidity today. I hope!
SL

 

[Sir Loin]

Chrisy,
Re:

what will happen to her if she does make it?

Depends on how she turns out. If she is not a runt I will keep her to add to my cow/calf operation.
If she doesn't make it, I am thinking of having her mounted and put her in my office.
SL

Here's a pic of my other child.
She is now out of the infirmary and allowed to go out and play in the woods.
She is doing very well.

 

[SSGenetics]

Chrisy,
Re:

what will happen to her if she does make it?

Depends on how she turns out. If she is not a runt I will keep her to add to my cow/calf operation.
If she doesn't make it, I am thinking of having her mounted and put her in my office.
SL

Here's a pic of my other child.
She is now out of the infirmary and allowed to go out and play in the woods.
She is doing very well.

You are one interesting person SL. Probably crazy, but who am I to judge...

 

[ALACOWMAN]

well things do get interesting, when you cross over into TN.

 

[Sir Loin]

Fri update:

7 AM checked on my baby and found her down with heavy labored breathing, she could not get up'
She was as limp as a wet wash rag and showed signs of dehydration.
I thought I had lost her.
I forced feed her 5 oz of kick-start and gave her an enema of kick-start along with 1 cc of LA 300 for the rasping in her lungs.

11 AM She seemed a little better as she was on her feet again.
She drank only 7 oz from the infant bottle.

3 PM When I went to check on her she was up and latched onto my finger, and sucked, wanting fed.
There were no signs of dehydration or rasping in her chest.
I mixed 1 qt of milk ½ strength, and gave it to her with a standard calf nipple on a mason jar.
She sucked it all down except about 2 oz.

SL

Re:

Probably crazy,

Many have said that, so that's nothing new.
Jocularity is just how I deal with reality. It kinda relieves the stress and the sorrows and keeps you from becoming to attached.
But it is kinda funny if you think about it!
Picture it!! And the story I can tell when someone asked " What is that doing in your office?".
SL

 

[Sir Loin]

Good news.
Rain is on its way so I will have 3 days off from making hay with only 40 more ac to go.

The bad news.
My little 27 lb girl expired sometime last night after 13 days in the ICU.

Respiratory was good and she was drinking about a qt at 6 AM & 6 PM
And a ½ qt at noon.
She was out of ICU and was mobile on her own.
Go figure? What happened?
Post mortem to follow.

Services will be held at the Bone Yard at 2 PM.
SL

 

[suzorse]

sorry you lost her
Suzanne

 

[chippie]

I too am sorry that you lost the little heifer. You gave her your best and a chance for life. Sometimes things don't go as hoped.

 

[Victoria]

Sorry you lost that little heifer, was hoping this would be a good ending story. You sure put a lot of time and effort into her and it's tough to lose them then, sounds like you gave her the best shot she had though. Personally, I still can't wrap my head around a calf weighing 27 lbs. The littlest one I've seen was 48 and to me that was tiny.

 

[Sir Loin]

Thank you all for your condolences.

Post mortem :

All vital organs intact and good condition.

Cause of death: navel ill
Manor of death: sever inflammation of inner abdomen wall ( silver dollar size )and inflammation on outside of small intestines ( infection visiable ) caused by umbilical cord tearing within the abdomen cavity and becoming infected instead of outside at birth due to being born premature. Slight sign of hemorrhaging in navel area.

Probable cause:
Being born premature the calf was not of sufficient weight to unbutton the placenta or tear the umbilical cord itself, making the weakest link between the umbilical cord and the calf at the navel, where it did tear within or at the abdomen wall.

If I had known then what I know now I would have treated her differently.
When I first got her I did note she had no navel cord ( her navel was an innie not an outie ) and I treated her navel with a 50/50 iodine solution for 10 days until it scabbed over and the inflammation around the navel appeared gone.
I also treated her with ½ cc of LA-300 every 4 days.

In hind sight I should have kept her in ICU for at least 15 days, if not 20 days and administered ½ cc of LA-200 on a daily basis.

Recommended action: CULL momma!
Live and learn!
SL

 

[TexasBred]

A complete examination by a qualified vet might have helped.

 

[Sir Loin]

TB,

That's certainly a possibility but this was hardly a calf I would invest a 100 bucks in.
Plus the closest LA vet near me is 20 miles away and she is young with little experience, so I doubt she could have been of much help before the fact.

It was my call and I'll take the blame, so I'll just call it a learning experience.

SL

 

[James T]

SL, I doubt it's about the money. The "infirmary business" (nurse cows, IV poles, intubation, bottles, etc) is just that way. It's not for me but I suspect the personal gratification of bringing one of the little ones through is great. I hope the other one does well for you!

 

[chrisy]

sorry to hear that SL, you sure made a good effort with that little one. Hind sight is a great thing and we all would do things differently if we had the sight, you sound a good man for trying and doing the work you do. Good on you, but as we all know life doesn't always go the way we want. She had a much better chance than she had had if she was left in the wild, as with everything the survival of the fittest sad but true.
Good luck with your other baby.

 

[backhoeboogie]

A complete examination by a qualified vet might have helped.

Then again I have spent $250 and the calf die anyway. They wanted another $70 for disposal. I got a backhoe.

 

[TexasBred]

A complete examination by a qualified vet might have helped.

Then again I have spent $250 and the calf die anyway. They wanted another $70 for disposal. I got a backhoe.

Goes with owning cattle and especially with taking on "project calves".

 

[backhoeboogie]

A complete examination by a qualified vet might have helped.

Then again I have spent $250 and the calf die anyway. They wanted another $70 for disposal. I got a backhoe.

Goes with owning cattle and especially with taking on "project calves".

This one was out of an angus cow that came in a trade. BIL said he saw the calf nurse. I took his word on it. Big mistake. I have more out of that cow that were fine. This little gal never got colostrums. No one to blame except me.