Ultra thin cow has me concerned

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devonian

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We have a young 2-3 year old beef cow that calved fine last winter she was thin as a rake in the cattle shed during her pregnancy and all of last winter but when she went out to grass this spring she appeared to fill out a bit and we forgot about her, but she is looking incredibly thin again now to the point where we thought she would have died quietly in the night months ago but she seems happy enough. I did worm her specially at the in the spring, is it worth trying that again? Or could this be something else?
 
Is she scouring? Does she have a calf on her? Does she show any signs of discomfort? It could be a number of things: parasites, johnes, hardware, etc. She definitely needs to gain some weight before winter gets here.
 
Can you be more specific with possible symptoms? What does her poo look like? Is she with the herd or hanging back? Drooling? Any signs of sickness (droopy ears, runny nose/eyes, coughing)? Is she eating with the rest of the herd? Can you see noticeable lumps? Are you in an area prone to anaplasmosis? Temperature normal? Does she have a magnet? So many possibilities . . . .
 
She isn't scouring, like I said she seems quite happy and not in pain at all and is eating with the rest of the herd. I checked her poo this morning and its looks normal but perhaps a little watery also she does still have her calf in the field with her I thought we might have weaned it off a few months ago when we brought in other calves to treat for pinkeye bit no. Not sure if it is feeding from her though as she has no udder.

She has no magnet never heard of anaplasmosis and I haven't been able to check her temp yet, will try tomorrow. And no idea if she has bred back yet, we only got a new bull a month or so ago as the previous was culled for TB.
 
You have a 2-3 yr old that calved "last winter" and her calf is still with her??? Am I missing something?
All 2-yr olds (first calf heifers) tend to get thin, especially if her calf is still nursing.
Also, 2-yr olds are the age when Johnes would should up. She may not be scouring bad if she has really good nutrition and is not stressed.
No matter..... she "may" have a problem, or she is just a hard do-er. I would ship her "just in case".
 
She isn't scouring, like I said she seems quite happy and not in pain at all and is eating with the rest of the herd. I checked her poo this morning and its looks normal but perhaps a little watery also she does still have her calf in the field with her I thought we might have weaned it off a few months ago when we brought in other calves to treat for pinkeye bit no. Not sure if it is feeding from her though as she has no udder.

She has no magnet never heard of anaplasmosis and I haven't been able to check her temp yet, will try tomorrow. And no idea if she has bred back yet, we only got a new bull a month or so ago as the previous was culled for TB.

If the calf is still nursing that milk demand is probably what's pulling her down. If it was born last winter, as you say, it should be weaned now. I'd have probably done it earlier.

Regarding no udder, that's not always a good indication of milk production. How does her calf look? Is it comparable to the other calves the same age, from the same age dams, or is it significantly smaller?
 
If the calf is still nursing that milk demand is probably what's pulling her down. If it was born last winter, as you say, it should be weaned now. I'd have probably done it earlier.

Regarding no udder, that's not always a good indication of milk production. How does her calf look? Is it comparable to the other calves the same age, from the same age dams, or is it significantly smaller?
I mis spoke it was born in the spring, the calf looks comparable to the others. The vet said I should to get a stool sample and go from there.
 
I mis spoke it was born in the spring, the calf looks comparable to the others. The vet said I should to get a stool sample and go from there.
Cows will eat the plastic hay wrap and other things plastic in the field. I have had this happen. Found plastic where the carcass had decayed. You would find a ball of plastic and about 10 to twel12 inches another ball. I think that this intefers with thier ability to chew the cud and get up enough cud to chew.
 
hurley - that is a great point. If an animal eats twine, plastic or anything else that does not break down, their system gets filled up and they don't have enough space to consume needed feed. Only way to know this is autopsy - I believe.
 
It turned out the cow had Johnes disease which we have never had a problem with before. It was a bought in cow and it has now been culled. Would it be wise to get rid of her calf as well or is it an acceptable risk to keep it?
 
It turned out the cow had Johnes disease which we have never had a problem with before. It was a bought in cow and it has now been culled. Would it be wise to get rid of her calf as well or is it an acceptable risk to keep it?
Sorry to hear that. Johnes is a terrible thing. I would definitely sell her calf. If you have retained any calves that were born there during the time she was there I would suggest having them tested as well. Newborn and nursing calves are the most susceptible to catching it. It might be worthwhile having your whole herd tested. You could try getting a fecal and/or blood test. Hopefully the rest of your herd won't have any issues with it. This might help you catch any that might not be showing any symptoms yet.
 
It turned out the cow had Johnes disease which we have never had a problem with before. It was a bought in cow and it has now been culled. Would it be wise to get rid of her calf as well or is it an acceptable risk to keep it?
Did she die before you found out or did your vet test just as a routine diagnostic?
 
ABSOLUTELY listen to what A.J. Is saying. Johnes is nothing to mess with. It must of been a pretty hot strain, normally you don't starting routine testing until after a cows second lactation.
 
Sorry to hear that. Following is a thread from last year that has a lot of info on Johne's - and managing the potential subsequent train wreck.

 

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