unexplained calf death

[Anonymous]

I lost a 2 week old calf today. And I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what happened. In less than a 24 hour period, she went from a healthy animal to deaths door. Calling the vet, she only said that bacteria had entered her brain. Has anyone had this happen to them, and what can I do to prevent this from happening again. The heifer calf was a bottle feed baby and lived away from the rest of the herd.

 

[Anonymous]

She likely had a navel infection and inadequate colostrum (aka failure of passive transfer) causing meningitis. Hits hard and fast, most will die. Talk to your vet about this scenario and see if it fits. V

 

[Anonymous]

> She likely had a navel infection
> and inadequate colostrum (aka
> failure of passive transfer)
> causing meningitis. Hits hard and
> fast, most will die. Talk to your
> vet about this scenario and see if
> it fits. V

Thanks for the advise Vicki, The calf did receive colostrum during the first three days of birth, but I will definately check with my vet on the navel infection. Thanks again. I keep blaming myself, wondering what I could have done differently.