very sick calf

[cajun critter]

Hello, I am new here and would like some opinions.

I have a dairy bull calf I bought at auction. He was weak to start with, only paid $40 for him. Brought him home and gave electros and LA200. Seemed to be doing better.

Then he had a seizure. Has had head shaking, generalized weakness, was passing no stools at first, now has bloody scours. We have to pick him up, he can't get up on his own, but once up he can stand and walk around slowly. Funny thing is he has a great appetite - never fails to finish 2 bottles per feeding. Also, he has a white eye, but it seems to be clearing up. Most of the time he lays flat out, but sometimes he "sits up" like a normal calf.

We have had him almost 2 weeks and he has been like this since about day 3. Any thoughts?

 

[Bez]

My thought - this is an animal I would not want on my place. Probably this is why he went to sale.

Then again, maybe a veterinarian could give some good advice.

You are probably tossing good money after bad on this one.

Regards,

Bez

 

[Crowderfarms]

My thought - this is an animal I would not want on my place. Probably this is why he went to sale.

Then again, maybe a veterinarian could give some good advice.

You are probably tossing good money after bad on this one.

Regards,

Bez

Not to step on your toes, but the $40.00 price tag on him should have signaled the red flag.Sounds like you have multiple problems.Next time buy a healthy calf. You'll save money and aggravation. I know they are'nt cheap, but you get what you pay for. Not a lot of bargains at the sale barns these days.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

My thought - this is an animal I would not want on my place. Probably this is why he went to sale.

Then again, maybe a veterinarian could give some good advice.

You are probably tossing good money after bad on this one.

Regards,

Bez

Not to step on your toes, but the $40.00 price tag on him should have signaled the red flag.Sounds like you have multiple problems.Next time buy a healthy calf. You'll save money and aggravation. I know they are'nt cheap, but you get what you pay for. Not a lot of bargains at the sale barns these days.

I totally agree. Hopefully you don't have any other bovines on your farm, because you just brought home a disease - probably IBR. I do not believe LA200 is the right choice of treatment. I rarely treat any calves so I'm not a good one to advise treatment. A vet call would be in order. Only a well-knowledgeable producer should purchase a cheap sick calf. Of course, if he was knowledgeable, he wouldn't take a sick calf home to infect the rest of the herd.
Good luck, let us know what the vet prescribes.

 

[jerry27150]

i would take his milk away for a day & give him electrolytes three times & give him 20cc of la200.next day give him some milk again but not his full feeding & give another dose of electrolyte. see how he is doing then

 

[cajun critter]

Thank you all for your replies.

I guess I should have added that we do not have a farm or anything, just this calf and one other we bought that day. We just felt so sorry for the little guys. Other calf is fine now, after LA 200 for pneumonia (per vet). This one did not start to show serious signs until after vet had left town.

One vet said just to put him down, not to waste my money, and the other is out of town until later this week. We have just been thinking about trying to raise a few of these "bottle babies" and thought if we raise these guys, we should be fine with healthier calves.

 

[jerry27150]

buying sick ones is like gambling, that's why you get them cheap. if they live you make out good if not you don't lose much. good luck & don't let it dampen your spirits.

 

[Farmhand]

Hate to say it but I don't think your going to pull this one through. Then again if you've had him this long - just maybe but a lot of work ahead of you. I would try changing the amount of milk you are feeding. We raise a lot of Holstein bottle calves and we only feed ours 1 bottle milk and 1/2 bottle water in morning and then again at night. Keep fresh water in front of them at all times. Only do the water in the bottle until they are drinking from bucket. Give a little sweet feed and hay at each feeding at 1-2 weeks of age. Have to put it in their mouth til they get the hang of it. Just a little though to get them started then let them decide how much to eat. The right kind of milk replacer is VERY important. Do not scimp by buying the cheap stuff. Cheap replacer/too much replacer will make a calf sick or kill it real easy. Calves will naturally suck as long as you let them even when it's not good for them so you need to dictate what they get. It's important you get those scours stopped. They go down hill real fast. We use Prolate mixed in with the replacer. Get it from the vet. Or try scour pills. I'm thinking changing how you feed him will help.

 

[Bama]

I have to agree with most everone else here. I don't think you will pull that one through unless you spend a lot of money on him. You can still throw money at it and loose it. I buy calve from the auction all the time. That would be one I would cut my losses on. I have a sick pen that I put them in so they will not infect the others. The sick pen gets washed down regularly with bleach. You could nearly buy a healthy calf for what you will spend on this one. In the long run you will come out cheaper.

 

[MK]

Definately a change in feeding. Seems like alot of milk. Whatever ails him may be "feeding" on the nutrition he is getting! Raising dairy calves we followed the same feeding schedule as Farmhand. You would be surprised at how them babies would drink themselves to death if given the opportunity. I would cut back on the milk, add electros to the bottle of water he gets, keep him hydrated and give him some sulfa. I am not a believer in sulfa for any scours, but with blood it should be looked at. Keeping him hydrated will do more to save his life (if it can be saved) than anything. Please keep us posted as we all learn as we follow along. Give the little fella a good luck rub from me. You sound like your as big a sucker for the underdog as I am. MK

 

[cajun critter]

Thanks again for the replies.

We cut back on his milk today - and I do have a good quality one ;-)

He is getting electros and drinks from his water bucket. He isn't interested in grain yet, but I'm not surprised at that.

He actually looks better today. Head not swaying around as much and although he still has scours, it is not bloody. He has been in a "normal" resting position most of the day - instead of flat out on his side. He also has been walking around his stall a little, although we still have to help him get on his feet.

Thank you jerry27150, Farmhand, and MK for the advice and encouragement and yes, I am s sucker for the underdogs ;-)

 

[TXCHICK]

We have used a raw egg in a bottle to stop scours. White in the eye could be infection or lack of vitiman a. B-12 is a plus and you may want some probias to get the good bugs back in his system.

 

[Farmhand]

Was just reading back through this and found I had suggested Prolate for scours. Sorry - that's wrong. It should be Protec.

That's good news on your calf! Keep at it and he just might pull all the way through for you. Good luck.

 

[cajun critter]

Well, he is still holding his own. Actually, he has improved a little. His eye is clearing and he even stood up by himself today. We have decided to keep fighting for him as long as he keeps fighting for himself.

 

[Farmhand]

Like the attitude. Keep us posted as to the outcome.

 

[ctlbaron]

Give him an injection of Nuflor. It covers a wide variety of ailments. Especially if they came from the sale barn. The eggs seem to work well for a couple of reasons. It gives them strength. It helps dob up the scours and it will replace some of the good bacteria he needs. Watch his breathing if it becomes labored or quick panting with a runny nose and cough you will need to work fast. Give him the Nuflor. If he's a baby, about 3cc Nuflor and 3cc of Banamine. Nuflor every 48 hours. Banamine every 24. It's definatly not a good idea to buy a calf with problems, but if you have kids with you at the sale you will be talked into it once and a while. I bought a charlois calf with a bad broken leg a while back. A little gause, plaster of paris, TLC and he healed nicely. Can't tell he was ever hurt at all. He's a dandy. Only gave $20 for him.

 

[cajun critter]

I just wanted to thank you all again for your comments and advice. Saddly, we lost the battle for our calf last night. The vet had determined he had joint ill as well as pnuemonia, so there was little chance of him surviving. We treated him aggressively, but just couldn't gain much ground. We had him put down after determing that he was just lingering and not getting any better.

 

[Bama]

Sorry about your loss. But if you raise them your gonna lose one ever once in a while.