Very sick calf

[Spearheart]

I have a calk that is about 4 months old. For two weeks he has had a dry cough, made worse when active. Doctored him with LA 200 and Sulfa, he didn't get any better. Two seeks later we branded him but sis not cut him. Gave him penecillan and black leg vaccine. a week later(yesterday) I got him in to give him some more LA and sulfa. After the little bit of walking, he never ran or got pushed around, he started kind of puking up or coughing up something that looks like curdled milk but has the odor of infection. It isn't green and there is no blood in it. Any way I gave him his shot and the Sulfa. Today he is down with what appears to be black leg. He has crinkly skin around his neck, the skin on his stomach sounds hollow and he has swelling under his jaw. And where I gave him his shots he has some pretty good sized knots. Any ideas on what this could be. He is one of my barn calves.

 

[milkmaid]

Calling your local large animal vet would be a really good idea.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Use a lead bolus asap. Haul carcass to qualified Vet and get an autopsy done.

If it's something serious and/or contageous, need to find out what it is to intervene and/or prevent other animals from getting whatever it is.

Don't see it as something one should try to treat with bovine "over the counter, self-diagnose" medicines.

JMO...

 

[randiliana]

You probably started out with a pneumonia, and now it has progressed to the point of severe damage to his lungs. LA200 is not always the best medicine, and if it doesn't work the first time you should be changing to something a lot more powerful and direct.

Now, you need to get a vet out to see how bad the damage is. See what the vet thinks the chances of recovery are. If the damage to the lungs is bad enough the calf will always be a poor doer or a chronic. Your only choice may be to put this animal down.

 

[Alice]

You probably started out with a pneumonia, and now it has progressed to the point of severe damage to his lungs. LA200 is not always the best medicine, and if it doesn't work the first time you should be changing to something a lot more powerful and direct.

Now, you need to get a vet out to see how bad the damage is. See what the vet thinks the chances of recovery are. If the damage to the lungs is bad enough the calf will always be a poor doer or a chronic. Your only choice may be to put this animal down.

Randi, as far as I'm concerned, you hit the nail on the head. In other words, for what it's worth, I agree.

Alice

 

[rkm]

Maybe because we fought it constantly when we milked cows I always think hardware. Swelling under the jaw. jmo

 

[Spearheart]

It was pneumonia, a cyst in the kung broke and caused al of the discharge. He did not make it. Definatly know better next time I see a dry little cough! Thanks everyone.

 

[rockridgecattle]

I am kind of hoping that you did not cut open the calf yourself. Reason the crinkle in the skin. If it got black leg and you cut it open major contamination. Big major contamination. You need to get that checked by a vet...post. If you already did that that is great.
Anything pnemonia like if the first round of treatments like two doses of LA200 three days apart along with and anti inflamatory does not work a vet should be called and something like nuflor, excede, draxin comes into play. Otherwise lung damage wil occur and chronic poor doer will be the result.
In all honesty i would not have given him a shot of black leg until he was healthy.
Like getting the flu shot when you are sick. health nurse will send you home and tell you to come again.
And finally, why do we expect that a drug that lasts 3-4 days in the system will cure something like pnemonia? Really, think about the logistics. We go to the doc because we are sick. We get a perscription for 7-14 days. We are told to take it all to all the bacteria is killed. Otherwise the surviving bacteria "mutates" and is harder to kill. One shot of LA200 is just not enough. JMO for what it is worth.

 

[3rdgeneration farmer]

sorry about your calf. Sounded to me you started with pneumonia.