Whats wrong with my calf? :(

[Amanda Michelle]

I have a 3 1/2 month old calf that is acting very sic, apparently when she was about a month old the vet had said she had a hernia (sp), but she seemed to get better, now the past week she is looking like crap, the vet was out to look at her and really has no idea what is worng with her, she said just to keep an eye on her. I can't stand to look at the poor thing, she is so cold to touch, doesn't eat much, or drink, lays in a very uncomfortable postion, bloated, temp is low, lungs sound large, form all this data I have gathered from her, she reminds me a lot like a cow with hardware, could this be possible? I gave her some tympanyx this morning, didn't seem to help a whole lot though. She does get a bit of silage everynow and then, that comes out of the silo. I have tried to tell my boss about whats going on with her but he is just saying take the vets advice, I am really starting to wonder why we pay them to come look at our cows, do they really know what they are doing? I am so lost withthis one, I hate to see her like that. I am really curious to see what is wrong with her. Any advice is dearly appreciated.

 

[bward]

Where was the hernia? Was it a naval hernia? Those don't really correct themselves without surgery. Sometimes a loop in the intestine can create a partial blockage which will make the calf unthrifty, looking poor, and he will be in a constant state of discomfort and cramps. If there was any kind of infection or absess with the hernia then there can be fibrous tissue growth that can create the blockage, or even a piece or loop of the intestine can die and become necrotic.

Tell me more about this hernia that she had, and where it was, and how you know its all better.

 

[Amanda Michelle]

The hernia is in her naval i think, it seems to be swollen, but all the vet had said was it is a hernia, nothing more, which is very frustrating, would that cause her to bloat so bad? The reason why we thought it was better is because she hadn't had a problem with it in so long, she was on eof the bigger calves her age, very active, ate all the time, your typical happy healthy calf, now she's the complete opposite. I have my doubts he will want to do surgery on her, he'll likely just send her to the market if she doesn't get better, which is a sin, i would love to see her get better. Its not fair to have the little things suffer like that.

 

[jerry27150]

i'd give her about 20cc's of la200. needs something to help her get rid of any infection

 

[bward]

okay, I have seen that. The calf gets a minor naval infection along with a hernia. It heals in that the body surrounds the infection with fibrous tissue. But then the infection breaks through and there is another attempt of the body to seal if off and it does. In the meantime this growing fibrous tissue is choking off the intestine. IF this is what is happening to the calf you can possibly determine this by feeling the naval yourself. If its big and hard and bulgy, then the calf is in trouble. You might even be able to run your finger along the abdominal wall and insert your fingers into the belly through a hole at the naval. In a healthy normal calf you can't do that. Don't try to really shove it in there... just try to feel if there is an opening that doesn't belong. If there is, and there is also a mass of tissue on the outside of the abdominal wall then my guess is that the calf definately needs surgery. At your current cattle prices it is economical to do that. No one will bid on a calf that looks obviously ill, and besides that "the boss" may get a reputation of dumping problems on someone else. That will only hurt him in the long run.

I would take this calf to a different vet. But thats just me.

 

[4-H fanatic]

I agree bward it sounds liek the vet doesn't know what they are talking about ...no offence........ would colic give her those symptions? thats about the only thing i can think of