white muscle disease

[wesselhoeft21]

First time having this problem, gave a shot of Bo Se yesterday. When should I expect to see results?

 

[Aaron]

Depending on how far advanced it is, you may not save the calf. Make sure to give proper dosage (1-2cc..i think) of selenium to all calves when they are born and you will never have problem with WMD. Your lucky you caught it, most guys lose at least one calf before they realize the problem.

 

[milkmaid]

edited by MM 'cause she evidently has no idea what she's talking about :lol:

 

[randiliana]

Well, if it was in a newborn calf, you should see results in less than 3 hours. Calf won't be completely back to normal, but it will be up and able to suck and move around. We have never had a problem in older animals, so I don't know how quickly they will recover.

 

[rockridgecattle]

depending on the brand of selenium, prevention and treatment are 2 different doses. It is also recommended to give a second shot for treatment in so many days. Read the label or call a vet.

 

[wesselhoeft21]

Thanks
I gave him a second shot yesterday evening 1.8cc. I am seeing some improvement.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

If you have BoSe, then the dosage is like 2.75 - 3ml per 100#. We are severely deficient in our area, I give 4 ml / 100#. With newborns, we see results in hours. You can give it SQ or IM. If we have a normal calf, we give it SQ. If we suspect any kind of problem, we give it IM to get it into the system faster.
What are the symptoms? How did you know you have WMD? Did a vet check it? And how old a calf is it?

 

[wesselhoeft21]

He will be a week old tommorrow. I called the vet on Tuesday and asked for the BoSe. A guy at our local feedmill told me about it. He was born early in the morning I walked out to see if he was okay and he was lying down with mother sleeping, so I left him alone till that evening. I rolled him over to look and make sure it was a him and tried to make him stand up and he was having a hard time staying up almost walking on the joint above the hoof. Now he is on the tips of his hoof, I am stretching 2x a day.
The vet never saw him, I had the vet out the Friday before he was born to pull and died calf out. So I was maxed out on vet bills for the week. He was eating and I was given him a liquid vit the days before the Bose.

 

[rnsandie]

Continue the oral vitamins! Keep stretching and massaging every day! If he won't get up... turn him often and try to get him up in a sling with his weight on his legs. Watch out for bloating from inactivity or diarrhea the probios gel works great if that starts. I had one that took 4 weeks to get up. I thought he wasn't going to make it but he did. Walks a little goofy but is a happy spoiled little bull. Good Luck!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Not to play vet, but that does not sound like WMD. Just tight ligaments, which should stretch out & be fine the more he uses his legs.

 

[ROB]

this morning turned out to be a great. one of my registered cows had a big bull calf last week (100 lbs) she got along great, but the calf was one of those big dummy calves. couldn't get up on his own, and when helped up, didn't have the ability/coordination to go anywhere. gave the calf 5cc of BoSe and tubed the calf for a couple of days in the pasture, then moved the calf and momma to a barn prior to a rainstorm coming in. after about three days in the barn, and still tube feeding, i finally got the calf to nurse a bottle. the next night i stalled the cow up and put the calf on her teats. he got a little - but the next day after stalling the cow up again, it was like starting all over again with the calf. next morning - went down to the barn for the ritual feeding, but to my suprise the calf was already up and was full. this morning went to the barn and low and behold, the calf was nursing his mommma!
calf is still kinda awkward, but has a lot of energy and is gettin up easily on his own and can get around pretty good. for this particular calf, the BoSe seemed to take about 6-7 days to work effectively. i don't know if this calf had/has white muscle disease - but the symptoms sure were similar. we usually have a couple of larger calves every season, and typically they are a lot slower starters, but this calf was too the extreme and probably wouldn't have survived without the BoSe.

ROB

 

[angiefettig]

One of our calves, 4 months old, couldn't stand all the way up 3 days ago and now he's down and can't even move his legs. He has a lot of eye junk and a really good appetite. He had diarrhea but since we've been hand feeding him several times a day, his stool has really firmed up. We're new "farmers" but I've been doing a lot of research and I'm convinced it's white muscle disease. The calves weren't getting any mineral and we're in a selenium deficient area. I wish we would have known before. We've tried hoisting him up with a tarp and pulley but the tarp won't stay. We got him up with a couple square bales under him but he slipped off after a day. He's flat out on his belly and I just don't know how his joints can recover after 3 or 4 days of this. I think we'll try the selenium shots but I was wondering if anyone knows if it's possible for him to recover even now. If he can recover, how long will it be for an older calf?

Angie

 

[randiliana]

If it really is WMD there is a very good chance of recovery. Definitely give him a shot of selenium, follow the directions on the bottle. The only reason I question WMD is the fact that he has a good appetite (I am guessing he is sucking?) Because, the suck reflex is usually one that is impeded by selinium deficiency.

Usually, you should see a noticable improvement within a few hours. If he does show improvement, but not enough to be back to normal within a day or so you may want to consider giving him another 1/2 dose of selenium. If he doesn't show a noticable improvement within a day then you are likely looking at a different problem, and you should consult a vet.

With baby calves, you will se an improvement within about 3 hours.....

 

[KNERSIE]

Not to play vet, but that does not sound like WMD. Just tight ligaments, which should stretch out & be fine the more he uses his legs.

I agree, sounds like contracted tendons to me as well.

 

[msscamp]

Not to play vet, but that does not sound like WMD. Just tight ligaments, which should stretch out & be fine the more he uses his legs.

I am not a vet either, but I agree with you. I'm not an expert on WMD by any meand, but if it was WMD and based on everything I have read about WMD, it seems to me like the calf would have been dead by the time the first shot of selenium was given.