What would kill a 2 week old calf

bigmudder77, yes the calf was breathing. That's the first thing I checked for when I saw it the first time. It was moving also and mooing. Must've been something congential or maybe she did step on it.

i HATE bounce back that crap killed 2 calves of mine and made the other 2 very sick

resorb does great but its a bit much here

1 day responce works great so far (knock on wood) i have never lost a calf with this stuff (the vets dont like any of this stuff they said it should be on milk) well its off milk for 4 feedings and most times it only takes 2 feeding and its up and comes running

i do 2 feedings 1 day with just this stuff if it comes running to me in the morning the next day it gets half and half if not then it just gets another packet of that stuff then night its always mixed half and half and then the next morning (5 feedings later) it gets milk works great for me

This was a good chance to review this subject I studied many years ago. Let’s see if I can summarize from the site chalk creek posted and this from the Merck Veterinary Manual:
http://www.merckveterinarymanual.com...m/bc/22108.htm

What is the cause of your calf’s disease? Hard to say. Sometimes it can be a combination of bugs. Possibilities are bacteria like E. coli or Salmonella. Or viruses like corona and rotavirus. Or protozoa like cryptosporidiosis. You can have feces cutured, but results are often confusing, since their presence does not necessarily mean they are the problem. Many of the bugs can be found in healthy calves.

Crypto is supposed to be more mild unless combined with other bugs. The common E. coli usually hits before 5 days old. Salmonella may be likely, as it causes foul smelling diarrhea as you described. It infects all the body, not just the gut, so requires injected antibiotics, but penicillin and other common drugs are ineffective due to overuse and resistance.

The main treatment for severe diarrhea is fluids for dehydration. Dehydration and it’s consequences are usually what kills the calf. If the calf is down and weak, the fluids need to be given IV (in the vein) to do any good. Very dehydrated calves lack sufficient circulation for fluids given orally to be absorbed from the gut. Calves also need energy to recover, so may need to add sugars to fluids and/or keep feeding milk.

Penicillin does not work for viruses, or E. coli, or Salmonella, or protozoa.

Why is this calf more affected than others? Individuals vary in their resistance to disease organisms. Some calves get less colostrum if they are weak from a difficult calving, or from other problems. Or the colostrum may lack protection if the cow is unvaccinated, or from a heifer which hasn’t yet been exposed to disease.

Calves also differ in their exposure to bugs. Many of the organisms causing disease are all around, or in the feces of the cows or other calves. Some bugs have a certain minimum number to cause disease. So if a calf happens to get a mouthful of feces containing these organisms, it will be more likely to get sick. Which is why clean bedding is helpful, and spreading out calves, and general cleanliness.

I'm going to question the coccidiosis theory. Cox is also known as "bloody scours" because of the way it usually presents.
Not that it can't show any other color, but I'd think that if he actually died of it, that he would have been showing blood in the stool...
And, as evidenced by the number of suggestions in the thread, the only way to really know is to have the vet post him.

This is our standard protocol, too.

However, I will say, because of our scale, prevention is our bigger concern.

And to prevent scours, cox, etc, the best thing to do is not calve in the same spot year and after year.
Pair out ASAP (that is, take the new pairs out of the calving area and to pasture)
And above everything else, try to calve in a dry location. Muddy corrals are the absolute worst for calving problems. (and that's exactly what we have on this ranch. )
For scours, ScourGuard is a good maternal shot given about 3-6 weeks before calving starts. But honestly, my experience has been that moving calving locations, and pairing out is the best prevention.

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the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

I found this to be an interesting article
"Medicated milk replacers – Yes or No?
The most popular option for calf milk replacers in
the US is Neo-Terra (USDA survey in 2008).
Interestingly, this medication option was recently
applied as a treatment in two separate expert
review publications. The quick take home
message is neither was better than the nonmedicated
control.
In a Penn State University study, the three milk
replacer treatments were a non-medicated
control, a commercial microbial product, and Neo-
Terra. There were no differences in calf weight
gain, medical treatments, and scouring.
In a study from Washington State University,
there were four treatments: 1) non-medicated
milk replacer, aggressive antimicrobial treatment
for scours, 2) non-medicated milk replacer,
electrolyte treatment with limited antimicrobial
treatment for scours, 3) Neo-Terra medicated
milk replacer, aggressive antimicrobial treatment
for scours, and 4) Neo-Terra medicated milk
replacer, electrolyte treatment with limited
antimicrobial treatment for scours. Calves fed
medicated milk replacer had more days with
scours than calves fed non-medicated milk
replacers. Calves treated for scours with
electrolytes with limited antimicrobial treatments
had fewer days with scours and tended to have a
greater body weight gain than calves
aggressively treated with electrolytes. Use of a
non-medicated milk replacer with electrolyte
treatment with limited antimicrobial treatments
saved $10 per calf and resulted in healthier and
possibly heavier calves."
Sources: Livestock Sci. 125:149-154 (2009); J.
Dairy Sci. 92:4707-4714 (2009).

__________________
Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!