Major Prob w/ 4 new calves (respiratory)

[jode]

On Jan 1, my brother bought 4 calves from a guy that we don't know a whole bunch about. It is possible that he was reselling sale-barn calves. I have no idea how old they are. He claimed them to be from 4-6 months old & weaned, but they are skin and bones and don't really seem to be that big. Of course, I am notoriously horrible at judging calf ages by the look of them. When we brought them home, it was a brisk evening (probably 40 degrees or so) and the trip was probably 1.5-2 hours or so. A couple of them had a slight runny nose that night we brought them home, but they were all up and walking around and seemed to be OK other than pretty skinny. 3 of the 4 had loose stools. Right before we left, the previous owner hit one of the holsteins with LA200 and he claimed to have hit all the other 4 with it just prior.

Yesterday, they were looking a bit worse, so we got them on "Bounce-back" electrolytes. They were all drinking a bit and eating a bit of grain and hay.

Today, a couple of them are looking about the same, possibly even some improvement, but the two Holsteins are looking far worse (and they were probably the strongest when we first got them.) They are all in separate covered pens with all the hay, feed-mix, and electrolyted water they can eat/drink. Today, just to be sure, I forced electrolytes into each of them and plan to do the same tomorrow. They are not severely dehydrated or anything (skin-test) but a couple of them do seem to be pushing into dehydration territory and one of them has horribly watery stools.

Here is the case by case as of a few minutes ago:

Jersey 1
Temp 103.9
Minor cough
clear eyes
drinking from a bucket

Jersey 2
Temp 104
Drinking from a bucket
Eating hay
Minor cough
Minor runny eyes

Holstein 1
102.3 temp
Major scours
Labored and rapid breathing
Runny nose/eyes

Holstein 2
106 temp
Labored breathing
Good stools
Runny nose (with yellow mucousy boogers) and runny eyes

Plans for tonight:
Try to find some Nuflor, Baytril, Draxxin, or Micotill.

Any other suggestions?

[B Adams]

Along with your antibiotic give banamine to help break any fever. Banamine will make them feel better and will hopefully start eating, if you can keep them eating they have a chance. 4-6 months have they been wormed ? I would use panacur/safeguard- or better yet have a vet run a fecal and check for coccidia.

B Adams

[jode]

OK, I just got back from the vet and hit all four of them with:



A double dose of Nuflor
A double dose of Baytril
A dose of Dexamethasone (steroid to reduce chest swelling)
A dose of B12 (to give them appetite and thirst and to enhance the immune system

Then on the one with scours and on Jersey 1 (who has a loosish stool) I gave them a dose of Tribusen

The vet was saying that the combo of Nuflor/Baytril will really knock it out if it is going to be knocked out.

We'll be doing daily doses of dex and B12 for at least until they start to really look alot better and the same with the Tribussen on the two that are receiving that.

Now we just wait. Within 24 hours, they should all either be dead or getting better

Oh yeah, one more thing - with girths of 36"-44" and weights under an estimated 200lbs, we are thinking that the 4-6 month estimate we were previously given on these calves must be way off.

[Madsaw]

If they do not show improvment in 24 hrs from useing teh Nuflur. Get Draxxin for them. Also use teh Banamine and Sustain III sulfa. But from teh looks of it the meds you got should do the job. It all depends on what bug you have in your area. Here we still use all 3 majior pneumonia drugs do to sometimes no effect of one on a ceratin bug..
Bob

[topside1]

Sure re-selling calves happens often. The former owner probably bought them for next to nothing because they were noticibly sick at auction. Figured he could make a few $$. Do the calves have stickers on their rumps? Is there remains of glue on their rumps? Patches of hair missing on the rump? One more thing not all auctions use stickers....Not trying to make you feel bad, just answering your question...Let us know how things progress....Topside

[topside1]

My weight tape says your calves weigh 150-170 pounds. A Holstein at 4-6 months old will weigh between 350-450 pounds depending on age. Look at the thread I started a couple of day ago called "freezer calf" there you will see a calf that is 4.5 months old.

[kscowboy]

Its so common for these little fellas to be run thru the barns , get sick , and then you're in this situation . Thank god my vet straightened me out a few years ago when I thought I was going to get some barn babies. took me a good six months but i found a local source who I buy direct from and have not had a single episode of illness in the 25 or so calves we have bought from him.

just a note for next time around , I'm seeing a lot of small lots of calves listed on Craigslist now . Probably due to the prices being so down.

[Chaty]

I hear ya there kscowboy and I dont buy from sale barns either...got my jersey bull calf direct also and I have seen alot of the dairys selling the calves too. Its sad really as most dont know what can or will happen after the sale barn ...Most of the calves dont make it .

[lasergrl]

I just started getting free calves from a farm two streets over and there is a HUGE difference in health. Also the holsteins from the sale barn always did better then the jerseys. The farm is glad to get rid of them for free beacuse it costs him $5 to run them through and he usually only gets $2-3. Direct is the way to go.

[jode]

Update:

Jersey 1
Temp 99.3
Good solid stool
drinking and eating grain and hay
Still has a minor cough
No more runny nose or eyes

Jersey 2
Temp 99.2
Good stools
Eating grain and hay
Drinking
No more runny nose or eyes

Holstein 1
Temp 100.5
Very weak & skinny from 2 days with limited intake
Not eating as good as I had hoped - nor drinking as much
No cough detected at all
Nose/eye runs are WAY better and what is there now may just be residue from yesterday - major improvement.
Stools are WAY better and are bordering on OK in consistency - a little mushy for my taste
No respiratory problems noted

Holstein 2
Temp 98.4
A little weak
No cough detected at all
Nose/eye runs are WAY better and what is there now may just be residue from yesterday - major improvement.
Eating and drinking a little, but not enough
No respiratory problems noted

We redosed all four of them today with Dexamethasone and B12 and gave another dose of the Tribussen to the two that had runny stools yesterday. Looks like they are all going to make it through the night again, but we have to get those two Holsteins up and moving. The jerseys are moving around the pens, but it looks like the Holsteins would sit there all day without moving if we didn't get out there and roust them out every once in a while. They do seem to be interested in food and water when we get out there and shove it in their faces, but they don't seem to be taking it when we aren't there.

Regarding all the advice on where to buy the calves next time - yes, we are certainly going to be much more careful next time. The extra $200 we spent on medications could have gone to buying other calves. We'll have to find someone closer and with healthy stock if we plan on making this into a habit.

[agmantoo]

Great to see something improving. We have too much bad news here on small calves. Something with this statement leaves me wondering "Stools are WAY better and are bordering on OK in consistency - a little mushy for my taste"
Just joking! Have a good day.