stiff legs?

[Oakshire_Farm]

I have a calf that is not looking very well???

He has stiff legs? He is walking around very stiff! Like his legs will not bend, he is acting like he has splints on? His whole body is stiff?

What could it be?

He is a castrated 3 month old holstein. He has free choice of good hay, and grain, water... and is getting milk twice a day. He is good and fat.

I just gave him a shot of selenium? Because I had it on hand, and it is not going to hurt him.

[Jersey/guernsey]

Sounds like Tetanus! Was he vaccinated?

http://informedfarmers.com/tetanus-in-cattle/

http://netvet.co.uk/cattle/vaccination/tetanus.htm

[agmantoo]

Is there any swelling? If so, read about blackleg in cattle.

[Oakshire_Farm]

Well shoot!

After much googling, I think it was tetanus! The calf died last night.

No they were not vaccinated.

Our vet has never recommended it, so we have never done it.

I just put a call in to the vet. I am going to ask about if I should vaccinate the rest of the herd.

I moved 5 calves out of the barn, and down into the calf paddock 2 weeks ago. They were all 2-3 months old, still drinking milk. I banded them all before moving them down. The calf paddock is a over grazed dirt paddock that I wean my calves in, have been doing so for years! It has a attached run in stall, they have free access to hay, get grain and milk twice a day. All the calves have nice shinny coats, good weight.

So what can I do to prevent this in the future? I am assuming we will be vaccinating, just waiting to hear back from the vet... Google told me that the tetanus virus can live in the soil? how can I kill it? Their is no visible wounds on the calf other than the remainder of the testicles are still hanging and have not fallen off yet.

[MO_cows]

Bummer! You can never get rid of Tetanus in the soil. Horses shed the virus, so anywhere horses have been kept will have it. And, where weren't horses kept, up until recent times??

I'm guessing your vet will tell you to add Tetanus to your vaccination routine, or else vaccinate bull calves before castrating, or both.

And, this is a heads up to make sure your own Tetanus vaccination is up to date!

[Jersey/guernsey]

Sorry about your calf, its hard to lose them like that and tetanus is a nasty way to go. I'd give all of the banded calves a shot of Penicillin just to be safe.
Tetanus can and does live in the soil it is also a normal gut flora in horses and goats (not sure about cows)

Since the bugs are in the soil all the time vaccination is a good idea thou not absolutely necessary, good hygiene at and after castration and dehorning will normally be enough

[Oakshire_Farm]

I have always kept the horses tetanus vaccines up to date, as well as me, my husband and the kids.

I have still not heard back from the vet, but I have been chatting with a friend that has a 100 head beef cow operation, he has brought me up on what vaccines I should be giving. I am not feeling thrilled that my vet has never brought this up with me! I usually have the vet out a few times a year for one thing or another. They are totally aware of what I do with my cows and how they are raised. I have a great working relationship with the vets. I am just upset that I lost a calf to find this out! I am sick about it actually!

[G. Seddon]

Sorry to hear the calf died. Was he banded? Usually they recommend tetanus vacc. 3 weeks before banding, then booster on day of banding.

[Oakshire_Farm]

Yes calf was banded.

I have been raising bull calves for just about 15 years, never had a problem before. Lesson learned, it was a bad one to learn. I feel horrible about the calf dyeing in this horrible way. But I now have a brand new bottle os Tasvac that I will being giving everyone a shot of once my husband gets home from work.