Holstein 3 month old Heifer Calf Weak

davis_manor · #1 09/16/14, 10:55 AM

I have a 3 month old Holstein heifer calf that began acting weak about 4-5 days ago. I have had her for 6 weeks and up until then shes been very active. She doesn't want to get up and just lays all day. She's not eating very much food either. She drinks but very slowly. I added Vi Tal to her water every day for the last three days. I have been giving her probiotics also and staying with her while she eats to encourage her to eat more. Thinking it might be an infection I gave her Pen G. No changes yet.

Thinking maybe she got into some fly spray I washed her today. There is still no change. I have called a vet but they are over two hours away and I can't figure out how to get her there. Any other thoughts or suggestions? Anything else I should be looking for? Anything else I can try?

myheaven · #2 09/16/14, 11:00 AM

How is her poops? She is prime age for coccidiosis. Some corid or dex Will help with that.

davis_manor · #3 09/16/14, 11:05 AM

Her poop looked fine but I guess I could treat anyway. She's really not looking good...

Good suggestion. What is a good thing to treat it with?

I also didn't mention that she has her own stall but during the day she is with goats, chickens, turkeys, and ducks. Are there any problems with that?

myheaven · #4 09/16/14, 11:10 AM

The birds are prime carriers of coccidiosis or coccidia as it is often refers to. Get corid (amp) and give her 5-7 cc everyday for 5 days. It tastes super nasty worse then earwax. She will fight you but she has to have it. What color are her poops?

G. Seddon · #5 09/16/14, 11:12 AM

Take her temperature.
Write down symptoms and care (feed, age, everything that relates to her).
Call the vet and ask if they can help you over the phone.
Doesn't sound like coccidiosis. I would hesitate to treat with Corid unless she has bad diarrhea, but that is me.
Where did you get her from; contact them and try to get advice, but a DVM would be better.
Where are you located? Vet school or animal health laboratory nearby?

davis_manor · #6 09/16/14, 11:26 AM

I am in south/central Virginia and the closest vet I can find is over two hours away. We did call but they haven't called back. I have a neighbor that has some cows and they gave me the advice to wash her. I'm hoping they will come by this evening. She doesn't live with any other cows. She hasn't seen another cow in 6 weeks.

davis_manor · #7 09/16/14, 11:59 AM

Did't reply to the poop comment: two days ago saw her poop and it was pretty firm, brown, normal. Saw no signs of worms. I haven't seen one since. She may have had one I just haven't seen it.

Also, I give her kitchen scraps, mostly tomatoes and apples but she may get some bread. Would that cause any problems?

G. Seddon · #8 09/16/14, 12:14 PM

What else is she eating beside kitchen scraps? I doubt that tomatoes, apples and bread will hurt her, but that's not a proper feed for a very young growing calf. Neither is feed for goats and poultry.

Do you have a Southern States nearby? Consult them for a balanced feed for this age calf and start out VERY slowly (AFTER you've figured out what she's suffering from at the moment). It doesn't sound like coccidiosis (if you go to the Corid website, you'll learn a lot about coccidia, not a worm, by the way).

It could well be poison from the fly stuff, depending on what that is. When you talk to the vet, mention the fly stuff and have the container handy so that you can read the ingredients to the vet.

If you can't get a response from the vet, you might try contacting VA Tech; how far are you from them?

Clean out her stall and remove anything she can get her mouth on. Make sure she has plenty of clean, fresh water and change it everyday.