Needed to Vent

wr · #1 11/01/04, 11:24 AM

In defence of the vets, it's awful hard to make a diagnosis over the phone, if you really are concerned, you should load the animal up and take it in or make arrangements for the vet to do an on site visit. In his/her defence, the dosage and useage recomendations for NuFlor (unless the US product is different that ours) is that you give a calf one dose and no more till the third day. Anybody I know of that has tried to alter the doseage on calves has found that it didn't work although I'm not sure if the doseage killed them or other circumstances.

tinknal · #2 11/01/04, 01:50 PM

Depending upon the laws in your state, many livestock medications and vacines are available mail order. Check out Jeffers vet supply.

ajabj · #3 11/01/04, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wr

In defence of the vets, it's awful hard to make a diagnosis over the phone, if you really are concerned, you should load the animal up and take it in or make arrangements for the vet to do an on site visit. In his/her defence, the dosage and useage recomendations for NuFlor (unless the US product is different that ours) is that you give a calf one dose and no more till the third day. Anybody I know of that has tried to alter the doseage on calves has found that it didn't work although I'm not sure if the doseage killed them or other circumstances.

The call to the vet was to get an appointment. The calf could have easlily been taken to the office. They didn't have time I even offered to see a Tech and they gave him the one dosage of the antibiotic and considering it was a weekend and yes they were open half day on Saturday so he could have gone in they wouldn't see him. So to only give him one dose considering they would be out of the office on Sunday I think was very wrong.

The calf was taken to the vet in the efforts if nothing else to be there when they came in or in hopes they came in for another client to try and get him some help.

The vet was seen and the calf did go to the office and said it was pneumonia when asked about the others and no there wasn't any offer of getting any more meds for the other animals or options as to what would be a good idea to do to prevent it. And you want to know something real good about this "Vet" he has contracted my stepfather to work on his home so it should have been fairly ease to get the calf into the office if but it wasn't. And yes they should offer to give you somethin in the event this occurs in the others become ill to have on hand.

This and there aren't many in our area that will even see cattle they are all mainly dogs, cats, and the large animal vets only see horses

Well the vet seen was a different one on call when the calf was taken in and said typically there Nuflor is given in at least 3 day intervals.

wr · #4 11/01/04, 08:24 PM

Others may disagree but Nuflor is something we always keep on hand and I find it highly effective, we used to buy it by the dose but found if we keep it on hand we are inclined to use it before it's too late. I also find that longhorns respond to medications differently than other breeds. Come to think of it, I'm almost sure that we're giving 3cc per dose. Regardless of the dosage and the drug, you are right in your level of frustration with vets. I find that most young vets want to get into cat & dog practice cause the hours are more reasonable and it pays better. We have a devil of a time finding good vets and my horse vet and my cow vet are both well past retirement age, lord knows what I'd do if they decided to retire.

Jena · #5 11/01/04, 09:05 PM

I think it is the owners responsibility to keep in hand common meds, such as LA 200, Nuflor, Scour bolus', Pen-G, Banamine, etc. Some of these require that you get them from the vet, so ask for them. I do. If I am running low on something, I just go by the vets and ask for a new bottle.

If you are not familiar with how/when to treat an animal, come here and ask, or find a farmer to help you out.

Getting mad at the vet won't save you anymore trouble. Take responsibility to learn how to deal with the problems yourself.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but that is the only way that really works. Vets are often not around when you need them, but then they are out there being there for someone else.

Jena

fellersbarnone · #6 11/02/04, 06:32 PM

Sorry to hear about you losing your calf. We had pneumonia bad this year too. Of the 3 we had get it, we lost 2. What state are you located in? you might contact your local stockyards and inquire about good cow vets. We are blessed and have a GREAT vet! Just don't expect a "pet type" vet when it comes to cattle. Ours is a tell it like it is type which often means he rains on my parade, but that's the balance of life, I think. I do think it's a good idea to keep meds on hand if you know what to use them for and how much to use. I don't care what folks say, FOLLOW the DIRECTIONS! Especially if you aren't an extremely EXPERIENCED cattle person. Sorry again about your calf.

ajabj · #7 11/03/04, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fellersbarnone

Sorry to hear about you losing your calf. We had pneumonia bad this year too. Of the 3 we had get it, we lost 2. What state are you located in? you might contact your local stockyards and inquire about good cow vets. We are blessed and have a GREAT vet! Just don't expect a "pet type" vet when it comes to cattle. Ours is a tell it like it is type which often means he rains on my parade, but that's the balance of life, I think. I do think it's a good idea to keep meds on hand if you know what to use them for and how much to use. I don't care what folks say, FOLLOW the DIRECTIONS! Especially if you aren't an extremely EXPERIENCED cattle person. Sorry again about your calf.

Thanks Fellers I did make the contact and was told these vets were good ones. There are approximately 6 vets in this office that helps too or so Ithought when one was on a call, when one was in an emergency. Most of them are in the office at one time. 4 on call on Saturdays and then there is the techs. I do have the LA200 on hand, penecililn, but the Nuflor requires a vet to prescribe and unless they will give it to you you can't get it. There was two request for some to keep on hand and still could not get it.

We only acquired these calves by accident. They were not something we were planning to get but it was either that or watch them die, my teenage sons just dont' have that sort of heart so they took it on themselves to raise them.