[bulldog]

Hey, I hope these get through!! Isn't she just the cutest thing? I have never seen such big eye on a cow. The umbilical infection is gone!! She has pneumonia now:shrug: but we are working on that! Still tube feeding her three times a day, but she seems to be getting stronger. Thank you all so very much for your most excellent advice!

 

[Madsaw]

If Nuflur is not cutting it a round of Draxxin is the next step. Also so Bactrum/SMZ tablets dissolved in teh milk will help too.
Ther eis different strains of pnuemonia that respond differently to teh drugs on the market today.
Bob

 

[gone-a-milkin]

Yay! You are doing a great job with her! She STILL wont suck? Hmmm..

It's great to see her up on her feet.

 

[deafgoatlady]

I cant help wondering if you can use the sulmet??? Becuz it does help to get rid of resp. infections. I am just wondering..

 

[bulldog]

What is Sulmet?

 

[menollyrj]

Sulmet is a sulfa drug. You can get sulmet boluses or sulmet liquid (to put in drinking water/bottles). We use it in conjuction with antibiotics.

You may need to stop tube feeding her because at this point, she should be sucking a bottle. She may need some help - holding her mouth closed over the nipple, wedging her where she can't get away from the bottle, gently stroking her throat so she'll swallow - but she needs to get back to the bottle.

Just out of curiosity, how much are you feeding her per feeding?

-Joy

 

[Madsaw]

I cant help wondering if you can use the sulmet??? Becuz it does help to get rid of resp. infections. I am just wondering..

Sulmet/ Bactrum/ SMZ
Are all a sulfamephazine product. Bactrum/SMZ are teh pills the docs give humans for infections also. The vet is a cheap source for them if you do not have insurance to cover them.
Also in larger form are Sustain III. These are a controled release form. Use these in bigger calves and cattle.
On the eating idea. Maybe she is not hungry. Being tubed 3 times a day she might be full most of teh time. And she mmigth be nibbling on then nice bales her pen is made out of too. Might try skipping a feeding and she how she is.
Bob

 

[Jay]

Her back feet from the hocks down--they look odd. Maybe it's the camera angle? Or????
Hope all continues on the upswing!

 

[gone-a-milkin]

I think Madsaw could be right about her not being too hungry. That would be something easy to try...skip a feeding.

Also, maybe she would drink out of a bucket. It would be something to try...she wouldn't have to suck as hard, esp. if her throat is sore, which it probably is.

 

[joseywales76]

good to hear, woot:banana02:

 

[topside1]

Bulldog how about an update? Honestly I think she looks healthy...The bottom half of the rear legs do look strange. I noticed the first day you posted pics, one thing at a time right...Update?

 

[agmantoo]

topside1, do you think that calf ever had any exercise?

 

[topside1]

Look depressed but healthy, excercise is important for sure. The calf has lost it's cord so it's older than we think. I just let three of my new ones out today, runnning and running, kicking and running. Excercise is important, so is sunshine...I'd move the calf into the sunlight if possible or at least increase the size of it's living area....Topside1

 

[bulldog]

Hey, sorry for the silence! Been real busy. Anyway, I have been skipping feedings, I only tubed her once a day for two days, but I just could not handle her only getting that much. She just has no interest in eating. Maybe once every two days I will go in and offer her the bucket like I do every time, she was bucket trained when I got her, and she will wander over and take MAYBE three swallows, and maybe butt me a few times. So then I get to thinking she is going to drink next time, so I don't tube her. But then every time she shows no further interest for a few days. I have been giving her a real good electrolyte with probiotics and B vitamins, but no real response. This is one tuff little calf! The other day she bloated. I mean she looked like a little balloon. Every part of her tummy was just as full as could be. So I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find someone who knew what to do to help her. I was after hours for the vet, and none of the dairy farmers I talked to had any clue, and I desperately wanted to post here about it but I could not bring up the page!! Stupid computers. She could not lay down, I honestly think her insides would have burst, so she was exhausted, and her little heart was just hammering away. I was just sure I would come in the morning and she would be gone. But lo and behold, there she was just as normal as you please. So the saga of the crazy cow continues. Yes, her back legs do seem very strange. It is not the camera angle. She is down on her pasterns, and her left rear always seems to be pointed kind of wrong. When I was raising foals, I would run into tendons like that allot, but the would clear up with movement. This little cow just has no energy. So I have left her pen size small, because she does not move around even in all of that small space. And it is so very cold here, 6 inches of snow yesterday:rock: I love snow. But everybody has been telling me to keep her out of drafts, so I have left her pen size small for that reason too. The moment she looks like she wants to move around, trust me I will open it up. Sooooo, that is what is going on with Vivy. I just sure hope she starts to get hungry soon, I know her throught is sore for the pneumonia and tubing her. Poor little thing, am I doing something Wrong here? Anything more I should be doing? I have cut her back to two tube feedings, hoping to reduce the soreness. And as to her age, she is three weeks. Her umbilical was riped off, I think that is why it was infected.

 

[Terri]

I have no cattle, so take this with a grain of salt.

With the kittens, my Mother used to dribble milk into their mouths at feeding time to encourage them to eat. I suppose a similar thing would be to let milk dribble down 2 fingers and into her mouth?

Also, my youngest was very premature. He never had much of a suck reflex: I used to torture the ends of the bottle to stretch the holes out and make them soft, or he would never have eaten either. And, as skinny as he was, I knew that he would not stand not eating. A healthy child might try harder if he had to, but my youngest did not have that kind of energy.

So, I made it very easy for him.

Have you tried a bottle? Perhaps one with the hole stretched out enough to make it easy but not so large the calf might choke? You could give it a gentle squeeze so some of the milf flows into the calves mouth?

Again, I have no cattle. I am just thinking......

 

[bulldog]

Hey Terri,
Yup, I have tried a bottle. I cut the end into a big x, I get it in her mouth and she just lets the milk run back out of her lips. She also does not seem to like having the nipple in her mouth, maybe because it reminds her of the tube? Any way the only time she has ever drank on her own for me was the first time I feed her after I got her home, she drank from the bucket then, and it is the same milk replacer i have now, the same water, the same temp, so I dint think it is the taste or anything. Even on a good day if she wants to suck on my finger, she does not really suck, just moves her mouth like she is sucking, but there is no pull there, so when i stick the bottle in nothing gets down her throat.:help:I just love these smile faces.

 

[Terri]

Well, it sounds like you have allready done what worked with DS. He never had much suck reflex, ever, but he did swallow and so that helped.

 

[vquinn2]

Can you rub the back of her tongue while the nipple is in her mouth? That's worked for me a couple of times. What about putting a small amount of honey (or something sweet) on your fingers to see if she'll suck it? Good luck
Valerie

 

[topside1]

Bulldog you are doing an excellent job, believe me troubleshooting calves can be overwhelming. Lots of posts now to read and remember, but at this point here is what I'd do: We must first agree she's a big calf with plenty of weight on her. Next I'd take a rectal temperature, if that's normal I'd stop feeding her all together. Nothing, no tubing, no electrolytes, nothing. This will allow her throat to heal, her stomach system to settle and hopefully kick her appetite into high gear. When she begins mooing like the world is coming to an end, she's hungry. No feedings for two days 48 hours or less, depending on results. I honest believe that her digestive tract is a disaster, bloat. This tactic may sound cruel, but may also save her life. Choices at this point are few. As always, free choice water and calf starter....Wish you luck...Topside

One last thing, how many pints of MR are you feeding her, per feeding?
Is her poop solid, liquid, pudding like, bloody, what color?
Her belly sure is big in the photos, looks bloated even two weeks ago.
Giving lots of pepto bismol may also do wonders during her fast.

 

[bulldog]

Hey topside,
I sure wish I had gotten your post a little earlier, I lost Vivian last night:angel:. She bloated again, and just could not pull through. I have learned so much, and I wish the weather had been warmer, that was my main reason to keep feeding her. Anyway, I feel prepared to take on another calf, and thank you all so very much.