# UPDATE: Sad story for a pretty little girl.



## neener92 (Apr 11, 2011)

Well yesterday I went with my boyfriend to "help" him help feed a friends farm animals. I don't really like this guy....he's got cattle with broken legs, messed up backs, messed up hooves, and sheep with broken legs and stuff. Anyway, he had a red Angus cow whose milk was bad, she was taken from her momma about days ago and fed milk replacer....(did I add he doesn't clean his bottles at all! they are black and nasty!)....well she started going down hill and he asked if I wanted her....of course I said yes to a pretty red heifer calf. Oh, did I mention I hate this guy?!

I get her home and give her a small lamb bottle of colostrum, a vit B shot, a Clodtridium Cavalry 9 shot, and some probios. Her birth date is 3/29/11. I've been feeding her little bottles 4 times a day, making her stand and walk around a little. Her poo was a bright yellow yesterday and earlier today, it's now turned a more brown color. She doesn't have a temp. When I make her stand her head is low and ears a back a little. She only drinks a weee little at a time. Does anyone have any other ideas for me?

Here's a picture of her.


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## jhm47 (Apr 12, 2011)

She's in pretty bad shape.  Try to get her to drink more.  She might do better if you would get her on some whole cow's milk for a week or so.  They seem to do better on more natural milk.  Whole milk from the store would be fine.  Your biggest challenge most likely will be scours and pneumonia.  If you can hold them off, she might have a chance.  Good luck!


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## she-earl (Apr 12, 2011)

Normally you would think of electrolytes for scouring calves.  However, if she had been compromised, it might give her a boost to have a couple of feedings between milk feedings of electrolytes.  Even though she doesn't have a temp, you might want to consider still giving her some antibiotics.  It would appear that she has not gotten the best start so doing some "not normal" things may be what she needs to fend off her poor start.  She should have water and a calf starter feed in front of her to nibble and drink.  I would also agree with jhm that getting whole milk for her would be good.  Is there a farmer near you that you could buy some from?


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## redtailgal (Apr 12, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 12, 2011)

I'm now having to force feed her 5 times a day with Colostrum, Lamb Replacer and some sugar. She's getting 16 oz. each feeding (not counting what she lets drip out of her mouth). She had a Antibiotic shot before I got her, if she lives til this weekend she will be getting another Antibiotic and Vit. B shot. She's got her big dog coat on for warmth, and another 2 month old bottle calf to keep her company. I'm keeping her as comfortable as possible. Is it possible her mothers colostrum was too watered down or spoiled? I know there would be nothing I can do to reverse that but would like to know what other people think.

I just love bottle calves, especially ones that really need help like little Sienna.....even though its an emotional roller coaster!


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## jason_mazzy (Apr 12, 2011)

Best of luck to you. I am sorry this fellow continues to own animals. That is why we get punished by bad laws, because 1 idiot ruins it...............


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## redtailgal (Apr 13, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 13, 2011)

Well, if it was sunny out I would definitely take her and lay her in the sun (as long as it wasn't too hot), but its rainy and nasty out here.  That makes it much worse! But she's got her doggy blanket on which I'm pretty sure is saving her life, I may put a heat lamp on her if it gets much colder!

I don't think her gums are pale, I'll go check!

She's peeing and pooing fine, although the poo is yellow...I think I'm going to give her another shot of antibiotic.

I'll try the peanut butter for sure!

I don't know if I'm confident with letting her go two feedings with no food....she's pretty frail.

I put some hay and grain in front of her and all she does is chew on the side of the trough....I've tried putting it in her mouth and she just spits it out, I'm afraid of leaving water in front of her since she just lets her head fall were it wants sometimes.

I was doing the lamb replacer hoping it would help a little, but I switch to calf since I have some for my other healthy calf.

I lost one a couple mouths ago that never got colostrum...he was alive for two weeks then kept getting worse, that's why I'm so scared with her! 

I'll get the electrolytes and Molasses this evening.


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## herfrds (Apr 13, 2011)

The yellow is the colostrum.
Look at getting some Probios which is the "good" bacteria for the belly since she was given an antibiotic shot. That kills all the bacteria even the good ones.

You can make your own electrolytes.
It is sugar, salt and baking soda.

How I do it for half a bottle is 1/4c. sugar, 1t. salt and 1/4t. baking soda.

I got a calf going good on that this spring. He was doing well until the cow kicked him and broke his neck.


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## goodhors (Apr 13, 2011)

We mix our milk replacer with small amount of hot water, it blends better.  I have found a kitchen whisk to work well for the mixing, no lumps.  We then cool mix a little with cool water, should still feel warm to the touch.  Then we feed calf warm milk replacer in the bottle.

When we had problems last year with a calf, Vet advised three bottles of milk replacer daily, spaced out evenly.  Yes, more than advised on the calf milk replacer bags, but Dr. Mike is a VERY experienced cattle Vet.  Daughter was the calf owner, so she fed him a warm, full CALF bottle at 6A before school, I fed him at noon, another full bottle, and then she fed him again at 6P.  

Vet said we could give extra water if he wasn't drinking from his bucket.  Most calves are sickened and lost from being dehydrated.  So I fit in a couple extra daily visits with just WARM water in his bottle at 9A and again at 3P that he eagerly drank.  Did make for a wet stall (she cleans stalls daily), but there were no more issues with the dehydration.  When we swapped him to the bucket, we did have to gradually get him used to less warm water and replacer, before he would drink well without the liquids being warmed.  Yeah, I did test all his bottles on my inner arm, to prevent bottle being too hot and burning his throat.

Bottle and nipple is washed, SANITIZED after EVERY use, let dry between uses.  Unclean bottles cause scours fast.

He really didn't eat much feed or hay to talk of until about 5-6 weeks old.  Same with this year's calf.  We did put a few alfalfa pellets in his bucket of milk replacer, gets his stomach started with real food, but not overloaded.  Pellets soften fast, easy to chew or lick up.  It was so cold he wasn't pastured, so no nibbling available either.  Animals must develop the "flora" of bacteria that is needed to digest what they are fed.  Sudden changes of food to another type, hay to fresh pasture, can cause problems.  Stomach has few or none of the correct flora to digest that kind of new food, upsets everything, may start a laminitus issue with grown cattle.

You can offer some soft hay, see if she is interested when she is eating the softened alfalfa pellets.  We put handfuls of hay in our calf stall in case he wanted to nibble, but not wasting great amounts he didn't want.  Again, both ours have started nibbling hay at about 5-6 weeks old, after they got started with the wetted alfalfa pellets.

Good luck with her, she is cute.  Not going to be easy, but if she will get more quantity of liquid inside, it has to help.  If the poop is not squirting or running out of her, I would not worry.  Soft shape is fine.  You are feeding her milk replacer, poop is going to be light color until she eats green things.

I would go for more warmth, heat lamp even with a blanket, deep DRY straw bedding with something to soak up wet on the floor.  We have wood fiber for the horses, so that is on the floor, straw piled up on it.  No laying in a wet place to chill them.  Very easy to get calves chilled, then they don't drink well, and it all goes downhill from there.  For the colder nights, we had a horse stalled beside our calf, which did raise the temp well in our small barn.  Maybe some other livestock nearby, could warm the barn area.  Make sure nothing can disturb the heat lamp, to set the barn on fire!


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## neener92 (Apr 14, 2011)

OK, I gave her a shot earlier of antibiotic, and some probios and about 6cc of molasses in her mouth.

The peanut butter didn't work...she just let the milk run out. 

I don't know if this is wishful thinking (I am really bad for that...seeing them do something small that looks like what a healthy baby would do, then they end up dieing), but I got her up and let her walk around a little while I put more straw under her and some green hay by her bed, then I guided her back over to her bed and let her stand and sniff the hay (she likes sniffing things!) and it looked like she was playing with it....she would stick her tongue out and lick it, then I went over to put some up to her face and it seemed like she was wanting the head but it. She was making me laugh it was cute.

She's still a little wobbly but seems to be doing better, again this could be my wishful thinking.

I mixed her bottle with half water and half pedialyte with 6cc of molasses in it....and I'm using calf milk.
When I offered her, her bottle she seemed to be sucking it from the side, so I put it in front and she just let it run out....after awhile she started getting annoyed I think cause she would hold her mouth shut as hard as she could and grind her teeth.

I hope she makes it.....she's starting to drive me crazy!

Oh, and I finally picked a name....Sienna!


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## redtailgal (Apr 14, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 14, 2011)

She's not curling her tongue around she's just she's just opening and closing her mouth and making a sucking noise. Well she was sucking fine the guy said up until Sunday....then she went down hill. And when I got her home I got her to suck her first couple bottles.

I might try the pan thing....I'd try just about anything to keep this beautiful sweet girl alive!

Good thing is SUNNY today! She will be going outside in the sun! 

I had a calf one time born in rainy/snowy 20 degree weather...he was a twin (his twin didn't make it) and born a month or so too early, and his mother was crazy! But, we had to bring him inside to keep him warm....I was soo sure that little guy was going to die....I had all but giving up...and started to accept the fact he wasn't going to make it, but he's in his new home were he's a pet now. He never grew to the size of a normal sized cow....he looks more like a mini. 

This morning I gave her 60cc of pedialyte and 6cc of molasses in her mouth....I'll try to hungry thing out, but will give the pedialye and molasses the normal times I feed her. I hope she decides to suck!!!


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## goodhors (Apr 14, 2011)

Can you get her sucking on your finger with the molassas?  They do like sweets, adds a bit of energy, and if she does suck finger, maybe she would suck bottle nipple with molasses on it.  

Even sucking your finger with sweetener, you can lead her nose to the pan of replacer, perhaps get her sucking a bit of replacer that way.  That is how we train ours from bottle to bucket.  They LOVE sucking finger with molasses, you just lower hand into bucket down into the the replacer and GRADUALLY pull finger almost out of their mouth.  Messy, slurpy, sometimes they bunt the bucket and splash you, but it does work.  May take several days of finger sucking to finally "get it" and drink from small bucket.  

Deeper milk replacer helps get their muzzle down when you drop hand into replacer.  Then sucking action sort of vacuums up some replacer into their mouth for more flavor.


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## neener92 (Apr 14, 2011)

She sucked the bottle!!!!  Not much...but its better than me having to forcing her!
I let her get hungry...missing the first two feedings!

Picturesss!


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## neener92 (Apr 14, 2011)

She sucked down two 16oz bottles and wanted more....she followed me around the field a little sucking on my pants!!!!

She pooped a darker yellow poo and then after that clear goo came out with a little blood in it....should I be worried about that? Now I'm all nervous about that....geez!

It's just one thing after another this working on a farm thing.....but I wouldn't trade it for anything!


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## redtailgal (Apr 14, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 16, 2011)

She is doing soo much better....today she got up on her own! Thank you all so much for the advise I feel it saved her life! She is a wonderful little girl and will be a pet for the rest of her life here on the farm. Here are some updated photos of her following me around the field and eating on her own.....oh, she's nibbling on hay now and licking grain! She's being fed 4 times a day, first and last feedings are a bottle and a half and the two middle ones are a half bottle.



:bun
:bun

I love her pink nose! ♥





Bottle!





Following me!


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## redtailgal (Apr 16, 2011)

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## clarmayfarm (Apr 17, 2011)

Everyone on here is right...

use calf milk replacer, feed 2 quarts 2-3 times daily. 

You may want to go to the local feed store and purchase a "probiotic:, something that will jumpstart the calf's appetite. Some folks believe in a raw egg in the milk.

Good luck!


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## lasergrl (Apr 17, 2011)

wow, she looks ALOT better.

The raw egg thing works great.  It has to be a free range egg though, and even better if from a farm with cattle.  I read a study that shows that hens deposit antibodies in the eggs (for the growing chick) so what is really helping along with the proteins are antibodies!  So store bought eggs from hens in cages are too sterile and wont work as well.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Apr 17, 2011)

I LOVE her coloring!!!!!!!!! She has a great chance of making a recovery, from my EXTREMELY untrained eye


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## neener92 (Apr 19, 2011)

I'm trying the egg tonight.....I changed her feeding schedule somewhat slowly due to the fact it's difficult to feed her 4 times a day. I'm now trying the two times a day and now she has the poopies.       GREAT! She's still acting better and she's still hungry after feedings. If it isn't one thing its another! gesh! On the up side there's no blood, just really runny watery yellow poo, she started eating grain and hay a little.....more like nibbling. Gurrrr! I gave her more probios, should I do anything else.


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## redtailgal (Apr 20, 2011)

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## aggieterpkatie (Apr 20, 2011)

I would leave out the egg.  :/  If she's doing well "don't fix what ain't broke."


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Apr 20, 2011)

My leased red holstein calf has the same thing. Scours. We gave it scour halt ( or something like it),antibiotics, and I THINK electrolytes... I hope he gets better! He wasn't eating so we had to tube feed him, but this afternoon he was standing up and was trying to suck, so I started halter breaking him, then they fed him, I think, but I wasn't there.


I hope I'm not a thread hijacker!


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## amysflock (Apr 21, 2011)

Bless you for doing so much for this sweet little girl.

I'm sorry, but judging from the first photos you posted, she looked malnourished to start to me. Especially with the difficulties drinking from a bottle, I really doubt he was either feeding her enough or noticing she had issues. If she were used to nursing/bottle feeding she wouldn't just forget. I didn't see, but you can also look for buckets that have nipples, so at some point you can fill them and hang them at the right height and she can feed herself while you go on about your chores. Calves have to suck, though, in order to get the right nutrition from milk. Simply drinking bypasses the abomasum, and the rumen is not equipped to properly digest the milk fats and proteins, resulting in nutrition deficiencies.

Good luck with her, and do keep us posted!


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## lasergrl (Apr 21, 2011)

egg is actually for helpingscours.  It also helps put weight back on when they dont have scours.  I have done this for dozens of auction calves and it really does help.  Sometimes 3 times a day.   It is a very old cattle raising tip that was only rescently understood why it works. BUT the best thing for scouring calves are the new products that gel up.  Many people have just as much luck with jelatin.  Ive never tried it.

At any rate this calf looks TONS better.


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## neener92 (Apr 21, 2011)

We usually give our calves antibiotic to clear up scours...it's worked will for us. I usually don't get too worried with it, but with her having a rough start it bothered me a lot! She hasn't changed much, I'd like to her put weight on better but I don't want to feed her too much either. 

The guy I got her from didn't really have time to sit and mess with her, since he has wayy too many animals for one person to care for....about 200 to 300 cattle (spread out everywhere), about 50 sheep, and chicken houses. I think he needs to slow'er down a little and try caring for the animals a little better. But, maybe from now on he will call me if he gets any babies that need some TLC!

So the egg will help with scours? I haven't heard of this, but if it helps I will most certainly use egg! I have way too many eggs, so if feeding them to the calves will help them I'm all for it!

She's turning out to be a real sweetheart! I'm so glad I could save her....and another plus she's out of registered red angus! 

Any other tips are greatly appreciated!


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Apr 21, 2011)

lasergrl said:
			
		

> egg is actually for helpingscours.  It also helps put weight back on when they dont have scours.  I have done this for dozens of auction calves and it really does help.  Sometimes 3 times a day.   It is a very old cattle raising tip that was only rescently understood why it works. BUT the best thing for scouring calves are the new products that gel up.  Many people have just as much luck with jelatin.  Ive never tried it.
> 
> At any rate this calf looks TONS better.


Do you give the egg cookeed or raw? My calf had scours, we used stuff from the store and he's fine now, but skinny


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## neener92 (Apr 21, 2011)

I think is raw....my girl is skinny too. They look so pitiful when they are skinny.

Here are some pictures I just took....
This one you can see her little poopy butt. 






Had to add one of her friend....Minnie (I don't know why I named her that she was born HUGE and continues getting hugerrr... She's about 100 times bigger than Sienna)





Another of Sienna licking her nose. ♥





This is how she "stands" for awhile before she actually gets up. :/


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Apr 21, 2011)

Cute! Her head looks HUGE in that first picture!


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## neener92 (Apr 21, 2011)

Thank you....yea, it's just the way I took the picture.


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## neener92 (Apr 26, 2011)

Well.....last night I walk in the barn and she wouldn't get up to come get her bottle, so I go over and pick her up and she was fine till she got three quarters of the bottle in her belly. She was poopin' and then her back legs starting giving out on her, and she fell on them.....like they were at her chest. So, I picked her back up and finished the bottle and she started tensing....her body was shaking and she fell on her face. I just left her be til this morning, she still wouldn't get up, so I picked her up and made her walk around a little then I started feeding her bottle and again got three quarters of the bottle in her and she tensed and went down on her face and back legs again.

This poor little girl is going to drive me nuts! Why can't she just get better? 

I hope someone has an idea for me!!!!


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## redtailgal (Apr 26, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 26, 2011)

She's not bloated. Her gait has always been a little off, I was thinking it was weakness related now I'm not sure. Her poop just started getting normal (oh I forgot to add....she starts tensing when she starts pooping....would it be constipation, even though she just got over the poops?). She's been peeing fine. I haven't felt any hard spots on her belly. Her hips are normal. She did have swelling in her left hind leg when she was having that trouble (I think she fell on it) but I had given her antibiotic for her poops and the swelling went down. Hooves seem normal as well.

I changed her milk a while back then she had the poops, the poop has gotten better its a lot more formed, it's grey-ish yellow. I used the egg for awhile and she put on weight fast and her poo improved quickly!

I will get it! At this point I'd do anything for this little girl to get better! 

Thank you so much redtailgal, you've been extremely helpful.


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## redtailgal (Apr 26, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 26, 2011)

OK, I noticed something else....her nose is blue-ish purple. I took some pictures, of her nose and what she does before she falls down.

Blue nose....I checked her tongue it looks pink.





Here's what she does before she falls.....she stands there for a second tensed and her muscles are shaking, its like she's shivering.


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## goodhors (Apr 26, 2011)

If it is white muscle disease, she needs a shot pretty quick.  Even just giving her the shot without testing, won't hurt her.  With lambs if you don't give them the shots they die pretty fast.  Diet and exercise won't help, they need the shots.

White muscle disease is caused by lack of Selenium.  Many areas of the USA don't have Selenium in the soil, so ALL animals must be supplemented with feed additives, shots to have enough in their bodies.  Lack of Selenium will show in poor muscle ability to move, not being able to walk in lambs.  Sore bodied horses, poor reproduction in horses, cattle, sheep.  Funny how many areas Selenium affects when it is lacking.

Shots will give you the fastest reaction time, get the body working quicker.  Feeding supplements is a slower way, may not get results quick enough to do any good before she dies.  Supplemental feeding is supposed to be an ongoing program, to keep levels up, not save the animal that is severely lacking Selenium.


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## redtailgal (Apr 26, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 26, 2011)

Where do you inject the BoSe?  Is it subq or intramuscular?


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## redtailgal (Apr 26, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 29, 2011)

She got the shot, minor improvements so far. She can sometimes manage to get her bottom in the air but she can't get her front legs up. She's still drinking well. I don't know what to do, I will be giving her another antibiotic shot.....Hoping for the best!


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## rockdoveranch (Apr 29, 2011)

Have you considered reporting the friend who owned the calf to the SPCA?

You can do it anonymously.

My experience is that SPCA employees care as much as CPS (Children Protective Services) employees care . . . which is not much, but it is worth a call.


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## redtailgal (Apr 29, 2011)

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## neener92 (Apr 29, 2011)

We don't have an SPCA around here the closest is an hour away and out of state. 

I make her get up and walk around every feeding, I help her with her front end, but make her do most of the work, I basically just support her front end.


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## neener92 (Jul 9, 2011)

Sienna is doing wonderful just to update everyone that helped me keep my little girl alive!


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## goodhors (Jul 9, 2011)

Glad to hear she is doing well.  You sure worked hard enough for her.

Picture is a vast improvement over her last one.  Congrats!!


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## rockdoveranch (Jul 9, 2011)

Wonderful news.

You should be very proud of your accomplishments in all that you have done to save your little girl!


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