Sick calf

[Ridgetop]

Internal abscesses in organs is seen in advanced stages of Caseous Lymphadenitis. I suggest your vet test for that as well as other tests that are ongoing. In case it is CL, that is another reason to get money refunded from breeder! At this point prognosis doesn't sound good with internal abscesses and septicemia.

Really a shame. CALL THE BREEDER ASAP! YOU HAVEN'T HAD THE CALF LONG ENOUGH FOR INTERNAL ABSCESSES AND SEPTICEMIA TO HAVE HAPPENED SINCE GETTING THE CALF HOME. THIS WAS A PRIOR CONDITION AND BREEDER SHOULD REPLACE THE CALF.

 

[Simpleterrier]

Blood work can tell if a calf had colostrum??

Hmmm that's interesting.

My gut tells me that the calf had an infection and just needed some antibiotics and it had the runs from being fed sheep replacer. It shouldn't have been tubed and just given electrolytes. The tubing of way to rich milk messed her up. The calf got crammed full.

I have worked on multiple dairy farms and have pulled hundreds of calves and everyone we never tubed more than the first two feedings. If they didn't eat after that we would skip the next feeding. If they where eating well and the age of yours we would never thought of tubing them. That is four different dairy farms with at least twice that many vets.

What I'm trying to say it may have been a bad call from the vet and the new owner not the breeder. Did you feed exactly what the breeder fed same type and amount and even brought a bucket of water home. When we showed at the fair and when I helped the dairy feed cows at the fairs we always bring our own water from home. I would have bought the same type of replacer if not got a bag for.the breeder or waited to get the calf until.it.was weaned.

Just my two cents u can toss it away if u want

 

[secuono]

Blood work can tell if a calf had colostrum??

Hmmm that's interesting.

My gut tells me that the calf had an infection and just needed some antibiotics and it had the runs from being fed sheep replacer. It shouldn't have been tubed and just given electrolytes. The tubing of way to rich milk messed her up. The calf got crammed full.

I have worked on multiple dairy farms and have pulled hundreds of calves and everyone we never tubed more than the first two feedings. If they didn't eat after that we would skip the next feeding. If they where eating well and the age of yours we would never thought of tubing them. That is four different dairy farms with at least twice that many vets.

What I'm trying to say it may have been a bad call from the vet and the new owner not the breeder. Did you feed exactly what the breeder fed same type and amount and even brought a bucket of water home. When we showed at the fair and when I helped the dairy feed cows at the fairs we always bring our own water from home. I would have bought the same type of replacer if not got a bag for.the breeder or waited to get the calf until.it.was weaned.

Just my two cents u can toss it away if u want

Google it, it is a real test.

 

[farmerjan]

Several dairy farmers that I test for have the refractometer thing to test the colostrum from a fresh cow... many save colostrum from the cows with the best reading and freeze for any future needs. However, the couple that have done the blood testing when calves have been sick, have said that the calves will have a stabilized level of the protein (?... I have forgotten all they have told me) , but you have to measure it before 2 weeks old.... after that the tests are not reliable. The one farm has some very good registered animals, they show and sell some very high priced productive animals from some good bloodlines.... do alot of ET work.... so they are very very conscientious about calves and colostrum.
When they bring anything home that is new; bought animals; they go through a very strict quarantine for all the animals' sakes.... the new animal needs to get some exposure without getting overwhelmed by the "new bugs/germs" on the farm....
Since this calf was supposed to be nearly 6 weeks old, I wonder how accurate that test would still be? I don't really know as I have no experience with any being tested that old.... usually blood tests at that point are for determining bull parentage if cows are flushed and they used 2 different sires .....
Hope this new protocol will get the calf back up and going for you.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I wonder if there are any studies for how old a calf ca be before that test is inaccurate?

If he really has internal abscesses and septicemia though I would think that would be on the breeder, no? I mean @secuono has only had him slightly over 2 weeks and those things would not happen that fast would they?

The only thing I could find on google was that human infants can develop septicemia in as little as 24hrs for the first 90 days of life, but I dont know that, that info would translate the same to calves since 6 weeks old for them is like 2yrs old for humans. I have no idea and neither does google on how fast an abscess can occur.

I did find articles that said if a calf gets septicemia it is likely to have a re-lapses of it later in life.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I dunno how reliable that test would be at his age. Everything I can find says not to use it on calves over 7 days old as levels go down rapidly. Specifically for Brix Refractometer or pass through testing.

"The IgG concentration in serum increases rapidly after feeding colostrum, peaks between 1 and 2 days of age, and then decreases. Samples should be collected when the calf is between 2 and 7 days old to provide the most accurate indication of passive transfer (Elizondo-Salazar and Heinrichs, 2009)."

 

[secuono]

Why would he bother to test for that if it's no good after 7 days?
I get vets are people, too, but it sounds like that's something a vet, who does reproductive work, should know?

They're getting a little upset now, breeder, and all I've been doing is flatly updating. Haven't demanded anything or said anything in a way where it sounds like I want something from them.
They said calves are on dam for several days, then put on bottle.


Idk how you test for multi organ abscesses or septicemia or if you even can?
With Google saying the colostrum test is unreliable now and it seems like guesswork on the abscesses and septicemia, idk if I have a leg to stand on to demand any compensation?

Time to google...

 

[misfitmorgan]

Why would he bother to test for that if it's no good after 7 days?
I get vets are people, too, but it sounds like that's something a vet, who does reproductive work, should know?

They're getting a little upset now, breeder, and all I've been doing is flatly updating. Haven't demanded anything or said anything in a way where it sounds like I want something from them.
They said calves are on dam for several days, then put on bottle.


Idk how you test for multi organ abscesses or septicemia or if you even can?
With Google saying the colostrum test is unreliable now and it seems like guesswork on the abscesses and septicemia, idk if I have a leg to stand on to demand any compensation?

Time to google...

No idea. From what I read about the test it is checking the protein levels in the blood which in the first 7 days is all from colostrum I guess, after that they start making their own so testing I dont think is possible, least not that test. Is it possible he did some other kind of test for it? Least that is my understanding of it, someone else probly knows way more about the details then I do from just reading things on google.

I don't think you can demand anything no.

Something I did notice.... You brought him home in June 28th, roughly 72hrs later he was being treated for pneumonia. How many people and other animals was he exposed on the trip home and once he got home? 10-12 horses that come from potentially different places at the trainers, at least 5 people, then all your horses and your sheep. You basically took him thru a germ/bacteria zoo, then brought him home to a germ/bacteria zoo. So he not only had to worry about the germs on your farm but those at the trainers and all the animals there and all the places they come from.

Sad fact is you may have simply asked to much of his system and if all started downhill from there. He looked and acted healthy in the pictures of him at the breeders, on the trip home, even visiting the trainers.

 

[secuono]

Talking to several other people, it seems this vet isn't very good...

 

[Chebird]

Please update on your little Zim.