New calf feeding problems

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:51 pm

Inger, I'd concentrate on the bull more than the cow regarding calving problems. I don't think enough attention is paid to 'easy calving' bulls in the dexter world. We have just had our 103rd live calf and I've noticed no more likelihood that shorts (carriers) have more problems than non-shorts.

natmadaboutdexters · Post by **natmadaboutdexters** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:17 pm

At least if he is eating the nuts he is getting some goodness from them and is not totally dependant on milk for his food. I had a fussy drinker once who weaned himself at about 6 weeks old but was eating lots of hard food so I didnt worry too much. (he was a friesian).

natasha lewis

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:42 pm

As an update, the calf is now drinking from a milk bucket and also continues to eat some calf nuts. So he seems to be doing well, if a little loose in the bowel department. Not too serious though, so we're not worried but keeping an eye on it.

Still awaiting the post-mortem result on his mum, but we've had a preliminary verbal report which suggest probable cause of death was an infection between the heart and lungs and the main suspicion is a Clostridial bacteria. More tests are being undertaken as the anti-biotic treatment is making the identification of the infection difficult. No sign of liver fluke though.

My suspicion is a gastro-intestinal type of Clostridial bacteria as the vet noticed low motility in the rumen and intestine which is a symptom, from what I've gleaned off the web.

Hopefully we should have the full report soon.

Colin

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Sat May 03, 2008 6:30 pm

As a further update, the calf is taking, from a bucket, most of a litre of milk in the morning and the same in the evening. He also nibbles some calf food in between (but not much) and has water and hay. He's had a bad knee and has been treated with antibiotics for that, which seems to be working. But generally he's not doing well. He seems depressed, has no energy, spends most of the day curled up and is a little unsteady on his feet. He basically seems to be wasting away.

As he's been in a stable whilst we've tried to sort out his feeding and treating his knee and not with the herd in the field, I'm wondering if it is loneliness and lack of stimulation. He's been in an enclosure today with one of our mother cows. He kept following her around trying to suckle. She was generally patient, with just a few minor kicks, but he didn't seem to be drawing much milk off her. I also let him into the field with the herd for a while, but he's not strong enough to follow them.

So I'm worried this is going in the wrong direction. Any ideas most welcome.

Still nothing back on the post mortem of his mother.

Colin

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sun May 04, 2008 8:16 am

Colin - 2 litres of milk a day sounds too little to me, but I haven't seen the size of the calf. We've got lambs that'll drink well over a litre a day. Isn't there some downside to feeding milk from a bucket because the calf is sucking it up instead of down? And what's his temperature like?

Edited By Broomcroft on 1209886309

Rutherford · Post by **Rutherford** » Sun May 04, 2008 9:23 am

I know you have been having problems over sucking, but if the calf is taking milk by drinking from a bucket as opposed to sucking a teat, the milk will largely by-pass the stomach intended to deal with it, and it will not get all the nourishment. I used to start my calves with 4 pints but soon increased to six, and my calves were not very big. If you have a cow with milk to spare that will let him suck, try putting him to her three times a day while bribing her with feed to stand and keep quiet.
Beryl (Woodmagic)

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Sun May 04, 2008 10:51 am

Colin, we had a puny looking late calf this year. I thought we may have to poddy her, but the Mum seemed to be doing OK, even though she is quite small and this is her first calf. The calf was so unthrifty that she had a roached back, like a goat kid with cold stress.

We put them in with the weaned heifers to give them pellets every day for a few of weeks, but firstly we gave the calf a B12 plus selenium shot, because we are in a selenium deficient area, and we gave the cow a drench of a mineral & vitamin supplement.

We have since then drenched the whole herd with a flukicide because the last two steers at the abattoirs both had flukey livers, even though there were no secondary indications.

The heifer is now a bright, bouncing, cheeky little madam, and both are now back out with the mob. We have no idea which of the treatments worked, but at some point she turned the corner.

You can only try, cover all the options, then call it a day. If he is getting enough feed of the best quality, 3 or 4 times a day because he is only little, has had a supplement to cover your local area deficiencies, isn't riddled with parasites, what more can you do? He might have brain damage, about which you can do nothing.

Margaret.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:20 pm

Thought I'd give one final closing update on this saga. Not a happy ending unfortunately. We persevered probably too long with the calf and last week had him put down. Many thanks for the helpful tips, we tried them all. In the end, the calf would just not feed itself sufficiently well to keep itself going. We tried very hard to feed it up ourselves in the hope it would pick up. But to no avail. There was clearly something not quite right about it.

The post-mortem on the mother suggested Pasteurelia or clostridial infection as cause of death although no culture was obtained to be able to identify it further, due to antibiotic treatment. We will vaccinate for clostridia as a routine once the Bluetongue vaccine has settled down.

This is the first major set back we've had in 18 months of Dexter keeping, but it at least adds to our knowledge for the future and our passion and enjoyment is undimmed.

Many thanks once again for all your help and advice. It is great to know you're there.

Colin

wagra · Post by **wagra** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:16 am

Hard luck, Colin. Some get away without vaccinating, but it is a very cheap insurance policy.
Most farmers here use 5-in-1 vaccine. We use 7-in-1 although it is double the price, because it protects against lepto, which could otherwise be transmissable to me when I AI. Wishing you all the best from here on.
Margaret.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Wed May 28, 2008 1:34 pm

Thanks Margaret. My vet has recommended Covexin 10, which is a 10 in 1 dose and the cost is very low. So this should be a good insurance for a broad range of infections.

Colin

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:52 pm

Very sad to loose him after such a lot of work and care. It is always so difficult to know how long to carry on with these ones - I had one myself two years ago, brought him back from the dead almost and he is still with us but only the size of a large dog.

On slightly different tak, our 7 in 1 or 10 in 1 in UK usually refers to clostridial vaccines, some may also contain Pasteurella. But as far as I know some of the overseas vaccines such as referred to by Margaet are for a variety of totaly different diseases such as BVD, Lepto, IBR etc. These are not licenced in UK.

Duncan