Post by Huskercowhide on May 26, 2009 20:21:20 GMT -5
Need some help here on the calf (Gerry) and mom (Mabel). Gerry was born on the 21st of May. This morning, he couldn't get up to nurse. I thought he just might be full since I left him with Mabel all night. I checked on him at noon and he was worse. He was unable to move more than his head and didn't have much muscle control. He had some small tremors too. On the advice of a vet, we gave him a shot of 1 cc antibiotics at 2:00 p.m. At 5:30 p.m. he was able to get up and nurse without a problem although he was still a bit shaky. I didn't let him nurse very long and then separated him from Mabel for the night for reasons I'll go into below.
We've only had Mabel since March. She was a rescue animal from Wisconsin. She is between 6 and 10 years old. I had her tested for Brucellosis, TB, BLV, BVD-VI and Johnes before purchase and she came out negative for all. The folks who sold her to me didn't know a lot of her history but said she had three teats: two functioning teats and one injured teat and was drying off when they got her. A few weeks before she gave birth, her bag got HUGE and one teat dripped milk almost continuously. After she freshened, this teat is the only one that gave any milk. The other two teats have a fibrous, rope-like feel on the inside when you squeeze them. The one working teat squirts like a fire hose when she lets her milk down. She will fill a gallon pale without squeezing her once. None of her teats are enflamed like I've heard Mastitis teats get. Mabel is eating fine and shows no signs of distress.
Here's what various vets have opined: One said Mabel had, in the past, Mastitis which knocked out the two teats. He didn't think the calf was going to make it because it probably never got any colostrum because the one working teat was dripping for so long before birth. He suggested we get rid of Mabel for this reason. Another thought the calf might have e-Coli (animal type) or pneumonia. Still another thought Mabel had Staphylococcus and her milk was toxic and the calf was reacting to that. This concerned me and the DW greatly because we and the little ones have been drinking Mabel's milk for a day. All these opinions were given over the phone rather than in person after examining the animals.
Questions:
Is there someone who will test the milk if I take a sample to them?
Do we need to worry about the little ones if the Staphylococcus diagnosis is correct?
Any suggestions for Gerry--I've considered switching him to milk replacer just in case it is Mabel's milk that's making him sick.
Thanks for any advice.
Blane
We've only had Mabel since March. She was a rescue animal from Wisconsin. She is between 6 and 10 years old. I had her tested for Brucellosis, TB, BLV, BVD-VI and Johnes before purchase and she came out negative for all. The folks who sold her to me didn't know a lot of her history but said she had three teats: two functioning teats and one injured teat and was drying off when they got her. A few weeks before she gave birth, her bag got HUGE and one teat dripped milk almost continuously. After she freshened, this teat is the only one that gave any milk. The other two teats have a fibrous, rope-like feel on the inside when you squeeze them. The one working teat squirts like a fire hose when she lets her milk down. She will fill a gallon pale without squeezing her once. None of her teats are enflamed like I've heard Mastitis teats get. Mabel is eating fine and shows no signs of distress.
Here's what various vets have opined: One said Mabel had, in the past, Mastitis which knocked out the two teats. He didn't think the calf was going to make it because it probably never got any colostrum because the one working teat was dripping for so long before birth. He suggested we get rid of Mabel for this reason. Another thought the calf might have e-Coli (animal type) or pneumonia. Still another thought Mabel had Staphylococcus and her milk was toxic and the calf was reacting to that. This concerned me and the DW greatly because we and the little ones have been drinking Mabel's milk for a day. All these opinions were given over the phone rather than in person after examining the animals.
Questions:
Is there someone who will test the milk if I take a sample to them?
Do we need to worry about the little ones if the Staphylococcus diagnosis is correct?
Any suggestions for Gerry--I've considered switching him to milk replacer just in case it is Mabel's milk that's making him sick.
Thanks for any advice.
Blane