Post by rosalind on Aug 2, 2020 11:38:40 GMT -5
The heifer we sold a few weeks ago went down last night. She was fine during the day, then had watery diarrhea a couple times and when the new owner checked on her about 7, she was down and couldn't even lift her head. They thought heat stroke, so put water on her body and put a water dish in front of her that she slowly drank (1.5 gallons!)
They called the vet, he gave Draxxin, Banamine, and tubed her with a baking soda solution. Said it didn't sound like pneumonia but that's all he could think it was (does pneumonia ever present without a fever and in a animal with normal but a little slow breathing?)
We got their call late and arrived right after the vet had left, around 10:10. Her rumen was sloshy, like she wasn't processing the fluids.
She never peed that they saw and she didn't while we were there.
We sold our heifer (age 3 months at sale, she's almost 4 months old now). Before she moved, we transitioned her off milk and onto milk replacer and grain. They used the same milk replacer and grain and we sent some of our hay when they picked her up. For three weeks she's been growing, happy and bouncy.
I asked a billion questions and our possible problems seem to be:
1) Peritonitis. Temp 100.4, was grinding her teeth a bit, the banamine seemed to help that. Ears cold. Legs cold. Even though we were all in t-shirts and 70f ambient temperature.
2. Aflatoxin - We found out they're feeding her cracked corn in addition to the dairy grain we worked with them to get. Her diarrhea was about half grass, half corn. They said she's eating just pasture and the two grains and a handful of hay. Not yesterday but the preceding several days were 90-100 daytime temps and 60-75 evening temps, very warm for us. Could the grain have turned? www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/mycotoxicoses/aflatoxicosis
3. Bacterial infection from ?? that closes off the intestines. Seems a little uncommon age for that? We looked up things like blackleg, enterotoxemia, etc. I have no practical experience with those, we just don't have a lot of issues like that happen out here.
We flipped her several times, and once tried to stand her up using a hay bale, did get some burps around 1-2 am. She was straining like she wanted to poo, but nothing coming out. We told them to keep rotating her, stimulating her back and legs, rubbing her head. We put a blanket on her to warm her back up.
Ideas? Any hope?
They called the vet, he gave Draxxin, Banamine, and tubed her with a baking soda solution. Said it didn't sound like pneumonia but that's all he could think it was (does pneumonia ever present without a fever and in a animal with normal but a little slow breathing?)
We got their call late and arrived right after the vet had left, around 10:10. Her rumen was sloshy, like she wasn't processing the fluids.
She never peed that they saw and she didn't while we were there.
We sold our heifer (age 3 months at sale, she's almost 4 months old now). Before she moved, we transitioned her off milk and onto milk replacer and grain. They used the same milk replacer and grain and we sent some of our hay when they picked her up. For three weeks she's been growing, happy and bouncy.
I asked a billion questions and our possible problems seem to be:
1) Peritonitis. Temp 100.4, was grinding her teeth a bit, the banamine seemed to help that. Ears cold. Legs cold. Even though we were all in t-shirts and 70f ambient temperature.
2. Aflatoxin - We found out they're feeding her cracked corn in addition to the dairy grain we worked with them to get. Her diarrhea was about half grass, half corn. They said she's eating just pasture and the two grains and a handful of hay. Not yesterday but the preceding several days were 90-100 daytime temps and 60-75 evening temps, very warm for us. Could the grain have turned? www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/mycotoxicoses/aflatoxicosis
3. Bacterial infection from ?? that closes off the intestines. Seems a little uncommon age for that? We looked up things like blackleg, enterotoxemia, etc. I have no practical experience with those, we just don't have a lot of issues like that happen out here.
We flipped her several times, and once tried to stand her up using a hay bale, did get some burps around 1-2 am. She was straining like she wanted to poo, but nothing coming out. We told them to keep rotating her, stimulating her back and legs, rubbing her head. We put a blanket on her to warm her back up.
Ideas? Any hope?