Sick Calf... Need some help.

[Solocam]

The stables I work at have a calf out there that doesnt look to good. We got her penned up in a small pen right now and she can not eat or drink. She trys but cant. She has a baseball size knot under he left eye? We gave her a shot of penacillin(sp?) and got some water down her throat. Anybody have any past expreriance with this or a calf that has had this problem.

I know it is just a calf but we atleast want to make an effort to help it.

[Traildust]

Does she look like she was kicked...maybe broke something and is in pain when she moves her jaw....You can tube feed her if she cant eat or drink by herself.......calf mana or milk replacer until shes better.....Its a messy job for you though...have you called a vet a to see what they say?

[cheez]

I'm not sure about the knot, but if she is not eating or drinking you need to get fluids (electrolytes) in her by whatever means necessary. Tube feed or an I.V. if you have to. You can get what you need at Tractor Supply or almost any farm store. More than a day or two without fluids and she probably won't make it.

This link doesn't exactly fit your situation but it provides some useful info.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext...E_cca0102.html

[DamonJ]

drain the fluid in the knot to relieve pressure..

And as others have said, get fluids in her..

[bar2hunter]

B12

[Big Daddy]

penicillin and/or combiotic and pedialite for hydration

[CastAndBlast]

I.V. fluids is the first thing you need to do!!

[maglite]

Does she look like she was kicked...maybe broke something and is in pain when she moves her jaw....You can tube feed her if she cant eat or drink by herself.......calf mana or milk replacer until shes better.....Its a messy job for you though...have you called a vet a to see what they say?

X2

[Nate Riley]

Since this was posted last night this answer may be a bit late. I don't know about the knot on her face without seeing it. Most of my experience is with orphaned calf’s or calves born to mothers who can't or won't nurse and here is what I have learned. What ever you do don't force any fluids into her mouth, you run the risk of getting it into her lungs which will cause other complications. This is our order of responses to an orphaned calf or a mother that won't nurse. If any element is missing move to the next.

1.) If the mother is still around, pen her and put her in a squeeze, drop the bottom side and see if the calf will nurse. You may need to milk the mother some and if she has sore udders apply some kind of bag balm. If you don't have a squeeze, just put them in a pen and monitor the situation. If the mother is a young heifer this may do the trick. Generally, if the baby starts nursing (and the mothers teats aren't too sore or too big for the calf to nurse) the mother will accept the calf and life will go on. First, step is always to try to get the mother to accept the calf.

2) If the mother is not around, try using a nurse cow. My neighbors and I keep an real gentle holstein and keep calf on her for this purpose. Most of the time you can just put them in a pen together, but sometime you may have to put her in a squeeze and follow the info in Step 1. You may need to administer colostrum. Step 2 is to try to get the calf on another cow.

3) Bottle or tube feeding: This applies to all equipment used (inside and out)- Make sure it is sterilized with bleach and/or hot water and don't let anything going inside the calf touch any unclean surfaces. I usually start by trying to give them a quart of milk replacer every couple of hours, then move up the amount on the third day or so. If she will suck a bottle that would be best because this will cause the milk replacer to go into the correct part of the stomach. If she won't suck, try to get your hands on a tube feeder (see left side of pic below). Using the tube feed is fairly easy one you understand how to work it (if it came with instructions, great). Put the tip in the calf's mouth with her nose pointing up and she should actually start to kind of swallow it. Gently push it down her throat until is reaches an identified point on the tube or a little over a foot, maybe 14 inches. You want the tube to go down the front left of the throat, otherwise it could go into her lungs. So put you hand on her throat and you should be able to feel. Then release the "hose stopper" and the feed will move to the stomach. It is best if she is standing, but her nose definitely needs to be up with the throat extended. Take the tube out and sterilize. If she starts to have diarrhea (scours), you need to give her the electrolytes (see pic).

4) After stabilizing the calf with bottle or tube feeding, try Steps 1 and 2 again.

Good luck, saving a calf is a noble cause and can be done. But if she is sick, especially if the knot under eye is a physiological problem and if she did not get enough colostrum, there may be nothing you can do. If the calf was weak or sick at birth, the mother may have left it for a reason, I guess that’s nature.

[Nate Riley]

I.V. fluids is the first thing you need to do!!

Dehydration is the main thing to fight, if it becomes a problem, it is probably more deadly than whatever ailment she has. So if you can start IV fluid, do it!

If the calf gets dehydrated, then it becomes very important to administer the fluids/electrolytes as others have mentioned. You can tell if the animal is dehydrated by looking at the front of the top gum. Press you thumb against the gum, it will go pale if the blood is slow coming back to the spot, she is becoming dehydrated. If it is pale looking (limited or no blood flow), she if very dehydrated.

Don't mix electrolytes with the milk replacer.

Here is some info I found online.

http://www.das.psu.edu/user/dairy/newsletter/fullStory.cfm?newsID=519

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/dairy/extension/nut00109.pdf

[aggie82josh]

could she be snake bit?

[Brute Killer]

Veterinarian?