Bacteria in silage and newborn calf death

We've got friends who have just a few bred cows and and they have lost 7 out of 7 calves within a few days of birth.  The vet is saying there is a bacteria in the bloodstream and a bacteria in the feed.  They have been feeding a chopped silage type feed that was grown locally.  My husband and I only have the typical layperson's knowledge here and haven't encountered this type of problem before.  We don't even know if they sent the samples off to big labs or where the testing was done.  Anyone out there have some ideas about what might be going on here?  Some things to look for?

Listeria Monocytogenes.  It goes systemic and causes CNS signs and abortions.  It is a grows in silage that is not acidic enough and/or when dirt is being scooped up with the silage.  I would test the silage and stop feeding it in the meantime.

New born calves, for the lack of a better term, have leaky guts.  This is by design to allow immunoglobulins from colostrum to enter the blood and provide passive immunity.  The gut will not seal completely for several days.  It is possible that the young calves chewed a bit of silage and the bacteria eventually made its way across the small intestine to the blood.  This is a classic example of food infection.  I agree with Hamburgman once again.

You could have a problem with mycotoxins in the corn.  Mycotoxins are a type of fungi that grows on corn when it has been stored to wet.  I think the first step you need to take is exactly what hamburgman said....STOP feeding the silage and get it TESTED.

farmin female said:

We've got friends who have just a few bred cows and and they have lost 7 out of 7 calves within a few days of birth.  The vet is saying there is a bacteria in the bloodstream and a bacteria in the feed.  They have been feeding a chopped silage type feed that was grown locally.  My husband and I only have the typical layperson's knowledge here and haven't encountered this type of problem before.  We don't even know if they sent the samples off to big labs or where the testing was done.  Anyone out there have some ideas about what might be going on here?  Some things to look for?

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I got more information talking with the folks tonight.  They have lost 8 out of 8 calves. The calves were all born dead except 1 which lived only a short time.  They took the blood test from that calf.  So, it's happening in utero (spelling?) but that may not change what you all are telling me. 

Thanks for all information. 

Ya I figured these were all born dead.  You want to be thinking listeria or fungal.  Listeria is susceptible to Penicillin.

They need to get one or more fresh dead calves - and placenta! - to the closest veterinary diagnostic laboratory for a complete diagnostic workup.
Listeria can cause abortion, but I rarely seen Listeria abortion (can't recall more than one in the last 15 years) -  very little silage feeding to beef cattle in this area, but dairy cattle eat it, daily.
Excessive nitrates in silage can be a problem. 
Leptospirosis, IBR, BVD, Neospora, Coxiella need to be ruled in/out.

Abortion/stillbirth investigations can be frustrating; unfortunately, we(laboratory diagnosticians) probably identify the definitive cause of abortion in less than 25% of cases - but we do rule out the majority of things the producer can actually do something about (nitrates, Lepto, IBR, BVD, Lepto, Neospora, etc.).

Stop feeding the feed and TEST IT NOW.  Also check for coon or cat poop in the feeding area. They can also carry diseases that create huge problems in pregnant cows.  Dead calves will likely come back as "did not survive".  And then you will get a bill for $150.
As stated above, listeria, mycotoxins are options as are other feed issues. Get a feed sample to a lab and tell them you need results ASAP if not yesterday.
In the mean time, start feeding hay and treat cows as if the feed IS positive for listeria. Probably already in for a nightmare of a calving season, but you might be able to save a few.

Again, test the feed and don't worry about the calves UNLESS all feed comes back negative, then you might test a dead calf, placenta and blood draw on cow.

I should have made clear in my previous post that you should submit the freshest calf and placenta, with the placenta many times being more rewarding than the calf to the nearest veterinary diagnostic lab.  I kinda forgot about that because I took it for granted.  This is important because just because listeria is present in the feed it may not be in high enough numbers to be causing abortion.

True dat, hbman.
If Listeria is not detected in the silage, that doesn't mean that it's not the cause - but, by the same token, if they do find Listeria in the silage, that doesn't mean that it IS the cause - Listeria is a ubiquitous environmental organism(it's everywhere!) - and in the fetus, it causes very characteristic lesions - if those lesions are not present, merely detecting L.monocytogenes in a silage sample means virtually nothing - at least not to me.

Definitely agree with the recommendations to switch feeds until the silage is checked, but if that's all they do and there's nothing discovered in that analysis,  then they're even more days down the road with no more advancement toward finding the cause - waiting for another abortion to occur to begin chasing down the problem.

The most common things happen most often.  That's why they're common. 
If I'm doing a diagnostic workup, I'm looking to rule in/out the most likely entities - nitrates, Lepto, IBR, BVD, Neospora, Toxoplasma, Coxiella, Salmonella.
Have seen, at most, one or two fungal and Listeria abortions in 30+ years of practice and diagnostic medicine.  Other oddball stuff may pop up occasionally, but not very often.  Mycotoxins are so rarely implicated in abortions/stillbirths that they're barely on my radar screen.

I appreicate the great - and intelligent - responses.  If something odd comes out of the ending diagnosis, I'll let everyone know.  Thanks again.