Bred Heifer will not eat, losing weight and vet does not seem to know why

Have any of you ever had a bred heifer (due in april) that just stops eating, starts losing weight, walks around very slow, even allowed me to pick up her tail in the field and rub on her when she has never been broke...Vet checked her out and said nothing wrong.  I am lost and will take her back tomorrow.  She did not have a temperature and he gave her a shot of antibiotics as a precaution.  any ideas.  we have never had one do this.  any ideas would be appreciated before I take her back to the vet.

sounds like she is in pain. mabye a undetectable  injury or pinched nerve? Sometimes when their hurting they go off feed. give her a steriod to see if she feels beter

stkrdge said:

sounds like she is in pain. mabye a undetectable  injury or pinched nerve? Sometimes when their hurting they go off feed. give her a steriod to see if she feels beter

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I would talk with your vet first. Some steroids can induce labor. If she is bred then I would be cautious what ever you give. If you plan on returning her as well be careful what you give her. do you have another vet you could get a second opinion? We are lucky that we have a Univeristy Vet hospital an hour and half from the farm. I would have her investigated further if you plan on keeping her.

She is our top bred heifer out of Alias.  I did notice her toes seem to be bothering her possibly.  Not sure if that is it.  But, I will take her to another vet tomorrow.  thanks

hopefully she didnt get foundered.

She is gettting kind of close to due date? Sometimes when they do get closer to due date you will see a change in eating patterns with heifers.

if she dosent like to put weight on her feet somthing might be wrong.

The founder idea sounds possible.  any ideas on treatment?

sounds like classic case of hardware. give her a magnet

Is her stools loose and watery? If they are she may have eaten too much corn. Acidosis? Dump half a box of baking soda in 2 gallon of water with half gallon of mineral oil. Pump that in her. No grain just grass hay for at least 4 days.

I am thinking this is foot rot going on...I am going to find out today and will post our findings...I really appreciate all of the great ideas as it has confused me. 

i agree sounds like hardware

Pennicillin and banimine will work if it is foot rot. 

last year we had two do this, one heifer and one steer  turned out it was low selenium, she dragged hind legs like it hurt to pick them up went off feed and dropped weight drastically she went down and we chose to put her down, the steer we saved but it took alot of work.  Vet couldn't figure it out so we pulled blood and tested for everything.  Selenium was extremely low. 

give her nuflou ( not sure on spelling)  we had the same problem with a7 year old cow let me know what you find out if you are willing

She is a NICE heifer. Let us know what you find out. Good luck with her!

See some of this especially this year with feed in short supply--  ketosis--  symptoms-- weight loss SORE close to calving--  10 oz propolene glycol twice a day,  banamine to take the hurt out,  probisis x2 over 3-4 days-  if she is close to due date expect calf to come sooner than later--  cows body consuming itself for energy -will turn around in 3-4 days-  she will have some temp but banamine will knock that down--high energy feed but not a lot at first-- she may take a day or so to feel good enough to eat

cotullaguy said:

Have any of you ever had a bred heifer (due in april) that just stops eating, starts losing weight, walks around very slow, even allowed me to pick up her tail in the field and rub on her when she has never been broke...Vet checked her out and said nothing wrong.  I am lost and will take her back tomorrow.  She did not have a temperature and he gave her a shot of antibiotics as a precaution.  any ideas.  we have never had one do this.  any ideas would be appreciated before I take her back to the vet.

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If you are in Texas it could be Wooden Tongue. It is a bacterial infection that will cause them to lose weight rapidly because they can barely eat or drink. One 25cc shot of LA 200 will kick it.

thanks for all comments..I will get her back to vet and find out what he says...she is our favorite...only happens to your favorite you know...i am still thinking foot issues...she is still moving around well though but just very slow...and losing weight...hardware is always a possibility but she is close to my house and field is wet and clean otherwise...i suspect foot rot...