WeIrD PrObLeM.. HELP!!

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schroeder cattle

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Sep 13, 2011
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37
So i was going outside to treat a baby heifer calf and i looked over and another little calf has its mouth open and drooling with swollen mouth, i put my finger in her mouth and pulled out 3 big clumps of chewed up straw. Should i be concerned?
 

leanbeef

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Jan 7, 2012
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Tennessee
"Swollen mouth"??? I would make sure the calf is up and breathing normally and not choking on anything.
 

twistedhshowstock

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May 2, 2011
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Nacogdoches, TX
Was she choking? If so that could account for some swelling but I wouldnt think a lot.  Where are you located? If there are no obvious injuries I would think allergic reaction of some type? Could there have been something in the straw that could have caused a reaction? Could she have been bitten by some sort of spider or snake to casue the reaction?
 

schroeder cattle

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Sep 13, 2011
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She drinks from her mommy, breaths fine and walks around.. My concern is that she is not swolling the straw. When I took them blobs out her mouth was back to normal.. She is not monkey mouthed so I'm a little confused..
 

leanbeef

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Tennessee
She shouldn't be eating straw...she was probably just chewing on it and maybe got too much in her mouth? If she's actually hungry, then her mother doesn't have as much milk as she should for some reason, whether that's genetic, nutrition, or whatever. If the calf is old enough to start eating, say 3 or 4 weeks old, you might try a creep feeder to start the calves on feed. I'd rather have her chewing on something that's gonna do her some good than straw.

Calves are very curious. And who knows what makes some animals do things they might do. That may or may not be something you should continue to watch for. It kinda seems though it's always the same ones that get into stuff like that. Just like kids, I reckon...
 

schroeder cattle

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Sep 13, 2011
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She is 3 weeks old and got creep pen up yesterday so she should figure it out here in a bit. Thanks for the info tho!!
 
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