calf died... respiratory disease

[jbzdad]

probably the best heifer this year, 3/4 maine... developed a respiratory illness at about 3 weeks... just looked listless and was breathing with rapid rate, calf caught in pasture and given Nuflor, then redosed at 4 days although seemed to have some positive response
Calf then picked up and looked better for about ten days then started to exhibit the same symptoms and I think quit nursing and got weaker.. talked with the vet and gave Draxxin and banamin with second dose of banamine and started tube feeding calf...
calf died

Dam was given live vaccine and standard shots before last breeding, also anti-scours injection at 7 mos...

things I think  I learned... if I switch to a killed vaccine I can use it more easily (not have to batch in groups of ten etc)..Would a late pregnancy booster for the dam have made a difference? would anyone have gotten a vaccine in this calf before she was a month old?
probably should have used Baytrel insted of nuflor and really stayed after her until all symptoms were resolved... this would have required keeping her and the Dam in the lot and not out on grass

would appreciate any comments, suggestions... DL, Cowboy?

 

[Jenny]

if you have cattle, the unfortunate fact is that you will loose some; extra tough when it was one with so much promise.......
we give our calves a dose of Nasalgen at birth; the type of respratory our babies get was diagnosed by our vet to be responsive to Nasalgen.  there are lots of different types of respratory illness and it is best to get the type diagnosed so you know exactly next time what to use and you know it will be effective.

there are lots of variance in how strongly a calf's immune system will respond to meds also; alot of that has to do with volume and quality of colostrum it receives but also it depends just on the genetic make-up of the calf.

sorry about your loss

 

[forbes family farms]

We have had calf problems also they were nabel infection that later turn into liver infection. We do all we can until the calf dies its really upsetting but your always gonna lose some. Sorry about your experience.

 

[Show Heifer]

Just like Jenny said, your going to lose some.... that is just the way the cookie crumbles. But, everything I have heard says modified live vaccine is the best, the problem is, (from your post) that you wait and vaccinate 10 at a time to save money and not waste vaccine, instead of vaccinating when they need it and risk throwing away several doses. I always vaccinate when it is called for, and if I must throw away vaccine, so be it.
I would suggest having a vet post the calf and that way you would know for sure what it was, or maybe more importantly, what it wasn't....

Tough luck for sure.

 

[DL]

Sorry about your calf - and yes it could have had pneumonia and died but it also could have had a congenital heart defect - looks a whole lot like pneumonia but does not get better - don't beat yourself up about what you did or didn't do - you think it was pneumonia but maybe not - a necropsy is the only way to know for sure why the calf died

assuming that it was pneumonia
-  immediate colostrum is probably the most important thing in preventing infection - it is good policy to always watch and make sure the calf nurses ASAP after born - I have been known to give a calf a bottle of colostrum supplement if it is late and I am tired or need to be somewhere else just to make sure they have some antibodies - did the calf get colostrum - if you aren't sure this would be my #1 thing to focus on with your baby calves

-most respiratory disease in calves starts as a viral infection - so using an intranasal vaccine (ie TSV 2) at birth can help - and is not a bad management idea anyhow

- calves with pneumonia are often dehydrated - we humans get all excited about pushing drugs when fluids can often be as important or more more important - depending on the state of the calf (ie up and around, listless, flat out) fluids can be given orally, under the skin or IV - it isn't a bad idea to have fluids on hand - ask your vet about it

-a late booster may or may not have helped

not likely that using Baytril would have been better than Nuflor

Not sure what you mean about the killed vaccine -

FWIW

 

[jbzdad]

yes, calf did nurse right away and well,things really seemed normal first 2 weeks, thought about posting her myself... probably shoulda... at least could have looked at the lungs to confirm my impression