Calf Has Sudden Loss of Mobility

[pweaver]

When feeding this morning we found a 5 month old steer that didn't want to get up.  He finally did with difficulty but can't control his rear legs.  He staggers and has to lean on a gate or fence to keep from falling over.  He and 4 others have plenty of room in and outside the barn.  They are weaned calves for about 2 weeks and were doing fine until this morning.  Other than getting hurt from another calf riding him, could there be a neurological possibility?

We had a horse a couple years ago that acquired "Possum Disease".  The animal digests feed that has possum urine on it and it affects their nerves, especially loss of motor control of the rear extremities.  There is an expensive treatment for them that may or may not work, and ours did not.  Just wondered if cattle have a similar health issue.

 

[chambero]

Has the calf ever been vaccinated for blackleg?

 

[ty378]

Acidodic mabey? Is he getting grain?

 

[DL]

When feeding this morning we found a 5 month old steer that didn't want to get up.  He finally did with difficulty but can't control his rear legs.  He staggers and has to lean on a gate or fence to keep from falling over.  He and 4 others have plenty of room in and outside the barn.  They are weaned calves for about 2 weeks and were doing fine until this morning.  Other than getting hurt from another calf riding him, could there be a neurological possibility?

We had a horse a couple years ago that acquired "Possum Disease".  The animal digests feed that has possum urine on it and it affects their nerves, especially loss of motor control of the rear extremities.  There is an expensive treatment for them that may or may not work, and ours did not.  Just wondered if cattle have a similar health issue.

call your vet - cattle do not get EPM but they can suffer from other neurological diseases. Doesn't matter if it is an injury, metabolic or neurological problem rapid diagnosis and treatment will provide the best hope of recovery - cattle that fall over or are down develop severe complications very rapidly

 

[wiherf]

sounds like it could be listeria. like DL said, sooner treatment the better chance of recovery.

 

[BTDT]

Hope you have already talked to your vet and had them come out, but I would consider "polio", tetanus?

 

[pweaver]

I always like to hear how things turn out after people post help to a question so I know what worked and what didn't, so here is the results to my new topic.
The calf was bloated but it was due to another problem.  The vet wasn't sure if it was polioencephalomalacia (PEM) or listeriosis (circling disease).  Both have similar symptoms, so he treated them for both.  The medication for PEM is Vit. B compex and for circling it's penicillin. We started treatment Sun. night and was instructed to continue 3 days.  I might extend it a day or two longer.  He was noticeable better by Mon. morning and this evening (Tues.) he is fairly stable and mobile.  We started him back with just a small amount of hay Mon. and this morning gave him about 2.5 lbs. of grain that he readily ate.  He also drank very well today which I was concerned about and afraid he might get dehydrated.  We also gave him 2 boluses of VitaCharge tonight to help get his stomach working properly again.
So there is my success story for the year.  They usually come few and far between.

 

[BTDT]

Glad to hear. I had a polio calf earlier this year. They are tough to save.
Did your calf go completely blind? or lose his sight at all? If not, PROBABLY NOT polio.
Either way, as long as the calf is on the mend that is all that matters.
Your on the right track. Be patient!

 

[pweaver]

As far as I can tell he has not lost any sight, or if he has, very, very little.  So it could be circling disease rather than polio.