help! sick heifer

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showstick09

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Oct 18, 2007
Messages
220
Location
Texas
There is something bad wrong with my Red Angus heifer. I have had three vets look at her and they don't know exactly what is wrong, and the medicene they keep giving her isn't working much. I will try and make things short on explaining. On our way to the San Antonio Livestock Show, which is 350+ miles away from where I live, we stopped in Crocket which is maybe 100 miles into the trip. We got out of the truck to go into a gas station and to check on all the heifers and realized mine was coughing very deep and hoarsly. She sounded like a pig. We didn't think much of it at the time and figured she must of ate some shavings. Well, for four days straight she was still coughing that hoarse caugh. We didn't think she was sick because she was still eating and drinking like normal. The day that I showed, which was Friday, I noticed her breathing with her mouth open and tounge hanging out. I gave her water thinking she was hot with all her hair. It was over 80 degress that day. When I was walking her to the show barn, she started breathing with her mouth open and tounge hanging out again, and she was acting like she couldn't breathe. She was breathing very rapidly and coughing like crazy. She did this the whole time I was in the show ring, but I still got second in my class. By the time I went back in for division drive, I new she was exausted. As soon as it was over, I took her to the vet that was on the show grounds. Her temperature was 105.4. After hearing her cough and smelling her breath, he listened to her with a stethascope and said everything he heard was leading back to her throat. He ultrasounded her lungs to check for liquid but didn't see any. He said her bad breath meant she had some kind of infection in the throat area. He said maybe hardwire disease, I think he called it. He also called the way she breathed, like a labor breathing. By the way, she is 6 months bred. There are also a couple of other things he said what could be wrong, but I can't remember what they are called. At this time, I was very upset, because I love this heifer and the vet was saying I could loose her and the baby if she doesn't get better. He gave her a shot that started with a B. I know it was good because it was $110. He gave it to her through the neck in her vein. Saturday, she wasn't any better and was still acting like she couldn't breathe and was coughing. I took her to the vet in my town. Her temperature was now over 106. Two vets looked at her, but couldn't pin point exactly what was wrong. The just gave her more shots and sent me home with two to give her the following days. They barely even looked at her, which made me mad. I know theres somebody out there that must know something, or may have delt with this before. This heifer is very important to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her of her baby. Sorry this is so long, I just needed to vent about it. Thanks.
 

common sense

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Aug 1, 2007
Messages
359
I would get this heifer to the state vet hospital right away!  I would think that somebody would want to find a way to check to make sure that she doesn't have some kind of obstruction in her throat that is causing an infection, inflamation and other serious issues.  This is an emergency situation in my book.  Good luck and let us know what happens.
 

ROAD WARRIOR

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Jun 9, 2007
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Iowa
Excellent advise Common Sence - They are the trouble shooters of the Vet world in most cases. If you check her for obstructions yourself, glove up! A neighbor of mine had a similar situation several years ago and didn't take any precautions. Long story short - he underwent several painfull shots to treat rabies. Good luck and keep us posted on the heifer and what ever you find!
 

Jenny

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Jun 20, 2007
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223
Location
south dakota
diptheria?

if it is this, will see lesions under her tongue and on the sides of her mouth.

her breath will smell awful, breathing will be hard and noisy.

need to see a vet but from what I remember, we cured it with large doses of oxytet and it seems like something else.

Best of luck.
 

DL

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Jan 29, 2007
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For the first time in recent history I agree 100% with Juli -

showstick - obviously this is not something simple - you have had 3 different vets giving different drugs and she is not better - YOU NEED A DIAGNOSIS of the problem to treat it - you need to get her somewhere where they have fancy diagnostic capabilities (endoscopy (the ability to look down her throat with a scope), fluroscopy (motion picture XRays), large animal XRay, blood testing etc - there are lots of things and systems that can cause abnormal breathing and an elevated temperature --- get her to a U vet clinic - I don't know where you are but Texas, Oklahoma, LA, Alabama, Kansas, Florida, Georgia etc have large animal clinics ---- good luck
 

red

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Jan 20, 2007
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LaRue, Ohio
don't forget Ohio State! They have one too.

DL & Juli agreeing, is the world coming to an end?  ;) (thumbsup)

Red
 

kanshow

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May 24, 2007
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2,660
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Kansas
I agree with the others.  This heifer needs to get to a vet hospital where they can do some testing and checking out.  Something is going on with her.
 

OH Breeder

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Feb 14, 2007
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Ada, Ohio
I have had good luck with Ohio State Animal hospital. They do have an ICU and if she is critically ill they will put her in under the watchful eye of students just like a patient in an Adult ICU in hospital. I am not sure where you are located but if that is an option I would take advantage of it. It was lot less expensive than I thought.
 

DL

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OH HEAVENS!! I didn't forget OSU or Iowa or Cornell or Wisc or Colorado etc I just figured that since showstick was at San Antonio that he (she?) was from "souther" but I could be wrong

I think OSU is top notch - in fact since the MSU food animal clinic is in such disarray many MI vets have been sending their food animals and camelids to OSU - go BUCKS!
(thumbsup) (I like the little green guy too!)
 

DL

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red said:
don't forget Ohio State! They have one too.

DL & Juli agreeing, is the world coming to an end?  ;) (thumbsup)

Red

it must be a miracle or my brain is frozen by the -15 temp and the 40 mph winds - I think it happened when my eyelids froze
::) ::) ::) (thumbsup)
 

dori36

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Jul 29, 2007
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969
Location
Central Lower Michigan
[/quote]

it must be a miracle or my brain is frozen by the -15 temp and the 40 mph winds - I think it happened when my eyelids froze
::) ::) ::) (thumbsup)
[/quote]

Dang, DL, is it 15 below over your way??  I guess we're having a  heat wave over here at 1 above!!  I'll count my blessings!  With the wind blowing like it is, it's a "Wyoming Day" 'fer sure'!
 

showstick09

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Oct 18, 2007
Messages
220
Location
Texas
Thank you for all of the replies and help. One of the vets I went to told me that I should rinse my heifer at least 3 to 4 times a day to keep her cool. This morning she was laying down and didn't want to get up. We finally got her up and tied her to our fence to rinse her off. While doing this, she sat back on the rope and layed down and quit breathing. She didn't make it. I wish that I would of known what was wrong with her. We didn't do an autopsy and went ahead and burried her. At least she is in a better place now and not suffering. She was my third show heifer and the best one I ever had. Here is an updated picture of her from the Ft. Worth Show. Thank yall again.
 

kanshow

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May 24, 2007
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Showstick.. I'm so sorry to hear that.   

BTW, for future reference, most of the state university vet schools do a free or minimal charge autopsy/necropsy.
 

renegade

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Jun 30, 2007
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Caldwell, Idaho
Im sorry to hear that, she was beautiful.  Im one that animals go to heaven too (angel). Again i am so sorry, its sad when one dies.
 

red

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Jan 20, 2007
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LaRue, Ohio
JMO, but i would have made sure she got autopsied. W/ a mystery illness & death, I'd want to know what I was dealing with.

So sorry, she was a beautiful heifer.

Red
 

dutch pride

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Sep 17, 2007
Messages
363
Location
SW Michigan
Sorry for your loss, can't imagine what that would be like. We raise and show steers mostly and I know, they go to slaughter but that is always planed on when you start. Loosing a heifer with calf this fast must be a shocker!!. Think I will say a prayer of thanks for our blessings. We take our successes for granted too much.

DLZ
 

DL

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Jan 29, 2007
Messages
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sorry about your heifer  - she was certainly nice

I think there may be 2 things that people could learn from here -

1) you have absolutely no idea why she died - she could have an infectious and contagious disease that could spread to other cattle - you need to know what it was (and potentially all those people exposed at the show need to know what it was - she needs to get a necropsy (IMHO)

2) We all need to pay attention to what is normal and what is not normal for our cattle - good stock people can pick up when something is wrong by subtle changes in behavior. We need to know what normal is so we can recognize abnormal. We need to know how to take a pulse or a heart rate, how to take a respiratory rate, how to take a temperature and what normal values are. We need to understand what is normal for our animals, what is abnormal, and pay attention to them when they are talking to us. Cattle are considered to be animals that are preyed on by various carnivores -as such they do an excellent job of hiding things. Learn to be a reader of the subtle

again showstick I am sorry things turned out this way, DL
 
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