steer sickness question

[milkmaid56]

my steer got his hooves trimmed on saturday and yesterday i noticed that he was really sore on his hind legs and he wasnt eating very well, but i thought that it was because he was just sore on his hooves from the trimming.  but tonight he has gotten really worse and hes kicking at his belly and not eating.  hes pacing around and i havnt seen him poop since the trimming, but im not around him 24/7 so i dont know.  hes trickling out pee and just looks really uncomfortable.  what should i do?  and whats wrong with him?

 

[shortyjock89]

Well, I'm no vet, so I don't know how helpful I can be, but here goes.  The last time we had a calf act like that, it was because of a blockage in his urinary system.  The calf looked in pain and kicked at his belly.  If he hasn't passed solid waste lately, there may be a problem with his intestines or something.  I would call the vet and at least see if there was anything you could do if the vet couldn't come out.  Also, is he bloated or does his belly look distended or oddly shaped?

 

[milkmaid56]

he isnt bloated or anything... and vets in southern california really only care and know about horses... could he die if he doesnt get treated?

 

[shortyjock89]

If it's a urinary blockage or a twisted stomach, yes he could get very sick or even die.  Now, don't get too worked up about this-yet.  I don't know how to fix either of those things.  But his problem very well could be that he was a little stressed from getting his hooves trimmed, especially if it was his first time.  We've had calves go off of feed for a day or so and walk around stiffly for a couple days after they got their hooves trimmed.  The only thing that worries me is that he's kicking at his belly.  Now is the time of year that we are gettin flies and they can sure bother a steer, especially if they crawl all around on his sheath.  Is he kicking his belly alot, and do you guys have flies?

 

[milkmaid56]

we have some flies but they arent too bad yet... do you think spraying his belly with flyspray would help?  the funny thing is that i didnt take my really good steer to get his feet done because i didnt want anything like this to happen to him...  :-\

 

[shortyjock89]

I don't want to make you lose your steer OR get too worked up by a minor problem.  So what I say is this: See how he is doing in the morning.  If he has improved, then the problem was probably stress.  If he is still kicking at his belly and "leaking" urine, I would call the vet.  I know that Southern Cali vets can be a real pain, as my uncle used to live in cali and had trouble getting them to come out to his place.  But if you get the point across to the vet that something may be seriously wrong, I don't know why they wouldn't at least talk you through some treatment options.  If you can't get the vet to talk to you, I would seriously consider calling the county dept. of ag and have a chat with them about it. 

 

[DL]

milkmaid
IMHO calves do not kick at their belly because of stress - they do because of pain. A calf kicking at his belly and dribbling urine needs a diagnosis and needs to be seen by a veterinarian. If he does have a urinary tract obstruction and he stops kicking at his belly it would be likely that his bladder ruptured - this would be considered a bad deal. This calf is sick and needs attention - a long distance internet diagnosis is not in his best interest. Sorry to be blunt, I can feel my karma falling, but your calf needs more than just watching....

 

[milkmaid56]

do you think he can make it through the night?  its almost eight here and i dont know if i can get a hold of any vets...

 

[shortyjock89]

milkmaid
IMHO calves do not kick at their belly because of stress - they do because of pain. A calf kicking at his belly and dribbling urine needs a diagnosis and needs to be seen by a veterinarian. If he does have a urinary tract obstruction and he stops kicking at his belly it would be likely that his bladder ruptured - this would be considered a bad deal. This calf is sick and needs attention - a long distance internet diagnosis is not in his best interest. Sorry to be blunt, I can feel my karma falling, but your calf needs more than just watching....

DL, thank goodness you showed up...I didn't want to say the wrong thing, but I guess I did.  I don't know why your karma would fall, you're the expert, not me.  I know that kicking at the belly would not be from stress, but we've had them do it from flies crawling up into their sheaths.  The urination thing bothered me alot, but again, I'm not a vet-yet.  Thank you for stepping in and correcting my mistake.

Respectfully,

SJ89  a.k.a. Justin

 

[shortyjock89]

do you think he can make it through the night?  its almost eight here and i dont know if i can get a hold of any vets...

Try your best, call as many as you can..I don't know what else to tell you...sorry for messing up.

 

[milkmaid56]

its okay... you always hope it isnt as bad as it seems.  hes seems like he is peeing a little bit better... trying to get hold of a vet but no luck yet.

 

[red]

How's he doing this morning MilkMaid?
Thanks ShortyJock & DL! Appreciate you guys being there for her.

Red

 

[DL]

milkmaid
IMHO calves do not kick at their belly because of stress - they do because of pain. A calf kicking at his belly and dribbling urine needs a diagnosis and needs to be seen by a veterinarian. If he does have a urinary tract obstruction and he stops kicking at his belly it would be likely that his bladder ruptured - this would be considered a bad deal. This calf is sick and needs attention - a long distance internet diagnosis is not in his best interest. Sorry to be blunt, I can feel my karma falling, but your calf needs more than just watching....

DL, thank goodness you showed up...I didn't want to say the wrong thing, but I guess I did.  I don't know why your karma would fall, you're the expert, not me.  I know that kicking at the belly would not be from stress, but we've had them do it from flies crawling up into their sheaths.  The urination thing bothered me alot, but again, I'm not a vet-yet.  Thank you for stepping in and correcting my mistake.

Respectfully,

SJ89  a.k.a. Justin

Hey SJ89 - you did absolutely nothing wrong - you provided pretty darn good advise and tried not to alarm milkmaid - nothing to apologize for - I think you will be a darn good vet! FOr starters you are smart and you care - that is a great combo....dl

 

[milkmaid56]

he hasnt gotten better or worse... still waiting for a vet to call us back.  i have someone lined up to do an iv because he hasnt been drinking anything for two days.  just waiting for the vet to call to make sure thats okay to do. thanks for all your help!

 

[milkmaid56]

my dad just talked to a vet and he said that we could try and put the steer on all hay and sulpha boluses and it MIGHT get better but then i wouldnt be able to sell him for meat any time soon.  the other option is that he is butchered asap.  i chose to butcher him today.  that really sucks, he was my showmanship calf :'(  at least i have a couple other steers to show... but they arent the same as this one.

 

[shortyjock89]

my dad just talked to a vet and he said that we could try and put the steer on all hay and sulpha boluses and it MIGHT get better but then i wouldnt be able to sell him for meat any time soon.  the other option is that he is butchered asap.  i chose to butcher him today.  that really sucks, he was my showmanship calf :'(  at least i have a couple other steers to show... but they arent the same as this one.

I'm really sorry about that...Things don't always turn out the way you want them to.  I'm glad you have other steers though.  Maybe one of them will become your new favorite.

 

[DL]

milkmaid 56 - really sorry about your showmanship steer - I just hate that, believe me I know how you feel  - last year I had to tell a little girl her showmanship hog was in heart failure and would likely die ...crumb, I feel bad for you.......maybe one of the other steers will step up to the plate ....a showmanship star in the waiting...good luck and keep the faith

 

[farmboy]

SO WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM ???

 

[red]

so sorry MilkMaid. I'm sure he was very tame being your showmanship calf.
Thank you for letting us know though. :'(

Red

 

[chambero]

Is it just me, or isn't eating a sick calf that you don't know what is wrong with him a bad idea?  Killing him is also probably an overreaction.  I would try the medicine on him and then hang on to him long enough to get it out of his system.  FYI, there are lots of drugs with fairly short withdrawal times (i.e. Draxxin).  I'm guessing you are somewhat a victim of a vet that doesn't know cattle. 

We have old cows we just let die out in the pasture versus slaughter all the time.  I guess I've just been brought up to be very adverse to eating a potentially sick animal.  My kid sister had an Angus calf once that had obviously somehow injured himself internally.  Vet did surgery to check into.  As he was in the calf, a blood clot came loose and the vet told he was a goner while the calf was still standing.  A minute or two later he bled out.  He had apparently hit something or got kicked and ruptured a kidney.  We went ahead and had him butchered immediately because we knew it was an injury and not an illness.