Sick calves

[Hubbylover1]

This summer my sisters and I bought six bummer calves ( jerseys) to bottle feed. Everything went pretty well, we got them weaned and eating hay and grain just fine. But, the last couple of months they started dying! We are now down to two. They don’t really show any symptoms beforehand, no diarrhea, bloating, or anything else odd. I will feed them in the morning and when I come out again in the evening they are on deaths door. They can’t stand up on their own and they don’t last very long. With the first one we tried feeding a milk replacer bottle and it seemed to perk him up for a while, but eventually he died. The second one died to fast to try anything. By the time the third got sick I called my vet and he gave me suggestions, but they were to late to save him, so when the fourth got sick I immediately put him on as probiotic and penicillin for five days as recommended. He seemed great after five days when I took him off, then three days later he was down again even worse (with a lump on his neck) and died that night. The last two that I have also have the lump on their necks( about four inches long and two wide). They seem to be doing fine so far. The other strange thing is that it would seem to hit the next calf almost exactly one week later. Does this sound familiar to anyone, or do you have any suggestions I might try to help or prevent it from happening to my last two?

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Whenever one buys bum calves (particularly from a sale) there is a high incidence of FPT (failure of passive transfer). In other words, the calves don’t get any colostrum from mom (or the dairy employees) and therefore have no immunity. In such calves, it’s only a matter of time before they catch something…anything…and croak. There is almost nothing that can be done to keep them alive.

That said, were I in your position, I’d get them on Silver Lining #24 Immune Support and #25 INF-X and keep them on it for awhile.

Use the horse stuff not the dog stuff.

Good luck.

Patrick

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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