Need help for sick cow

[Pooh_Bear]

My neighbor has a heifer(?) up in the lot that weighs less than I do.
Last spring it weighed around 500 pounds. Now it is skin and bones.
It has had the runs for a over a couple of months.
Gave it sulphur pills, vitamin C shots, wormer,
and gave it feed with Ruminen in it. It barely eats anymore.
We have done everything we know to do and nothing has worked.
We don't know what is wrong with it.
So we don't know what treatment to give it.
There aren't any large animal vets here in the valley.
To have a vet come from a neighboring city across the mountains
would cost more than the animal is worth and it still mite die.
Folks around here usually rely on each other to solve problems like this.
But we haven't been able to figure this one out.

Anyone got any ideas about this?
It's only symptoms are it has the runs and has lost a lot of weight.

Sure would appreciate some help with this one.

Thanks.

Pooh Bear

[MrJimi]

How far are you from Wartrace? shouldn't be too far, I have a cousin there that may be able to help you.
And do you know that you are NOT set up to receive PM's on here? you should turn that on
Jim

[Pooh_Bear]

I have never heard of Wartrace. Wartburg, but not Wartrace.
I live in Dunlap TN, 25 miles north of Chattanooga.
Map To Where WE live

I usually turn off PM's cause I can never remember to check for them.
I have had PM's go for months before I notice them.
Didn't want anyone thinking I was snubbing them.
PM's would probably be great if I could remember to check for them
on the forums that don't give you automatic notice.

Pooh Bear

[MrJimi]

Originally Posted by Pooh_Bear

I have never heard of Wartrace. Wartburg, but not Wartrace.
I live in Dunlap TN, 25 miles north of Chattanooga.
Map To Where WE live

I usually turn off PM's cause I can never remember to check for them.
I have had PM's go for months before I notice them.
Didn't want anyone thinking I was snubbing them.
PM's would probably be great if I could remember to check for them
on the forums that don't give you automatic notice.

Pooh Bear

I looked it up and your 59.7 miles from Wartrace, it's near Tullahoma just northwest of you. If you were driving you would go southwest to 24 the northwest on 24 to Wartrace and from looking at TN map your just south of my other cousin in Mcminnville, small world
best of luck with cow, There must be someone here that can help, I would say feed it plenty of liquids to keep it's strength up and maybe gain some weight

In the USER CP there is an option to POP up a PM notice and I use it all the time and I love it, all forums that use Vbulletin have it

[ronjhall]

We had a heifer that finally died. It had a growth in its throat that would not allow it to bring grass back up for chewing. Finally died. We took it to MSU before it died. It died before they could find what was wrong. They did an autopsy to find what was wrong.
We had to pay for disposal of cow, but no other charges.
Do you have a agricultural college close by?

[Egon]

Put the poor animal out of its misery. At this point there is a very poor chance of recovery.

[Soundguy]

For sure..

An animal that gets the runs 'for months' is in dire need. if i have an animal that has the runs for more than a couple days.. I get checking it out.

My 'guess' is scours or bacterial enteritis.. just from looking at the 'runs' issue and weight loss.

Hit a farm store .. even TSC.. etc.. they usually have packets of antibiotic powder that you mix with water. If you can get her penned.. make the mix up in a 5g bucket and tie it to a post so she won't knock it over.. make it her only source of drinking water. If she won't drink.. she's probably past hope.. though.. if you can the tools / parts ?? maybee at a farm store, you can get fluids down her throat via tube.

You can also add a colostrum powder pack to some sweet feed and moisten it a bit to keep it together. My choice of moistener would be molassis.. get some calories into that animal.. you should be able to get molassis at a -good- farm store.. even if it is powdered molassis.. mix it up on the stove.

All depends on how bad you want to save her.

IF yuo do save her, her rumen will be gone.. you will need to feed her a few pro-biotic calf packs to get her rumen going AFTER the antibiotics.

Good luck... I kinda doubt she's going to make it especially if she's had the runs for months and is now a downer..

Soundguy

[Soundguy]

More info:

Novartis Animal Health US, Inc.

Diarrhea (Scours) in Small Ruminants

Walco International, Inc.

Soundguy

[Pooh_Bear]

Thanks for the links. I'll check those out tonight.
I got home too late to see my neighbor.
He had already been to the barn to feed and gone home.
The cow had drank almost all the water I put out yesterday.
And I had accidently put out twice as much water as usual.
I'm gonna try to get up early in the morning and go see the guy.
See if I can get some particulars about what he has done for it.
It did get better a while back for a short time. It was gaining weight.
Turned it out with the herd. Stayed for about 3 weeks.
Then last week it had the runs again and started dropping weight.
So back in the lot it went by itself.

Maybe I will have more info when I see him tomorrow.

Thanks.

Pooh Bear

[Soundguy]

What kind of pasture is it in? got any plants like black cherry or others that the cow might be eating and getting sick from?

Soundguy