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]

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

 

[Pooh_Bear]

No black cherry anywhere around.
Got Polk Salad plants in the fence rows
but they don't touch those.
Right now it is in a lot by itself being fed hay
and twice a day some crushed corn.

Pooh Bear

 

[Pooh_Bear]

Ok, correction and more info.....
It is not a heiffer, it is a young steer.

Problem started 2 months ago.
The animals ribs were starting to show.
The animal went in the lot for a month
and got a little better. When his ribs
stopped showing we turned him out with the herd.
Last weekend is when the problem came back.
So back in the lot it went. Now it is skin and bones.
Gave it several does of LM200 (I assume this is penicillon).
Gave it sulpha pills several times. Gave large doses of vitamin C.
Gave it feed with Ruminent(?) in it. Something for the rumen.
The animal is up and around and eats some. He drinks water.
It was mentioned that with the severe drought and lack of pasture grass
for the animals to eat that they may be eating stuff they normally wouldn't.
But we have been feeding hay for the last month.

Unless we find a solution for this steer, the next step will
be to decide whether to start digging a hole or call a vet.
And the guy that owns the animal is giving serious thought to calling a vet.
So hopefully this will turn out OK for the steer.

Pooh Bear

 

[windy acers]

IT PROBALLY HAS YONIS DISEASE - GOOGLE IT- SAME AS CROWNS IN HUMANS

 

[windy acers]

we had a cow with the same problems. Bought it at the auction. extra thin. We knew we could improve it by putting it in a good pasture. Filled out but then got thinner and thinner. Call the vet. We bought a sick animal and the farmer knew it. But it was to late. We all ready bought it. Jones or Yonies disease. same as crowns disease in people. The food doesn't do the animal any good. Has the runs. The animal just dies of lack of food. We didn't have a gun and the cow died on its own. It was bad. The rest of your cows can get this from the sick cow. Good luck
we lost another cow too from this disease. just by the sick cow being around the others.

 

[Soundguy]

Grasping at straws here.. but if the AB's didn't help.. and yuo have already given it probiotics to rebuild the rumen.. then it starting to look bad. plenty of cattle diseases out there.. a big one's been mentioned.

This didn't start when it was castrated did it?

Last idea.. got any sweet feed for it? Crushed corn won't do it much good... it doesn't sound like it is keeping food in to get any use out of it.. same with the hay.. corn requirs alot of work to get any good out of it... that's why cows have rumen, and birds have gizzards... this cows running stuff thru too fast..

Soundguy

 

[texasjohn]

Ideas..

hardware disease (wire, nails, metal messing up the stomach)

plastic bag or plastic twine from hay in one of its 4 stomachs

Both of the above occur during drought and poor feeding conditions

You have done all the usual things ... it's a lost cause if it is either of the above or several of the diseases others have suggested.

 

[Pooh_Bear]

Neighbor gave the steer a huge dose of something called Bysol (sounds like Lysol)
on Saturday and another huge dose on Sunday. I didn't go up there today
so I don't know if the animal is any better. Looked a little better on Sunday.
Hope it is not something contagious as several other cattle were put in the
weening lot over the weekend. He usually feeds crushed corn and gluten
but he mentioned something about reducing the amount of gluten for the steer
because it is hard on an animal with the scours. I'll ask him about sweet feed.
I did see the steer eating some hay and picking grass on Sunday morning.
I don't know when the animal was 'de-bulled' so I don't know if it started then.
Maybe tomorrow I will get a chance to go ask about the animals progress.

Pooh Bear

 

[Soundguy]

The sweet feed may be a little easier for that steer as the animal will get some energy from the molassis even if it doesn't stay in him long. If it's a texturized feed that uses peanut hulls as filler.. that may help with the scours a little bit too.

I've never tried the kaolin/pectin on cattle, and don't know if it's appropriate for them.. might have to read my jug tonight.

good luck

soundguy

 

[Pooh_Bear]

I went up to the barn yesterday and visited with my neighbor.
I asked him about the cow and he said it seemed to be putting on weight.
I didn't see the cow yesterday but I will today.
So maybe the Bysol and sulpha pills are helping.

Pooh Bear

 

[Soundguy]

sulfamet can trat some fairly resistant stuff.. It's used for humans too. I had a skin infection from getting cut working in the pig pen.. piece of welded wire panel cauge me back of the upper leg... I didn't think much of it.. I get cut every day on my farm..e tc. Anyway.. week later.. it didn't get better.. I took notice and tried to doctor on it myself for another week. gave up and went to the doc.. no problem.. 1 course of antibiotics and you'll be ok. that passes with -0- improvement. HMMMM.. must be antibiotice resistant strain.. they gave me sulfameth/trmethoprin.. 20 days.. -finally- started getting better on the 18th day... had me slightly worried... wasn't sure what the next step after 1 regular course of cehpalexin AB, and then 2 of sulfe/trimeth.. etc..

Soundguy