Scours and a cold? Orphaned calf at 6 or 7 weeks

[kryptoniteqhs]

Ok, so heres the story. I just got this calf the night before last. Her mama died about 3 or 4 days before that. She had been doing the bottle, then on another cow, and supposedly was eating hay and grain. She is 6 or 7 weeks old. Shes a black Angus. I got her to nurse off of the bucket. I put some electrolytes in her milk yesterday (a packet of Kick Start). She hasnt really messed with her grain. Shes in a nice clean stall bedded with fresh shavings. Yesterday, I noticed she had white snot coming out of one nostril. She has enough energy (shes timid around humans) to get startled and run, but seems down in the dumps (understandably) and maybe a little lethargic. Today, I noticed her rattling a little when she breaths sometimes. She has super runny (almost all watery) green dihareah (sp). One, other thing that startled me, was when I was going to push her towards the nipple on the bucket (i pushed her rear) I heard her cracking. She is not lame at all and walks and runs fine. I hope that part wasnt anything. Anyways, suggestions would be awesome!!!

Oh and I was told her mom either had a heat stroke or a heart attack when they were trying to move her from a large pasture onto a trailer by horseback.

 

[Katy]

Orphan calves are prone to scours due to the change in the diet. Scours are generally whitish in color tho, not greenish. The rattling, if she hadn't just got done drinking could very well be pneumonia.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

the rattling was while she was drinking......what does it mean if her diarreah is green, not white?

 

[Katy]

The rattling was probably just from inhaling a bit of what she was drinking.....I'd watch her closely tho as far as the snotty nose and rattling. I don't know what to tell you about the green runs. Ours usually don't have that unless they've been out on wheat pasture or very lush grass. Watch her close tho...a calf that age can go downhill fast. Are you just feeding her plain grain? We usually have much better luck getting them to eat sweet feed rather than plain grain until they get a taste for it. Some brome or oat hay would be good for her.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

I have brome/orchard grass available to her. I also have Dumors 18% calf starter available to her. She hasnt touched any of it. I got her to drink her milk today. A few hours later I got warm water and mixed a packet of Kick Start with it and added 5 grams of Probios. She wouldnt drink it. I also have a gelling packet to mix with her feed, but I havent tried that yet. I have LA200 on hand. Im trying to decide whether to give her some or not. Thanks!

 

[Katy]

I wouldn't give her the LA 200 unless you know 100% that she needs it. Giving meds without knowing for sure if or what you're treating isn't a good idea. They can do more harm than good sometimes.

 

[Cara]

It sounds like some kind of respiratory infection and scours. Cattle have pretty poor respiratory systems, and when they're stressed or unwell they are prone to infections. Do you have any penicillin to hand?

For the scours stop feeding milk replacer for 24 hours or so, and just give her either medicated replacer (like Optimil Complete, although it's also called ScourEase I think, a red and yellow bag made by Manna Pro) or Bounce Back. You can get both in individual portion bags, it works out cheaper if you only have one calf that needs treating.

If she doesn't want to drink, you'll have to syringe Bounce Back into her mouth or use a stomach feeding bag.

We had a heifer with bad scours a couple of weeks ago, and I had to stay up one night giving her a quart of Bounce Back every two hours. I used a big syringe (without the needle!) as it was all we had to hand. She made a vast improvement, and is now perfectly healthy

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

Ok, well Ive gotten so many different opinions and ideas. Now, Im not sure exactly what to do. I gave her a dose of LA200, FarmerKitty said to do that. Now, Im thinking I shouldnt have. I was also told to get a thickening agent and I gave that to her with some Pro Bios in it. Ive also been told to give her water or water with electrolytes. I did have Kick Start and have given her that, but now Im wondering if thats what gave her scours since it has some colostrum in it. Ive also been told to give peptobismal. Also to crack 2 eggs into her milk and give it to her. But, I dont want to do ALL this stuff (I can if I need to) because I think it will do more harm than good. Plus, if I feed her once in the morning and once at night she will eat just fine, but if I try to feed her more than that then I cant get her to eat. I also dont know if I should take her off her milk for a day, as I think one of the things that may have caused the scours is change of milk and other stuff. I think it may be beneficial to her to keep her on a routine and quit changing stuff around.
So, the only way I can think of to get all this stuff down her at once is:
milk replacer mixed with probios, electrolytes, electrolytes, two eggs, and?? Then I wouldnt know when to get the water down her as it seems I only have two windows of opportunity a day to get stuff down her. Even, if I give her less at a time.
Plus, I think mixing that many things together could do no good.
Also, I should tell you what Ive done so far.
Day one.
Milk Replacer with Kick Start (stopping the Kick Start though)
Day two.
morning: milk replacer (by itself)
evening: gelling agent with water, and pro bios (couldnt get her to drink her milk after this)

 

[Katy]

Those of us who've been raising orphan calves for a long time all have our own way of doing things. Part of it is being there and seeing how the calf looks and is acting, which we obviously can't do with your calf. I'd say as long as you're getting two feedings a day down her give her a couple of days to get used to you and her new surroundings. If she starts going downhill even more either get a vet out to see her or take her in.

 

[Skyesrocket]

I would go back and talk to the people you got her from and ask for suggestions from them.
Make sure you don't overfeed her milk replacer. Overfeeding can cause scours. Not sure about the green color. Does it smell REALLY bad?
I would keep a bucket of water down for her along with some fine hay.
Calf manna really seems to attract calves. You might want to try that once her stomach settles. To get her started on grain hold it in your hand and as she is nibbling at it lower your hand into the feedbowl.
Probios are a very good idea. Keep using them. Electrolytes are good too.
Someone suggested not using the milk replacer for 24 hours. This could work. If you do this give her water with the electrolytes and probios from a bottle or however you are feeding her the milk replacer so she doesn't dehydrate.
The first thing I would do is check with the people she came from. If they raise cattle they have been there and done that and will know what to do.
Good Luck! I do have a friend that raises dairy bulls and swears by cracking 2 raw eggs into the bottle.