What went wrong with this calf?

[Lrm93]

I raise chickens and goats but my husband just bought his second calf from
The auction barn. First calf scoured for the first week but we got him better and now he’s thriving at 2 months old.

The calf he bought the other day was 2 days old. We didn’t get any history. Came home, scoured like we expected, and rotated milk replaced with electrolytes through out the day. It was a struggle getting him to latch but once he did, he did great. Last night before bed he got his bottle, woke up today and he was laying there and couldn’t move. Forced a drench into him and about 5 minutes later he puked it up, started seizing and died.
For future reference, what should I have done here? It happened so fast, there was not a vet available to come out.

 

[Fishsticks06]

I raise chickens and goats but my husband just bought his second calf from
The auction barn. First calf scoured for the first week but we got him better and now he’s thriving at 2 months old.

The calf he bought the other day was 2 days old. We didn’t get any history. Came home, scoured like we expected, and rotated milk replaced with electrolytes through out the day. It was a struggle getting him to latch but once he did, he did great. Last night before bed he got his bottle, woke up today and he was laying there and couldn’t move. Forced a drench into him and about 5 minutes later he puked it up, started seizing and died.
For future reference, what should I have done here? It happened so fast, there was not a vet available to come out.

I’m very sorry for your loss. That’s terrible news to hear, I hope you’re not too affected. I hardly know anything about cattle but judging off its early age, it was probably a clostridium infection. It’s a common thing to come by and it’s a terrible thing. I hope this answered your question.

 

[Mvan42]

What breed was it? Jersey calfs are difficult to keep alive without mama.

 

[Lrm93]

What breed was it? Jersey calfs are difficult to keep alive without mama.

He was a brown Holstein

 

[Cyprus]

He was a brown Holstein

Red and White Holstein you mean?
If I had to guess, infection was the culprit.

 

[Mvan42]

X2 something had to be wrong. If the scours were treated then there had to be an infection or something else wrong. They are an easier one to raise

 

[Folly's place]

Auction barns can be hotbeds of every infection possible, and a two day old calf is pretty fragile. Did he get colostrum after birth? Was his dam vaccinated for anything? The poor stressed out baby!
It's better by far to find a good farm herd and buy directly from there. Ask your LA veterinarian, or if there are more LA practices in your area, ask them all for recommendations for good places to buy calves. We've done this and been a lot happier!
'Shipping fever' is the pits, and if you get Johnnes disease on your farm it's really not good.
Mary

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

At 2 days old the auction barn is very stressful. We bottle feed Jerseys, Holsteins, Ayrshires etc. with no problem btw. Here's something to consider: we sell bottle calves usually a week old. We give ours whole milk from the cow, the people that buy them from us give them milk replacer. It usually upsets their stomachs. (sodium bicarb could help) If you can, try to get calves a week old they are usually a little stronger and try buying off the farm. We have death and the vet runs a million tests, sends it to state and they still only know what is wasn't, not what it was. Sometimes things just die... sorry. (Dairy Farmer btw)

 

[Nommie Bringer-Uvda-Noms]

I'm sorry for your loss. Even a new critter is heartbreaking to lose. Auctions may be the cheapest place to get livestock, in initial cash outlay, but the animals often are only there, because the sellers couldn't find anyone to buy them, any other way. You can get lucky, at auctions - but, it's largely a craps shoot.

 

[cassie]

Chances are the calf never got any colostrum. If you are going to buy sale calves it would be a good idea to have frozen colostrum on hand. If there are no dairies near you where you could get some colostrum, there are colostrum replacements on the market.