New calf problem

[orwell]

My Who made Who had her Sumeeker calf this morning. We were not really expecting her until the end of the month but she has been showing some signs latley. When she calved our bull was still out in the pasture and was kind of pesturing the cow and made it so the calf did not get milk right away. So we milked the cow and got some milk into the calf and got the bull put away, but now the calfs back legs and knuckling a little bit. This has happened to us before but this time the cow has way more milk . I think we need to just give the calf some time but i am worried. Any sugestions would be great.

 

[worthabit]

Your question is not real clear but it sounds like your calf has leg trouble? I would suggest making sure the calf has milk and if the calf is not improving by tomorrow, to check with a vet.

 

[OLD WORLD SHORTIE]

Sounds like the little guy is premature, so his ligaments are not fully developed. Give him some time and he should straighten out, your gonna have to watch him like a hawk. Then you gotta be careful with sickness, premes are the worst. And they also have weak hearts, so he could be fine one day but he might be kinda dumb.

 

[orwell]

Ya he was a little premature. His hoves are a little bit soft, and he was breathing hard. He was better today breathing wise but I am worried for his legs. Do you think they will just get better in time

 

[CAB]

  Hopefully with a little time your calf will get stronger and work those legs.
  On the downside though, WMW bred to a  WMW grand son maybe a bit close breeding & I think that some of the structure troubles that the club industry endures is caused by Take Charge in particular which then ends up on WMW. JMO. Good Luck with your calf.

 

[Dyer Show cattle]

If the ankles keep rolling over you can try taping them up to help stregthing. We have had great luck with this on some calves before. And make sure the calf is getting plenty of milk. May have to bottle feed it a little until it gets strong enough.

 

[DFSC]

Most calves we've had like this straighten up on their own. In severe cases you can rig up a splint with paint stirring sticks and vet wrap. Usually this does the trick to straighten the leg and keep it from buckling. Good luck!

 

[orwell]

So the calf today was still doing it. So we put some splints on his legs. He is very energetic and drinks on his own all the time, so that is not a problem. And as to the comments on the breeding, it wasnt really my choice of breeding but we just bought her and she was already bred. Other then his legs he looks like he could be a good one, he has a lot of hair! O0

 

[Dyer Show cattle]

Make sure with splints you have lots of guaze between the legs and the splints. And Also don't leave them on for too long. You can run in to long term damage if they rub the calf and can cause infection. As long as you keep an eye on them and take them off ever couple days you should be fine.

 

[orwell]

About how tight should they be?

 

[Dyer Show cattle]

You have to have them fairly tight to do the job. Main thing my vet told me is that they don't rub the calf so make sure there is lots of padding between the splints and the legs. I used medical gauze for one calf I had to splint. You can get it at wal mart even pretty cheap. Put 3-4 layers of gauze, then a little tape to hold it on there. You don't have to get the gauze very tight, you don't want to cut off circulation. Put on the splint and tape that pretty good. You can wrap them fairly tight, wrap up about as tight as you would your own ankle. Just firm.  But I would take them off after 2-3 days and make sure everything is clean inside. More than likely you should not have to splint them for more than a week. After the 2-3 days when you take them off let the calf move around for an hour or so and see if he still needs them. If he rolls just a little and not a lot you can just gauze and tape them up with no splints and leave on for about a week and take them off and try again.

 

[orwell]

Thanks for all your guys help. I think he is going to alright.

Nice calf Dyer Show Cattle

 

[Telos]

This is the very reason Steer Planet is the best site ever! Great advice and good luck. Will be curious to see how the calf does.

 

[orwell]

I will try and get some pictures of him after his legs get strightned out and he gets a few miles on them. So far he looks like there is potentail. We have had really good luck with sunseeker so far.

 

[Dyer Show cattle]

Thanks, thats a Sunseeker heifer from last year. Got a full bro to her this year, but have not had the time to start getting him ready.

Good luck with your calf.
Bob