Uh oh....was this my fault??

[jilleroo]

Was over visiting the neighbours and they had brought home a very small (but probably fairly normal for a brahman) heifer calf about a day old, a few hours before. They found it lying next to its mysteriously dead mother (cow in excellent condition, but dead!) Not sure how long the calf had been there, it was very hungry but fine. It's umbilical cord was dry but the cord inside the navel was fairly swollen, about a 6 on a scale of 1-10. She'd drunk some milk very well and they gave her 3ml of SA penicillin. They had some dex so I suggested they give her 2ml.(about 3pm) She drank her evening feed well a few hours later. It was a coldish night (8 degs) but she was in a "nest" of tall grass in a pen and they put a calf coat on her. Next morning she was very poorly and she died shortly after.
Is 2ml of dex too much for a brahman calf? I give about 3ml to our char calves, maybe 4, but was 2ml too much for a little scrap of a calf?

 

[Suzie Q]

I have no idea about the dex, but the first thing I would have done would have been give her colustrum. They can't survive without it.

 

[wbvs58]

Jilleroo, I would say no. Dexamethasone can be given at extremely high doses, and needs to be in cases of toxic shock (normalx10). On saying that I would check your bottle for the strength, it comes in 2 strengths, 2mg/ml and 5mg/ml. Intervet (if they are still around, might have been taken over) have a recommendation of 2-5mg, ie .4-1ml of 5mg/ml or 1-2.5ml of the 2mg/ml stuff for calves, but regardless of what she got it is unlikely to have any negative affect on the outcome. The only negative effect could possibly be minor sodium retention and potassium loss.
Ken

 

[jilleroo]

Thanks for that Ken. I've used dex for many years with no ill effect - would have to be someone else's calf wouldnt it!
No colostrum to be had Suzi - can't make it out of thin air! We freeze it when the friesians calve but have run out.
The vet had written 2ml for calves on her bottle of dex, but, as I said, it was a teensy weensy brahman, not a bollocking great charolais!

 

[pdfangus]

calf was probably dead before being brought home and nobody knew it yet.

 

[djinwa]

How does the dex help calves? What's it for?

 

[hillsdown]

Well that sucks, dex did not harm her at all. Like Ken said it is used in high doses in extreme cases with no ill effects . Do you know what killed the dam ?

I had a premie Hostein calf born a few years ago, just around 40 lbs . Had no lasix on hand so my vet said to give her 6cc's of Dex. She died later but it had nothing to do with her getting dex, but that she had not recieved the proper nutrition in utero. She was an embryo cald and the recip was lucky she lived long enough to be shipped as I had a bullet with her name on it .grr

 

[BRAFORDMAN]

I am not sure how much a calf coat helps. But 8 degrees is way to cold for a brahman calf epecially a newborn. The cold could have bee a big factor in the death of the calf.

 

[cmf1]

8 degrees Celsius is about mid 40's Fahrenheit.
They're from "where women glow and men chunder".

 

[Suzie Q]

I did ask my friend who has saved some Brahman calves. Her only comment was they should have taken the Brahman into the house and near a fire, not left it outside.

 

[rockridgecattle]

If it was really hungry, maybe too much food to fast

 

[Hippie Rancher]

I have no idea about the dex, but the first thing I would have done would have been give her colustrum. They can't survive without it.

disagree, raised a few and ancestors raised MANY with out it

of course it is better to have it, but it can be done without

 

[jilleroo]

Yes, most of the time we have to do without it, even though we freeze some when we can. Have raised many that have never had their drink of colostrum but we would much prefer that they did.
Brahman calves are little fairies of things, similar to fawns some of them. Maybe she got too much milk too soon but these neighbours have a straight brahman herd, several thousand of them and no stranger to rearing them, the main cause of orphan calves being blown-out udders and tiny calves.
No cause was found for the dead cow but we noticed that the calf had blood spatters on its shoulder on one side, so blood had been spurting on it. The cow hadnt haemorraged that we could see. Maybe a hunter shot her and the wound was on the side she was lying on. Mysterious. But she mustve died pretty well as soon as the calf was born. They'll never know but no point wasting time pondering on it, plenty of others things to do! Thanks all for your help.

 

[msscamp]

How does the dex help calves? What's it for?

Dexamethasone is an anti-inflammatory steroid that also suppresses the immune system.