I have a heifer calf that has bad breath. I'm talking, a vile, sour smell. Only noticed it because she recently became a hand feeder; comes up to me, begs for cubes and will take them from my hand. None of the other cows or calves will take a cube after I've fed her - it's that bad. Born 3/20, treated for pneumonia 4/20 but otherwise looks and acts like a perfectly healthy calf. Thought maybe it could be from her dams milk but she has a great udder and the calf doesn't look malnourished at all (no hay belly & probably a solid 500 lbs, nice shiny coat).
Any thoughts? Possibly an underlying health problem? Maybe she eats a forage or weed none of the others will? Only other time I recall having one with serious bad breath, she was kicked in the mouth when she was a few weeks old and it knocked her teeth loose, resulting in kind of a pocket when it healed, trapping residual grass inside.
Any thoughts? Possibly an underlying health problem? Maybe she eats a forage or weed none of the others will? Only other time I recall having one with serious bad breath, she was kicked in the mouth when she was a few weeks old and it knocked her teeth loose, resulting in kind of a pocket when it healed, trapping residual grass inside.