Lead Poisoning in Cattle

[Cow1]

Has anyone had any experience of lead poisoning in cattle?

I've been losing strong 4 month old calves in one field only with one dying Saturday, one Monday and one today. In addition I have 2 off colour that have lost their sight but seem to be hanging on.

After the second calf died on Monday, I involved my vet and she took bloods from a live calf showing symptoms and I took the dead calf to Sutton Bonnington for a PM. First results came back tonight with high levels of lead.

We think we have established the source and hopefully kept them away from it but what I was unsure is whether there is long term implications. The vet has already said if the 2 off colour calves survive we will have to blood test later on to see if they can go in the food chain.

Any advice would be welcome as I'm not only p****d off but I'm worried too.

 

[An Gof]

Has anyone had any experience of lead poisoning in cattle?

I've been losing strong 4 month old calves in one field only with one dying Saturday, one Monday and one today. In addition I have 2 off colour that have lost their sight but seem to be hanging on.

After the second calf died on Monday, I involved my vet and she took bloods from a live calf showing symptoms and I took the dead calf to Sutton Bonnington for a PM. First results came back tonight with high levels of lead.

We think we have established the source and hopefully kept them away from it but what I was unsure is whether there is long term implications. The vet has already said if the 2 off colour calves survive we will have to blood test later on to see if they can go in the food chain.

Any advice would be welcome as I'm not only p****d off but I'm worried too.

Was a big issue in Cornwall/Devon area of lead contamination in feed about 20 or more years ago. I'm sure there will be some of the older SW vets who will remember it. Some of the feed companies may still have people around that were affected at the time.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

If you've found the source and removed it then you would hope that would hopefully be the end of your troubles

 

[DB67]

Years ago we lost a cow and one went a bit dolally Aswell. Car battery was the culprit. There is a jag you can get from the vet to help I'm sure.

 

[bovine]

Oh, lead. Can of worms very much opened.

You will be put on restriction selling anything into the food chain. There will be some testing to establish when animals are fit for sale.

What was the source? If it is something easily removed (battery or something) then it should be easy to remove the source. Issues like paint contaminate the environment with flakes - have to be removed by specialists and will cost lots of money.

There is a treatment, but it needs to be given every 6 hours into the vein for 5 days. We don't treat many cows for lead poisoning. A single injection is pointless.

What kind of farm are you?

 

[Cow1]

Oh, lead. Can of worms very much opened.

You will be put on restriction selling anything into the food chain. There will be some testing to establish when animals are fit for sale.

What was the source? If it is something easily removed (battery or something) then it should be easy to remove the source. Issues like paint contaminate the environment with flakes - have to be removed by specialists and will cost lots of money.

There is a treatment, but it needs to be given every 6 hours into the vein for 5 days. We don't treat many cows for lead poisoning. A single injection is pointless.

What kind of farm are you?

We are a mixed farm, arable, beef and sheep. The source was the insides of an old car battery that unbeknown to me had been swept out of the bottom of a fencing trailer onto the edge of a fire site when putting a new fence up.
I have removed all that I can find now.

 

[bovine]

Maybe not so bad then.

Let us know how you get on. We don't see much lead poisoning these days

 

[Cow1]

Will do. Thanks for that I appreciate it.

 

[Cow1]

I've been in contact with Animal and Plant Health and the cattle within the field are now on a 16 week movement restriction after which I have to blood test.

 

[Whitepeak]

I've been in contact with Animal and Plant Health and the cattle within the field are now on a 16 week movement restriction after which I have to blood test.

That's a new one on me, we get the odd case of chronic lead poisoning every few years and we've never been on movement restrictions because of it

 

[nails]

Has anyone had any experience of lead poisoning in cattle?

I've been losing strong 4 month old calves in one field only with one dying Saturday, one Monday and one today. In addition I have 2 off colour that have lost their sight but seem to be hanging on.

After the second calf died on Monday, I involved my vet and she took bloods from a live calf showing symptoms and I took the dead calf to Sutton Bonnington for a PM. First results came back tonight with high levels of lead.

We think we have established the source and hopefully kept them away from it but what I was unsure is whether there is long term implications. The vet has already said if the 2 off colour calves survive we will have to blood test later on to see if they can go in the food chain.

Any advice would be welcome as I'm not only p****d off but I'm worried too.

A very similiar thing happened to me a few years ago when 5-6 month old calves licked the remains of a battery which had got grown in fencing off a dung heap and then hit with the mower on the back swath Thick grass , never saw the battery , but the mower sliced the top off.
We lost 2 nearly straight away and another a day later . We then had 3 more showing signs of poisoning and we treated them frequently with Sodiumcalciumedetate for a long time and they pulled through. If they get over it i think it takes a while for the lead to be eliminated , but it does go.
Watch them very closely and first signs of blindness treat them. You could treat them all but it is very expensive treatment, although worth it obviously.
Bovine says the injection has to be in the vein , but that is not fully correct as it is o.k and easier to do sub-cutaneous although i would put the first dose in the vein.
Like you say it is very worrying .

 

[bovine]

Bovine says the injection has to be in the vein , but that is not fully correct as it is o.k and easier to do sub-cutaneous although i would put the first dose in the vein.

The way the drug works - it binds the lead (alongside copper and zinc) in the blood stream and pulls it out via the kidneys. The mechanism of action would suggest that anything other than IV administration would be practically pointless - you need that high level in the blood stream.

I would suggest if they got better with treatment given by any other route - the injection had no part in that.

See the attached data sheet.

 

[nails]

The way the drug works - it binds the lead (alongside copper and zinc) in the blood stream and pulls it out via the kidneys. The mechanism of action would suggest that anything other than IV administration would be practically pointless - you need that high level in the blood stream.

I would suggest if they got better with treatment given by any other route - the injection had no part in that.

See the attached data sheet.

No, we had a long talk with the drug manufacturers chief scientist through our vet and he said it would still work through sub-cutaneous route. I am sure our vet in question could elaborate better than me on the subject.
The practicality of i.v . with the amount of saline solution 4 times a day in wild suckler calves leads to more stress so we had long talks with the relevant experts.

 

[bovine]

I remain unconvinced.

 

[kneedeep]

Has anyone had any experience of lead poisoning in cattle?

I've been losing strong 4 month old calves in one field only with one dying Saturday, one Monday and one today. In addition I have 2 off colour that have lost their sight but seem to be hanging on.

After the second calf died on Monday, I involved my vet and she took bloods from a live calf showing symptoms and I took the dead calf to Sutton Bonnington for a PM. First results came back tonight with high levels of lead.

We think we have established the source and hopefully kept them away from it but what I was unsure is whether there is long term implications. The vet has already said if the 2 off colour calves survive we will have to blood test later on to see if they can go in the food chain.

Any advice would be welcome as I'm not only p****d off but I'm worried too.

'When I were a lad' .........

Five fit chart bullocks got a lick of some old railway crossing timbers, which trod up through muck.

There's nowt I can tell you to appease your stress.
Th'owd fella still shivers at the though 40 years on......

Total write off.
Sorry.

 

[Cow1]

As an update 8 days in. 5 calves dead, 3 stabilised ranging from one back to running with the herd down to one on its own completely blind but at least on its feet. This out of a field containing 20 odd calves.

It seems if you can get them over the first 24 hours, you have a chance at least of keeping them alive.

As a point of interest. All the 8 calves affected are all out of dairy cross Blue cows. Admittedly the majority of calves in this field are bred this way but there are a few out of beef cows and so far none of these calves have had any issues.

 

[nails]

I remain unconvinced.

Sorry , but that is a blinkered attitude and you must be prepared to learn something new which goes against what you have been taught. I will try and get the person in question to explain it to you.

 

[nails]

As an update 8 days in. 5 calves dead, 3 stabilised ranging from one back to running with the herd down to one on its own completely blind but at least on its feet. This out of a field containing 20 odd calves.

It seems if you can get them over the first 24 hours, you have a chance at least of keeping them alive.

As a point of interest. All the 8 calves affected are all out of dairy cross Blue cows. Admittedly the majority of calves in this field are bred this way but there are a few out of beef cows and so far none of these calves have had any issues.

Yes in our case some of the calves which showed high levels of lead on the blood test never showed symptoms of lead poisoning even though we were expecting them to die. I think you are right in that if they are over the first 24-48 hrs you have a fighting chance . Hope things improve for you.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Always makes u wonder how humans and cattle were unaffected when all water pipes on farms were made from lead yet if they lick it they're dead

 

[bovine]

Sorry , but that is a blinkered attitude and you must be prepared to learn something new which goes against what you have been taught. I will try and get the person in question to explain it to you.

From a basic scientific standpoint - it would be practically impossible for the product to work given by any route other than IV. It needs to achieve maximum blood levels and that is the route in chelate (=binds) the lead.

For it to work by any other route you'd need to change physiology and the way the drug works. I don't think a nice man at a drug company can do that