Calf Dry Coating with Bald Patches

[sjewart]

Ok guys. My 3.5 week old calf (born 2 weeks prem) has been breathing less fast this week and ive been happy with her BUT yesterday and today she's been sitting down a lot, looking depressed, sideways ears and dull eyes.

Her coat is very dry and full of dandruff and she has 2 bald patches. Ive noticed she licks the gates and walls in the shed and roots with her nose round the edges of the shed as well. She also rubs herself off the gates. Her bald patches are located one on her hurdy bone and another in the middle of her side so hard to see how she could have rubbed it bare.

Is she deficient in something? She had a jag of vitasel at 3 days old and also a Vit E/selenium jag when a day old.

I heard her cough this morning but surely she's too young for lungworm? She was also pressing in her sides and moo-ing at same time a bit yesterday. Vet gave me a jag of buscosan for her as she thought it sounded like colic.

Could stress cause the dry coat and bald patches?

She is drinking ok but she doesnt readily rise - mum licks her up all the time. I will check her temp tonight. She is stretching when she does get up. Would just like to see her with a bit more life about her. She's a very unhappy calf at mo and is looking a bit bedraggled with a dry balding coat.

 

[crofteress]

I don't know what it is but I wouldn't be happy seeing her like that. I would be on the phone to a man I know who always knows everything . It would be really strange for a young calf to be rubbing but they do lick the walls.

 

[sjewart]

I don't know what it is but I wouldn't be happy seeing her like that. I would be on the phone to a man I know who always knows everything . It would be really strange for a young calf to be rubbing but they do lick the walls.

Thanks crofteress. Sadly i dont have any real farmer friends that i can pick up a phone to (hence I rely too heavily on the vet) [emoji53] but saying that ive text a local farmer's wife so await a response.

 

[Old Boar]

Just a wild thought, and am happy for @bovine to shoot me down, but could she be allergic to penicillin? She would be getting some throught the milk, but whether a calf can be allergic or whether she is getting enough is the question?

 

[sjewart]

Just a wild thought, and am happy for @bovine to shoot me down, but could she be allergic to penicillin? She would be getting some throught the milk, but whether a calf can be allergic or whether she is getting enough is the question?

Love the thought process Old Boar but this calf's mum had 2 shots of depocillin 3 weeks ago for a retained placenta and that's all - so im guessing its well out her system now.

Got me thinking though could the calf be allergic to some of the meds its been jagged with?

With the vets say so its had:-

Alamycin LA
Micotil
Vitasel
Vit E/selenium
Emdocam

Its lost its mojo as well as coat full of dandruff and bald patches. Plus this pressing side and moaning yesterday - and today the coughing thing? Mystery!

 

[crofteress]

I will ask himself for you

 

[sjewart]

I will ask himself for you

Ur a [emoji93]

 

[willie waver]

Thanks crofteress. Sadly i dont have any real farmer friends that i can pick up a phone to (hence I rely too heavily on the vet) [emoji53] but saying that ive text a local farmer's wife so await a response.

I don't know where you live, but don't you have any livestock farmer neighbours you could pop into and introduce yourself? I know most of us look like angry bulldogs chewing a wasp (or maybe that's just me ) but most of us are actually quite pleasant and helpful when a nice person asks for help

 

[crofteress]

its a wee bit different up here, and being female.

 

[sjewart]

I don't know where you live, but don't you have any livestock farmer neighbours you could pop into and introduce yourself? I know most of us look like angry bulldogs chewing a wasp (or maybe that's just me[emoji38]) but most of us are actually quite pleasant and helpful when a nice person asks for help

The farmers are so hard at work around here trying to scrape a living together i dont like to bother them. Dont have their phone numbers and would be unlikely to find them in the house during the day. Should of course try them in the evening but once my 4 and 2 year old are in bed i cant go out.

 

[crofteress]

He says that the only time he has seen these signs in a calf that age it was short of milk, and it got a multivit jag and some pen and strep and once it started drinking off the other cows it was ok. Didnt think it sounded very good though

 

[sjewart]

He says that the only time he has seen these signs in a calf that age it was short of milk, and it got a multivit jag and some pen and strep and once it started drinking off the other cows it was ok. Didnt think it sounded very good though

Thank you so much crofteress. I can try her with another jag of vitasel if its the best multivit. I gave her alamycin today so cant pen and strep. The heifer's maybe a bit tight for milk. If so can i start giving a calf pellet? Or does cow cake do?

I wondered if it was lice annoying her....she does rub a bit in the shed. Would anyone recommend trying an injectable lice product??

 

[sjewart]

Bit disappointed calf's temp tonight 39.1 - and that's 12 hours after alamycin.

Here's some photos of the bald patches. There are actually 3 obvious ones and 3 other ones that you can't see so easily.

 

[Samcowman]

Has it had an anti inflammatory such as metacam which will do a lot of good for a high temperature. 39.1 isn't massively high.
Other than that looks like all bases covered from the information given here.
Is there any way you can let it run outside with its mother if it's not raining there?
Unsure about the bald patches but I'd said probably a bit young for lice

 

[sjewart]

Has it had an anti inflammatory such as metacam which will do a lot of good for a high temperature. 39.1 isn't massively high.
Other than that looks like all bases covered from the information given here.
Is there any way you can let it run outside with its mother if it's not raining there?
Unsure about the bald patches but I'd said probably a bit young for lice

Hi there. It did have a shot of metacam at 3 days old. It got emdocam (is that similar?) on Tuesday to act as painkiller after dehorning.

The calf and mum are outside all day. Shut inside at night. Can come in from outside during the day if they wish.

The only other thing i can think of is the mum licks the calf furiously (10 times more than my other heifer) so maybe that is affecting the coat? Doubt it though as head hair is ok.

 

[Old Boar]

Just to rule it out, look on Google for ringworm. If any animal has ever had ringworm in the shed, it can last for years and leap out....

 

[sjewart]

Just to rule it out, look on Google for ringworm. If any animal has ever had ringworm in the shed, it can last for years and leap out....

Ive seen ringworm in my fatteners - bought it in at market. My shed would have had ringworm in it a few years ago but it was power washed last year so i dont know. It does look similar i suppose but im not sure its the same. The calf does rub and lick the gates and walls so it would at least fit in with that theory. I also suppose a prem calf with a weakened immune system might be predisposed to pick up something like ringworm - im just not sure the patches are white enough for it to be that.

 

[crofteress]

it does look like ringworm , a bit
she's lovely calf

 

[johnspeehs]

If that was my calf I'd fire it out into a good field of grass with its mother and leave it there, no need for a calf like that to be in at night. Wouldn't worry to much about the bald patches unless they get a lot worse , could be ring worm or lice but neither will do it a lot of harm at that level. I had one this spring lost nearly all its hair after getting a'bs but perfectly fine now. In my humble opinion it just needs peace and quite and as little interference as possible unless it goes downhill , looks pretty healthy to me ATM .

 

[ladycrofter]

Those aren't typical lice-rubbing spots. Her temp is only at the high end of normal.

Agree with @johnspeehs get them outside, fresh air and daylight (even on a cloudy day) works miracles. If she's mooing a lot she may be hungry, she's a stonker of a calf! But she doesn't look thin by any means.

If they are easy to get back in you could try feeding mom a few kgs of calf rough mix once or twice a day to get some milk and energy in her. It won't take long for the calf to discover it too - very sweet smelling. Then turn them back out, grass is much cleaner and healthier for a calf than being kept inside.

I don;t think I'd be jagging her with anything else - she's had it all.