Sick Calves Grazing River Valley

[Benr]

We have got a bunch of calves grazing a river valley. They are 6 months old have been there for about 2 months.
Last week 2 looked tucked up a bit wobbly and stopped eating. They are also slightly blind.
They seem to be slowly improving.
They have had access to a ditch, but as soon we saw these 2 we have shut them out of that area and they haven’t got any access to any ditches.
Gone out this morning to find another one going the same way!
Any ideas? Spoke to our vet last week and they suggested poisoning by water drop wort or similar but they shouldn’t have access to anything now and we have walked the hedges.

 

[topground]

Lead poisoning?

 

[milkloss]

Ranunculus. Various symptoms from manically running around the field agitated and seemingly blind (head up, peering about). Some just start to swell up in the face and lose patches of skin, a kind of photosensitive reaction.

looks similar to a butter cup but different….. more erect and slightly different leaves, dark green.

have one youngster here got poisoned and has half ears, hooves grew wanky and fell off, skin still sore in places. Also and old cow which had her whole face peel off and some of her back. Recovered much better but still has raw areas on her back and ‘spiky’ fur round her muzzle.

maybe lose 2 or three a year to it…… very hard to find.

 

[Nearly]

I understood st johns wort (symptoms you describe) wasn't a ranunculus but a hypericum.
They do look very similar.
2 or 3 a year? Wow.

 

[goodevans]

Cowbain is another one I think,very similar to cowparsley,couple of years ago we had half a dozen or so drop like that in one field,treated with steroid and vit b I think into veins

 

[milkloss]

I understood st johns wort (symptoms you describe) wasn't a ranunculus but a hypericum.
They do look very similar.
2 or 3 a year? Wow.

We’ve never found St John’s wort round here. Plenty of water drop wort but the leaves seem to do them no harm despite grazing it heavily some times.

 

[Benr]

Lead poisoning?

The symptoms look similar to this from what I have read but can’t see anything wrong that could cause it

 

[Benr]

Ranunculus. Various symptoms from manically running around the field agitated and seemingly blind (head up, peering about). Some just start to swell up in the face and lose patches of skin, a kind of photosensitive reaction.

looks similar to a butter cup but different….. more erect and slightly different leaves, dark green.

have one youngster here got poisoned and has half ears, hooves grew wanky and fell off, skin still sore in places. Also and old cow which had her whole face peel off and some of her back. Recovered much better but still has raw areas on her back and ‘spiky’ fur round her muzzle.

maybe lose 2 or three a year to it…… very hard to find.

Had a look in one of their mouths and can’t see any blisters or anything. There are a few buttercups like this

 

[Benr]

Cowbain is another one I think,very similar to cowparsley,couple of years ago we had half a dozen or so drop like that in one field,treated with steroid and vit b I think into veins

Just had a look at this and there was some plants that looked a bit like this where they were grazing so could well be it. But they have been out of that field since Tuesday.
Did yours survive?

 

[Benr]

Don’t fancy the chances of one of them. But walked it over to the water trough and it had a massive drink. The other 2 were off grazing , but still tucked up and ears down

 

[betweenthelines]

Snake bite?

 

[Benr]

Snake bite?

3 of them though?

 

[goodevans]

Don’t fancy the chances of one of them. But walked it over to the water trough and it had a massive drink. The other 2 were off grazing , but still tucked up and ears down

Pretty sure the ones we had were all bbx weanlings,there symptoms were very similar to ccn but the vet put it down to poisoning, and we did lose several