3 week old dairy calf loosing all his hair

[DixiePride]

I got a dairy calf 2 weeks ago and when I got him his hair had a lot of dry skin and was dry on his ears and around one of his eyes, when I asked the guy at the dairy he said the mom must not of cleaned him very good and that could be dry from the afterbirth that could have been left on.... I am new at farming and I wanted to raise my own organic cow, when I got him home he acted real weak and I had to make him walk around, he got the scours so bad it was clear and I started giving him electrolytes and rotating with his milk, someone told me to give him pepto bismo so I did and he still had scours, I was told to give him a coke, so I did, I also bought some Microbial balancer at the feed store, he has gotten stronger in the past few days and he is even trying to buck a little, I turn him loose in the yard and he will follow me around, I make sure he is walking and he is finaly getting stable on his feet, still has diarea but has a little consistancy and color now.. he will not take the nipple on the bucket no more, he wants to be big and drink from the bucket and he is actually now eating sweet feed but his hair if falling out. you can wipe his side and clumps just fall off but it is attached to his skin, it is like he is a snake and shedding his skin and hair, but his skin does not look raw it is a pretty creamy color but is dry, I was going to wash him this Sat and try to brush all the dead skin and hair off hoping it will allow new growth, do you think this is wise and if so what kind of moisturizer should I put on his skin, I am sure he is still a little dehydrated but he is getting stronger, he is a little fighter, needless to say the dairy has never returned any of my calls, I think they thought he wouldn't make it.....Any one have any of this problem? Any advice is greatly appreciated, he is such a sweetheart but now I am really worried about his hair and skin....didn't know I bought a hairless cow...lol

 

[jhm47]

I once had a cow that lost all her hair and skin from her front half. She had had a bad infection, and I think that her fever caused her to lose it. She healed up just fine, grew her hair back, and we kept her for several years after that. Hope your calf gets better. Time has a way of healing things that appear hopeless.

 

[ksalvagno]

Would some antibiotics help in this situation?

 

[DixiePride]

Thank you both for your reply's, I read that sometimes mites can cause this so I am going to get my magnifying glass out when I get home from work today and see if I see any critters on him, his nose is cool and wet so I don't think he is sick as far as a cold so I am not sure what antibiotics will do for him unless they have some I can put on his skin... If I don't see any critters today on him I am going to go to the tractor supply store and see what they might recommend because I want to try to find a solution before the weekend so I can work with him on curing this Sat and Sunday... He is such a spunky thing now that he has gotten some of his strenght and energy back, this morning he started chewing on my arm when I was trying to leave his pen and I think he may also be teething, he has his bottom front teeth and the teeth way in the back and his little gums on top feel lumpy like his teeth might be trying to break through so I am going to the pet store and see if they have a rubber chew thing I can get for him... I have also notice he liked licking me when I am sweaty so yesterday I bought him a salt block and he went crazy over that and he is also eating sand and dirt when I take him on our little walks, I guess he feels he needs this for his belly aches, will sand and dirt harm them in anyway?

 

[jhm47]

FYI: Cattle don't have teeth on the top in front. Only on the top in back where the molars are. Since he appears to be healthy and spunky, I don't think that antibiotics are needed in this case. He will shed the hair and skin that is dead, and grow the new as he heals. I wouldn't be removing the dead stuff, just leave it on and when his new skin and hair comes in it will come off naturally. If you remove it prematurely, he might get a sunburn. It is usually best to let nature take it's course in situations like this. It's also doubtful that he has a external parasite infestation. You might try Ivomec if you feel the need to do something. It won't hurt, and might give you peace of mind. I'd get him a well balanced cattle mineral to lick. Sounds like he might have a mineral deficiency if he's eating dirt and sand.

 

[DixiePride]

Thank you for your advice about letting nature take its course and that is what I will do and I will also get him a mineral block, I know I got him a salt block the other day and he went crazy over it... I don't currently have him in the sun because of the large mass of hair that is missing and still falling off of him, we have built him a small pen under our carport for now till he is better and we take him out every evening and walk him.... he did really good yesterday, he drank 3 qts of milk and his poo is a lot thicker, it is actually very close to normal.... Thank you so much about the top teeth, I didn't know they didn't have any, he does have the ones in the back because he bit me yesterday but of course not hard but hard enough to feel them, maybe he was trying to tell me this...lol....