Calf can't stand up

[Barbara Guth]

Oh, he is a very sick boy! This is affecting his entire body, not just like cut on the leg. Every muscle & nerve is under attack. That's why I said -- even when he seems ok, he has a long recovery for things to heal and cleanse.

Think this way -- a fire spreads smoke into a room, everything is touched by it and you have to clean it off. Slow and tedious job. In his body, the infection & inflammation is pretty much everywhere to some degree. That's why it is so hard to heal.

I didn't mean for you to harness him, just trying to point out the effect of heads on animals and control. You little guy needs to be supported from falls, etc. He may not recover, as the vet has said, but miracles happen sometimes.

Oh no. We were going to try the harness anyway. That was already planned. I was just sharing how it went. He did actually stand for a few seconds on his own today. We had to stand him up for his daily exercise and my husband let go and he kept standing for a few seconds. So I completely agree with you. We have a long road ahead of us but he's totally worth it. He's so ready to go he just needs a little extra help.

 

[Barbara Guth]

Minihorses. There's also a slight possibility I'm a bit on the paranoia side of things. Just like when my children are sick I always think if the absolute worst and start panicking. Little Tip is still eating well. Using the bathroom, attempting to get up on his own. I think I misread his body movements when I got the idea he had internal issues. I'm not real familiar with cows and their anatomy and such, but in the past week I've learned a ton of info.

 

[Mini Horses]

Eating & drinking are good signs. We all get "hyper" when an animal is down and we just can't "make it well". Yep, you pull out your hair.

Here's a thought for him -- as he will be weak -- if he gets to be able to stand you & DH can put an old sheet, folded lengthwise, under his gut & over each of your shoulders (& behind your neck, think yoke) like a sling. Then as he attempts to walk, he'll have some support to avoid falls & help to move along, while trying to keep his legs under him.

Not a cow owner now but, have had my share of issues with minis & goats. You are moving him, I can tell by posts, and this is needed to keep his systems functioning. Kudos!

 

[Devonviolet]

That's a good idea @Mini Horses. I t sounds like your Little Tip is making at least a small improvement. If you have the time, energy & money, for Vet visits, by all means you should keep working with him.

 

[Barbara Guth]

@minihorses. I never thought about a sheet. I've been wracking my brain on what to use. I'll tell the husband we need to try that.
@Devonviolet. He's made a big improvement. When I brought him home poor guy couldn't move his legs and since he got this shots he's still trying to sit up and he'll "buck" when we stand him up because he wants to get up so bad. As far as the vet, thankfully, it hasn't broke the bank and the medicine is fairly reasonable. So I plan on keeping contact with her to see how we can keep working with him to get him where he needs to be.

 

[Barbara Guth]

Well sadly he didn't make it. Not sure what happened but he went down Friday again so we took him to my vet this morning and he said by looking at his eyes and muscle movements the disease had affected his nervous system, and at this point there would be no getting him on his feet or fixing the problem so we put him down. Thank you everyone for being so supportive and understanding while I tried to figure out how to help him.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

So sorry he didn't make it.

 

[Devonviolet]

Awwww, so sorry, Barbara. You gave it an awesome effort, to save the little guy. Hopefully you learned something that will help you, if you ever run into a similar situation.

 

[Mini Horses]

You did your best at giving him a chance. The decision to humanely relieve him of his suffering was compassionate and one of the hardest decision we make as an animal caretaker. It was an almost no win from the get go. Kudos for trying.

He is now running free -- no pain, no problems.

I am sorry for the loss and grief it has been. It hurts to love!!

 

[greybeard]

I can't say I'm surprised by this outcome, especially after finding out sepsis was the culprit. Mortality rate for it is pretty high in calves, and it is extremely fatiguing for and on the animal.
There's one constant in animal husbandry..if you raise livestock, you're going to lose some. Some years are just better than others.