Ask the Vet

By Dr. Ken McMillan
DTN/The Progressive Farmer Contributing Editor

Question:

About a week after I bought a bred heifer at a local stock sale, I noticed she was not eating right. My vet came out and diagnosed her with pneumonia. We treated with Nuflor and Banamine for about five days with no improvement. She continued to eat small amounts of hay and water, but no grain. Next, I treated her with Draxxin, again per the vet's recommendations. There was no improvement. The heifer lost the calf, which had to be pulled. I removed the afterbirth the day after the calf. She is still very thin, but alive, and is sick with congestion and shallow breathing. She is eating and drinking, and appears to be urinating and defecating normally. Can you advise as to what may be wrong and the possibility of recovery?

Answer:

I am afraid the prognosis for her recovery to a functional cow is poor at best. At this point, your best option may be to focus on her survival, getting her to a point where she can be sold. This will allow you to recoup some of your investment. If she does survive, please be sure to comply with all withdrawal times and do not sell a sick or weak cow at the sale barn.

Now, on to your question. What you are dealing with can occur in any animal exposed to stress and a variety of viruses and bacteria. The combination often leads to respiratory disease. Antibiotics are of no benefit against viruses and some bacteria are resistant to many antibiotics. In addition, the damage both viruses and bacteria do to the lungs occurs quickly and is often irreversible. These animals are often referred to as "chronic lungers," "lungers" or "chronics" to name a few. They don't get well, and yet they often won't die either.

This is a hard lesson to learn. In my opinion, the sale barn is just not a good place to buy replacement cattle. But it could have been much worse. I have seen respiratory disease get into a herd, infecting and killing many animals. Often this happens only to the cows already on the farm; the sale barn cows sometimes never get sick but are carriers.

(VM/CZ)

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