# Any Info On This: Premature calf born blind



## Farmer Jayne (Oct 21, 2013)

Our cow, Ellie, had a calf early. I don't know what her due date was supposed to be, but the calf is only 18 pounds. Ellie is a Florida Cracker and she was bred to a registered Angus bull. She was bred to the same bull last year and threw a small heifer (about 40 pounds) that was full term and perfectly fine. This calf I found in the field soon after it was born. It was cold, but alive, and Ellie acted spooked by it. She was a good mom to her other calf, but this one she snorted at, and would circle warily. I took it away when she tried to horn it. Nice little heifer calf. I took her home and warmed her up. She took a bottle right away and drank about a cup and a half of goat's milk (diluted). She was too weak to stand, but was alert and responsive. In the light I noticed that the pupils of her eyes were white. 
Now we're on day 3. She's eating like a champ. I got some powdered colostrum to feed her. Attempts to milk Ellie made us decide that powdered would be better than getting killed. Lightning hooves on that one. I couldn't find anyone that had colostrum to spare, so the powdered will have to do. She's up and walking. I think she can see a little. 

Do any of you have experience with a calf being born blind? There is no redness, swelling, or discharge. Her temp is normal. She's eating, pooping and peeing like she should. She's looking more and more like a perfect calf - except she's the size of a baby goat, and her pupils are white.

Also, opinions on the powdered colostrum. I got Dumor's for cattle. Mixed it according to directions. It took her 2 days to finish the package because she only eats a pint at a time. Any more than that and she'll explode. She's really tiny. Pictures and new weight to follow.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

I think blindness is related to Vit. A deficiency, but I don't know about the premature issue. I would get in touch with your vet to see if there's anything that might help. If she remains blind, it will probably be a management issue so that she can learn her way in your herd. Poor little thing.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

If it helps, my neighbour had a premature calf born but not as little as yours, further along in pregnancy I think. The mother had no trouble taking it but both eyes were opaque. The vet told her they would come right within a few weeks - and they did.

I hope she makes it and you get that incredible feeling of satisfaction.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## rosalind (Oct 6, 2014)

We had a calf born full term that had no eyeballs. We sold her really cheap to a 4-Her, but she never could get her bred (after 3 years of trying...). She had heats and looked normal, but something besides the eyes must have been wrong. 

I've heard of a few people that milk blind cows, seems to work ok if you have the time to work with them.

Yours sounds like quite a premie - must be cute so small. Someone on the family cow forum had a tiny calf born and he's 4 months old now and doing well. 

I don't know about powdered colostrum. We freeze extra from our Jerseys in case anyone needs colostrum.


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## Farmer Jayne (Oct 21, 2013)

Thank you all . Here are some pics. It was hard to get a good picture of her eyes. The white on her pupils is harder to see in the light, or if you use the flash from a camera. She's gained a half a pound. I was expecting more of a gain, then realized I was comparing her to the larger calves I'm used to. It'll be interesting to see if she grows to be normal sized, or if she'll be stunted.

I'm worried that she didn't get real colostrum. What kind of problems should I expect to encounter because of this, and what can I do to prevent them?


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## rosalind (Oct 6, 2014)

Farmer Jayne said:


> I'm worried that she didn't get real colostrum. What kind of problems should I expect to encounter because of this, and what can I do to prevent them?


What makes you think that?

A cow is not like a human - a cow will die without colostrum, eventually (up to several months down the road). That said, there seems to be some flexibility when the calf first gets colostrum. I mean, I'm not sure when that cutoff point is of how many hours/days a calf can go before receiving colostrum that it will negatively affect them. I've seen calves go more than 24 hours before they got an adequate colostrum feeding and they've survived and done well. If you've gotten some into the calf, even small amounts of powdered colostrum, you should be fine.

If you're planning to feed milk replacer, I'd highly recommend feeding extra probiotics in the milk each time. Probios is an easy brand to use. Fastrack may be more effective when she's older, once she's eating more than just milk. That will help boost her immune system.


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

I have had good luck with powdered colostrum


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## Farmer Jayne (Oct 21, 2013)

Here's an update on my little girl: Think perfectly formed calf, no taller than your knee.
On day three she started to scour, but never acted sick or lost her appetite. I supplemented her milk with electrolytes, gave her vitamin E and selenium, B complex, vitamin A, and probiotics. After 3 more days I was thinking she needed something more- maybe kaolin pectin, or even antibiotics- when her scours just dried up. She still cannot see very well, but she is healthy and growing. She loves to chase my free-range ducks. They are about the same size and she can see that much. I don't know what I'm going to do with her, but right now she's just a joy to have around. Maybe a family milk cow?


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## nosqrls (Jun 9, 2012)

Was the bull a lowline angus if so that is not un-common for a heifer that small. I have seen bull calf's as small as 27 lbs. our DD bred her reg. angus cow to a lowline bull and her heiefer would stand under mom and eat if it was raining. And didn't touch till she was 3 weeks old. People thought it was a goat nursing on a cow.


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## Farmer Jayne (Oct 21, 2013)

The bull is a full-sized Angus. He's young, so this is only the seventh calf we've had from him. All of the other calves were of an unremarkable size, except for Ellie's (this calf's mom) last year, which was around 40 pounds. Maybe there's something in her genetics? Just don't know.


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## rosalind (Oct 6, 2014)

Is the mom overweight? Sometimes very fat cows will have tiny calves, because there's literally no room for the calf to grow.


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