# Lethargic steer



## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

He's a Holstein, about a year old. We've got in the barn with the other Holstein heifer. We put them in there when they got pinkeye (used pinkeye spray and no symptoms for nearly a month) and decided to leave them there because the pair of Anguses bullied them around the feeder.
Anyways, yesterday he was totally normal and now this morning he's not really eating. He wasn't interested in grain this morning. Usually he moos all day for more. He ate a little bit of hay but mostly just held his head above it. They have been a bit annoyed since we ran out of haylage a week and a half ago but the heifer was chowing down. I saw him licking mineral and near the water but didn't witness him drink. He's not lying down more than usual, and his temperature was 101.7Â°F. But he is definitely off and moving slower than usual.
He had a fall yesterday afternoon when he was excited and jumping around, not sure if that would have anything to do with it. Nothing appears abnormal though.
I'm thinking about giving some antibiotics. Anything else I should be looking out for?


----------



## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Antibiotics? For a fall? Or for a totally unknown cause? Either way, I would try harder to get a diagnosis before dumping antibiotics into your steer. That goes double if you plan to eat him later. Using antibiotics when they aren't needed can actually cause some nasty antibiotic resistant bugs around your property. Personally, I would pump some probiotics into him.

Let's see...very low to no fever, off feed. Switched feed about a week and a half ago. Had a fall recently. Could you tell me more about the fall? What was the nature, did he maybe twist his gut or fall hard on a side? Is there possibly a parasite load where him and your heifer have been confined together? 

My first guess is some kind of rumen upset but I could be very wrong. What is his poop like?


----------



## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

Oh he may have gotten a bit too much grain yesterday. My girlfriend just got home and told me she also fed them grain yesterday, so maybe that is the culprit. He usually eats more of it than the female.

His poop looked a little on the runny side but not too far off normal. We are a couple weeks away from putting them out on pasture and I had planned on worming them then, so it could be parasites but would that be this sudden?

He was doing a bit of a happy dance yesterday when I was feeding them and slipped on the concrete part of the floor. He landed mostly where it was covered by hay and bedding but it looked like an awkward fall. He got back up and proceeded to eat.


----------



## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Grain in the wrong amount can definitely cause the poop and lethargy symptoms you describe. Some ruminants are more prone than others to bloat, too. Meaning the same amount of grain in two animals of the same size, breed, age can bloat one animal and not the other. It's a toss up.

Sounds like his fall was minor if he just got back up and ate.

Parasites, umm I'm not too sure of the answer there. If there was a heavy parasite load in the soil the cattle werent previously exposed to then introduction of a new parasite in moderate to heavy numbers could cause a steer to be off suddenly. It never hurts to try worming, esp. If you were planning to anyway.

I just had a friend move to a new house and now ALL of her dogs are losing weight/wormy, it did happen in a short amount of time, like maybe 3 weeks. Definitely a parasite load in the ground at her new place. But I don't know how this info translates to your steer and your situation, lol.


----------



## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

I don't know what the answer to your steer's problem is; but I'd suggest keeping an eye on him, taking his temp again, making sure he only gets the amount of grain he's supposed to get, and using a good pour-on dewormer. You might also put down stall mats on the concrete. If there are still issues after that, then call your vet.

On the matter of falling on concrete, please read this:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/li.../549208-milking-barn-concrete-floor-dirt.html

I'm not sure why so many people think concrete floors are okay for cattle. Bad things can happen on concrete!


----------



## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

I am not a fan of the concrete floors. It is easy to clean but too slippery for the cattle. I'm not too worried about parasites from the previous owner, he didn't have any animals the last two years he was here. He mostly grew burdock instead.

We've got Ivermectin pour-on dewormer already and we'll use that on them.

He was up drinking some water last time I was in there. Not looking 100% but not looking any worse. And I will keep an eye on his temp.

Thanks for the advice.


----------



## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

I'm not totally sure why I am even wondering this, but is there any chance your steer ingested anything besides his feed? A piece of baling twine, piece of wire on ground, anything that isn't food? It just occurred to me that hardware disease might cause this kind of issue.


----------



## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

Reading about hardware disease it sounds like a definite possibility from the symptoms but I've just been putting hay in their trough on top of a bit of older hay they haven't finished so I don't feel like there's a lot of oppourtunity to inject foreign materials. And I put their grain in a rubber tub so that feels safe too. And they don't really nibble on random things. But I couldn't rule it out 100% because symptoms would be so similar.


----------



## wannabfishin (Jan 31, 2014)

it wouldnt hurt to give him a magnet


----------



## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

Though not quite himself, he's looking a bit better today and eating some hay.


----------



## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Glad to hear he is doing better! Keep us posted, hopefully he pulls out of his funk. The magnet suggestion is a good one, do you know anything about how it works? It should hold any metal objects inside the steer in place so as not to cause any more damage. Rooting for you and your steer.


----------



## tree-farmer (Jul 5, 2015)

He seemed 98% normal this afternoon. He still seemed under the weather this morning but I gave the heifer a bit of grain this afternoon and he was trying to get in there. I distracted him with scratches because I think he should wait a bit longer but he's pretty much acting like himself again. I'm really happy because I was worried.
I had heard about hardware disease but not about magnets. I only have some rare earth magnets around here. They may be too small? They certainly would be strong enough. But a cow magnet as a preventative measure sure doesn't sound like a bad idea. I don't worry too much while I am feeding hay but once they are back on pasture it would be good insurance. Who doesn't have a few missing staples from their fence? We definitely do, and who knows what the snowplow fires into our fields...


----------



## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

I am not too sure what kind of magnet is used in the dairies for hardware disease but it would be worth looking into more. You could try running it along under his belly and sides, if the magnet sticks to your steer there is metal inside him. Keeping the magnet in place should prevent movement of the metal object, whatever it is. But other things like twine or rubber could cause problems too..

Glad to hear he is doing better though!!


----------



## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

You can get cattle magnets here: 
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_search_results.html

For some reason, the copy/paste thing isn't working right with Valley Vet. So I'm putting the magnet link here also:
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_search_results.html?gas=magnet

You'll need a way to restrain him so that you can put it in his throat with a balling gun (the plastic ones won't last long, but a stainless steel one will):
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_search_results.html

Google hardware disease in cattle to learn more about it.


----------

