Extention agent would be a good place to start. If they don't do the test, I'm sure they can point you in the right direction as to who does.
Hope you get it figured out soon, how long till you know any results from having the calf posted?
(sound like a lil kid, "how many more miles?") but I'm sure your on pins and needles waitin for an answer.
this is just an off the wall guess, but how old is the baler, and does it have any paint on it, could it be lead poisonin?
did a search:
Cattle-Intakes of greater then 6 mg/kg body weight can lead to chronic poisoning and intakes greater than 10 mg/kg BW may cause acute lead poisoning.
Symptoms of Toxicity
The general symptoms of lead poisoning are universal although more informaton is available on poisoning in humans. The first symptoms of lead toxicity are very general and nonspecific. These include nausea, sluggishness, vomiting, painful gastrointestinal irritation, diarrhea, loss of appetite, colic, weakness and dehydration. These symptoms are common to many disorders and can often lead to inaccurate diagnosis.
Some symptoms more specific to human poisoning include discoloration of the lips and skin attributed mild secondary anemia, a lead line on the gums, developmental disorders, sterility and abortion. There have also been some prelimiunary reports indicating that chronic lead poisoning can also lead to chronic nephritis and premature development of arteriosclerosis.
More severe cases of poisoning can produce symptoms including convulsions,"wrist drop" or external limb paralysis, coma and ultimately death.
another article I found says:
A case of poisoning by chronic ingestion of lead in calves with a peracute clinical course is described. The source of lead was a prime coat of white lead on old white painted doors. These doors originated from an institution for aged people and had been used as pen walls for fattening calves. About 12 weeks later five animals died within hours after onset of CNS-symptoms. The post mortem examination of three animals revealed one with multifocal laminar edema and mild vasculitis in the cerebrocortex, one with acid fast intranuclear inclusion bodies in the renal tubular epithelial cells and one without lesions. Liver, kidney and abomasal contents of two animals were analysed for lead content. The concentration was diagnostic for lead poisoning in one case only.
Good luck with finding out what's goin on. We'll be waiting to hear what ya find out.