Coccidia from chickens??

[Curtis36]

We have coccidia in our soil--we brought it in with dairy calves about 20 years ago. Every year I have to treat one or two calves with Sustain boluses--the youngest to get it has been about three weeks, the oldest is calves we are weaning, up to eight months (and it can cause a little bloat in the older calves, rarely). They usually get it around one or two months, I'd say. I have never had one show symptoms again after treating once--and the Sustain cures it immediately, at least it has every time. When weaning I usually put Corid in the water. I just be sure to take a good look at their backsides every couple of days, at least. We have never had any other problem--other than worms, in older animals--to cause the messy butt.
Very easy to cure, never recurs in the same animal (not for us, at least), once you get used to it it's not a big deal, just be sure to catch it quickly, you don't want it to get to the point of blood in the feces-- and of course the cleaner the corral/pasture, the better. But occasionally they will pick it up even in the cleanest of pastures, you never know!

Sustain is a sulfa right? i think I read that treated coccidia too somewhere, I am going to give it a try. Thanks. I think we will have to get used to using corid in the water or the pellets from now on too. We might move next years calves to a different building for a few years so the cysts in the barn pens have time to die, but I know we will still have it everwhere else ....*sigh*

 

[Lucky_P]

Curt,
yes, you may see flagellated protozoa on a direct fecal smear.
We do a flotation technique, using either a Sheather's sugar solution or a saturated NaN03 solution(back in the old days).
you may or may not find oocysts, depending upon the stage of development in the calf - I have seen them die before they start shedding, if the initial infective dose was high enough.
Yes, the Sustain boluses are a sulfa drug. Has some effect on the coccidia, but also diminishes problems associated with secondary bacterial invasion of the damaged mucosa.

 

[BMCC]

Thanks, Bez.
I try to have things straight when I post - but will readily admit that I've been wrong, or 'behind the times' on some stuff - and folks here thankfully don't hesitate to call me on it. I appreciate it - we all have things to learn.

Vets are just like anyone else. Sometimes we don't question 'conventional wisdom' (which may not be all that wise), and just fall in step and continue to parrot the old misinformation.
Earlier this fall, I saw a news release about anaplasmosis, quoting one of my grad school mentors who explained that the infection came from deer and was transmitted by horseflies. Wrong! There's no scientific evidence that whitetail deer are involved in maintenance or transmission of anaplasmosis to cattle, and in this part of the country, ticks are by far and away, the most important vector; biting flies of minimal concern with our strains of A.marginale.

Internet forums are a wonderful tool, but a lot of misinformation gets passed around, along with some good information; it would be nice if all posters were like you Lucky. This thread has been one with some very good information !

My experience has been that using sulfa boluses in combination with liquid Corid in a drench and in drinking water, per the mixing instructions is a pretty effective for treatment of coccidiosis in cattle.

 

[Lucky_P]

If you can control water consumption, Corid works well.
Mine water out of pond-fed tanks - or during the rainy season, also out of the ditches - so, I can't use Corid, and have to use the sulfa boluses.

One thing about the sustained-release sulfa boluses in larger (ruminating) animals - if they're really sick and not eating - and the rumen is not working normally, they'll just 'lie there'. Gotta have normal rumen motility for them to dissolve properly and get the drug into the intestinal tract so that it can be absorbed.

 

[PUXICO FARMER]

I lost 10 brown swiss bull calves straight off the dairy. They were in a pen all by themselves, was getting 2 bottles a day,had creep feed,good hay and a barn to get in. They were 1-2 weeks old when I got them and some were older than that. Lost everyone one of them. They had Coccidia and worms. could not get them over it. I would get them lined out and going then they get sick again. Treated the water with corrid, wormed them 2x,BVRD them,8 way blackleg. Gave them red cell. They didnt get it from my place. All in total 3 of us have lost 18 of these calves over a 3 month period. Calves would eat or drink except out of a bottle. Never have I had an experience like this before in my life. My holsteins out of the sale barns never got sick and have really done well. I will never have anymore brown swiss bottle calves.

 

[djinwa]

We have coccidia in our soil--we brought it in with dairy calves about 20 years ago. Every year I have to treat one or two calves with Sustain boluses--the youngest to get it has been about three weeks, the oldest is calves we are weaning, up to eight months (and it can cause a little bloat in the older calves, rarely). They usually get it around one or two months, I'd say. I have never had one show symptoms again after treating once--and the Sustain cures it immediately, at least it has every time. When weaning I usually put Corid in the water. I just be sure to take a good look at their backsides every couple of days, at least. We have never had any other problem--other than worms, in older animals--to cause the messy butt.
Very easy to cure, never recurs in the same animal (not for us, at least), once you get used to it it's not a big deal, just be sure to catch it quickly, you don't want it to get to the point of blood in the feces-- and of course the cleaner the corral/pasture, the better. But occasionally they will pick it up even in the cleanest of pastures, you never know!

The life cycle of the coccidia is being completed when diarrhea appears. So I wouldn't give your treatment all the credit for the cure - most would get better anyway, even without treatment.

http://www.cabnr.unr.edu/resources/catt ... 001/06.htm

Coccidiosis as a disease may run its course and subside, without treatment. Symptoms usually disappear after the multiplication stage of the parasite has passed, by this time you've already taken a significant performance loss. Several medications are effective against coccidiosis if given early in the course of the disease, before symptoms appear.

However, by the time diagnosis can be made, the critical stage is past because the protozoa has gone through its life cycle and treatment is not effective. It is too late to halt the infection, but it is necessary to prevent later outbreaks. Supportive treatment may still be necessary to save calves, to prevent dehydration and to ward off possible secondary diseases that may result from weakened condition.

There is also misunderstanding about how to treat the disease. The clinical signs subside when the multiplication stage of the protozoa is past. Many treatments have been credited with causing "recovery" and are recommended without taking this factor into account. Medications commonly used for treatment have very little effect on the late stages of the coccidia. The only effective treatment for the already sick animal is supportive therapy (fluids) and antibiotics to ward off secondary infections.

 

[mjnetex]

I have never had an animal recover without treatment, the diarrhea will become bloody if the calf is not treated, that's been my experience. I read somewhere once that if it reached the bloody stage that the intestine could have permanent damage. Maybe I have a particularly nasty strain.......

 

[Curtis36]

I believe there could be permanent damage even if they don't show any symptoms

Reduced feed conversion anyway

 

[thommoos]

Funny thing I lost my Bull and a cow this past summer to it, most of the herd was kind of weak from it. I had gotten a bale of hay from an diffeerent source. Something happened real qick to cause them to up and die in 3 days. I had feed them and gave a this bale of hay then 2 days later I was called home. Tried to save him but no luck. so now I keep a bovatec block out along with minerals.

 

[Lucky_P]

In a herd or group of calves/cattle, the ones with clinical disease - diarrhea, sometimes bloody - are easy to spot, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. If you're seeing clinically-affected calves - or even losing some - the majority (if not all) of the others are also infected but may not be exhibiting visible evidence of disease(diarrhea, dehydration, etc.), and the economic loss from decreased performance in those non-clinical calves is actually larger than the loss associated with death of individual animals, in most cases.

Damage to the intestinal mucosa from coccidiosis is not permanent. If the calves survive, the affected gut will eventually return to normal. But, performance may have been so significantly impacted that they never 'catch up' with their contemporaries.

Some coccidia species are more pathogenic than others. In cattle, Eimeria bovis and Eimeria zurnii are the worst. Other species, less damaging. Some coccidia species in some animal species are virtually nonpathogenic - we may see large numbers of oocysts in fecals, but no evidence of clinical disease.

 

[Curtis36]

In a herd or group of calves/cattle, the ones with clinical disease - diarrhea, sometimes bloody - are easy to spot, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. If you're seeing clinically-affected calves - or even losing some - the majority (if not all) of the others are also infected but may not be exhibiting visible evidence of disease(diarrhea, dehydration, etc.), and the economic loss from decreased performance in those non-clinical calves is actually larger than the loss associated with death of individual animals, in most cases.

Damage to the intestinal mucosa from coccidiosis is not permanent. If the calves survive, the affected gut will eventually return to normal. But, performance may have been so significantly impacted that they never 'catch up' with their contemporaries.

Some coccidia species are more pathogenic than others. In cattle, Eimeria bovis and Eimeria zurnii are the worst. Other species, less damaging. Some coccidia species in some animal species are virtually nonpathogenic - we may see large numbers of oocysts in fecals, but no evidence of clinical disease.

I am so glad you answered my post Lucky. You have been VERY informative! :clap: