Concerns with pour on Ivermectin..

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Whit

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Does anyone know if pour on Ivermectin can make cattle abort? Perhaps if given a bit too much or something? I ask because 2 of our cows and 1 of my uncle's aborted after we did them. It could have been other things that caused it but it was really coincidental that they all did so after we treated them. We have used pour on Ivermectin for many many years and not had a problem until this year. Any ideas??? Thanks!
 
It's not supposed to. The stress of handling might have caused a problem. There is also the possibility that if the cows were heavily infested, the ivermectin killed a lot of parasites and the cow became sick afterwards and aborted due to the illness, but that's probably a long shot. What kind of hay, supplements are you feeding them?
 
Thanks for the ideas. I highly doubt it was the stress from handling them as they were all quiet cows and we try to be as easy on them as possible. They were ran through only for the Ivermectin. The hay they're on is a mixture of native grasses, crested wheat grass, and alfalfa. Other than that they just have salt blocks and fresh water.
 
I think at this point, I would be more concerned with some sort of a disease, than the ivermectin. We've done cows for years with absolutely no problems. How many months pregnant are they?
 
Why the Ivermectin now? Where the cows badly infected? Biting lice maybe? Ivermectin is best used late Fall early Winter as cows go on supplemental feed.
I'm asking because the cows could have had bad parasite problems. And possibly you were late with the control. But by using the Ivermectin you may have prevented many aborts.
 
Whit":1bxr464n said:
Thanks for the ideas. I highly doubt it was the stress from handling them as they were all quiet cows and we try to be as easy on them as possible. They were ran through only for the Ivermectin. The hay they're on is a mixture of native grasses, crested wheat grass, and alfalfa. Other than that they just have salt blocks and fresh water.

What about vaccinations? With what and when were they vaccinated? Wouldn't hurt to ditch the salt blocks and replace it with loose mineral, although they'd have to be pretty deficient for that to cause an abortion I'd guess.
 
Sorry to confuse you, we did the cows early in winter and shortly after the 3 cows aborted. They were all in good shape and we saw minimal signs of parasites. They would have been about 4 months pregnant. All the other cows have been fine since. They were not vaccinated with anything. I only found this website now and thought I'd ask.... again sorry for the confusion! Thanks for the feedback.
 
No need to apologize for any question........

I've used Ivomec for years and never had any problems. There is probably something somewhere else going on. Bad hay? Moldy feed? Infections or disease?

With 3 abortions already, I would be getting the vet involved.
 
Whit":lio513f9 said:
Thanks for the ideas. I highly doubt it was the stress from handling them as they were all quiet cows and we try to be as easy on them as possible. They were ran through only for the Ivermectin. The hay they're on is a mixture of native grasses, crested wheat grass, and alfalfa. Other than that they just have salt blocks and fresh water.

I put the bull in with the cows in early July, use the pour on in Nov and June for a couple years now. No problems. I doubt it the Ivomectrin but you should be careful about how much you apply to each animal.

From your post above, I would be concerned about is the possible shortage of some critical trace mineral element as a potential source of your calving/abortion problems. A little mineral shortage can have a large effect on calving. You don't mention offering the cattle any minerals. Might be a good thing to discuss with a vet in your area.

Good luck.
 
Whit":111eor53 said:
Does anyone know if pour on Ivermectin can make cattle abort? Perhaps if given a bit too much or something? I ask because 2 of our cows and 1 of my uncle's aborted after we did them. It could have been other things that caused it but it was really coincidental that they all did so after we treated them. We have used pour on Ivermectin for many many years and not had a problem until this year. Any ideas??? Thanks!

I'm thinking it's highly unlikely that Ivermectin would cause an abortion. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, Ivermection is safe at 10 times the recommended dosage. It sounds like something else at play. Did you take the aborted calves/placentas to your vet for testing? 2 cows aborting would definitely raise a red flag for me, and I would want to know what was behind it.
 
msscamp":t7dnkw6x said:
Whit":t7dnkw6x said:
Does anyone know if pour on Ivermectin can make cattle abort? Perhaps if given a bit too much or something? I ask because 2 of our cows and 1 of my uncle's aborted after we did them. It could have been other things that caused it but it was really coincidental that they all did so after we treated them. We have used pour on Ivermectin for many many years and not had a problem until this year. Any ideas??? Thanks!

I'm thinking it's highly unlikely that Ivermectin would cause an abortion. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, Ivermection is safe at 10 times the recommended dosage. It sounds like something else at play. Did you take the aborted calves/placentas to your vet for testing? 2 cows aborting would definitely raise a red flag for me, and I would want to know what was behind it.


I'm with you on this one msscamp....... I attended a class on application and testing that was done with extremely high dosages of ivermectin on pregnant cattle, newborn calves, etc and the test results were very impressive in regards to mortality or other known problems. One well known manufacturer of ivermectin actually dipped newborn calves in the product and 2 year testing results did not indicate any problems. And on another note; there are too many people that use way too much dosages on cattle and get by with it and experience no visible problems. Still; we know that ivermectin is a chemical and label directions should always be followed.

Something else appears to be going on in the herd........ either a deficiency or a health condition.
 
Don't know if it would abort a calf, but if you give ANY grub killer in mid winter, it can be FATAL to the cow - unless grubs were killed in the fall at the proper timing for your area. Many cattle have been killed over the years, using a grubicide at the wrong time of the year.
 
we've not had any problems with ivermect, but we did have a serious problem last year with cows aborting. we investigated every angle there was. testing bulls, etc. all the animals are worked twice a year, and have free choice minerals. the only thing different we did was brought in another herd sire. it was his herd that we were losing our calves. but everything tested negative. this year so far, we have lost around 7, with early abortions, late abortions or not breeding back, again with just his herd. we have worked with everyone from our county to ms state professionals. and still no definitive answers. whatever it is, we are hoping this is the last year of dealing with this. it seems to us lately, the more we use preventive medicines, the more problems we have had. who knows what the answer is.
 
brenda":sous2rni said:
we've not had any problems with ivermect, but we did have a serious problem last year with cows aborting. we investigated every angle there was. testing bulls, etc. all the animals are worked twice a year, and have free choice minerals. the only thing different we did was brought in another herd sire. it was his herd that we were losing our calves. but everything tested negative. this year so far, we have lost around 7, with early abortions, late abortions or not breeding back, again with just his herd. we have worked with everyone from our county to ms state professionals. and still no definitive answers. whatever it is, we are hoping this is the last year of dealing with this. it seems to us lately, the more we use preventive medicines, the more problems we have had. who knows what the answer is.

Did you submit the placenta for testing, as well? The reason I'm asking is that there are some diseases that can only be identified from the placenta. I've been through the abortion storm with my goats, so I can relate to what you've been through.
 

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