Cough and fever going through the barn

[nycowgirl]

I'm pretty new to the cow thing, so bear with me.
Our 3 month old calf started to cough, was lethargic, and running a 105 fever. I called the vet and she recommended some banamine and excenel. Treated him for 5 days with excenel and 3 with the banamine. His temp is normal and he is quite active again. He still has an occasional "loose chunky" cough. It sounds like whatever was in his lungs has broken up.

Now I'm noticing some others (we have 13 aging from 2 weeks to 2 years) have that lethargic look and are starting the single dry sounding cough.

Does anyone out there have experience with Excenel? Am I likely to be treating the whole barn?

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Never heard of it have heard and used nexcel a drug you mix.with sterile water are you bringing these calves in from a sale barn. and have you quarantine the sick calf away from the others :?:

 

[milkmaid]

I wouldn't use Excenel on a respiratory problem. For that matter...I've never been that impressed with Excenel's effectiveness on any problem. Regardless, to treat 5 days in a row with Excenel and he still doesn't seem well means, to me, that it's not effective against whatever you're dealing with, so you need something else.

I'd go with Baytril or Nuflor on that calf; those are some of your best choices for respiratory. Nuflor will probably be cheaper, Baytril the same as Excenel or more expensive.

Naxcel and Excenel are the same thing, just a different formation. Excenel comes premixed and can be stored at either room temperature or 'fridge, I believe; Naxcel has to be mixed and then stored in a freezer or it loses its potency.

Just a dry cough doesn't bother me too much, it's when you can hear something in their lungs when they cough/breathe, or they're frequently doing that heavy cough that I get worried. You may or may not end up treating your whole herd - I'd just treat on an as-needed basis unless you feel there's grounds for a heavy dose of "prevention". So far it doesn't sound like it.

 

[dun]

I wouldn't use Excenel on a respiratory problem. For that matter...I've never been that impressed with Excenel's effectiveness on any problem. Regardless, to treat 5 days in a row with Excenel and he still doesn't seem well means, to me, that it's not effective against whatever you're dealing with, so you need something else.

I'd go with Baytril or Nuflor on that calf; those are some of your best choices for respiratory. Nuflor will probably be cheaper, Baytril the same as Excenel or more expensive.

Naxcel and Excenel are the same thing, just a different formation. Excenel comes premixed and can be stored at either room temperature or 'fridge, I believe; Naxcel has to be mixed and then stored in a freezer or it loses its potency.

Just a dry cough doesn't bother me too much, it's when you can hear something in their lungs when they cough/breathe, or they're frequently doing that heavy cough that I get worried. You may or may not end up treating your whole herd - I'd just treat on an as-needed basis unless you feel there's grounds for a heavy dose of "prevention". So far it doesn't sound like it.

It's the cough with the lethargy that would be my concern. If they're acting puny, if they cough or not, hit them with Nuflor or the like. We only use Excenel for footrot so don;t know how it works for respritoryl. If they're inside most of the time, unless it's a really wide open barn, htat could be a share of the problem. Even little bottle calves as long as they're dry can handle an amazing amount of cold, it they're getting either straight milk or a high quality 20-20 milk replacer.
Having a way to isolate any calf that isn;t doing well is a must. Repritory problems can zip through a bunch of calves a lot faster then you think.

dun

 

[nycowgirl]

We are doing our best to separate the coughers from the others, but if one more starts we will have no where to put that one. Milkmaid, thanks for the excenel opinion. I talked to the vet in the spring about pnemonia, and even then she was saying the excenel was the way to go. From reading these boards I was thinking the opinion would be for the baytril or nuflor. Looks like I'll be heading back to the vet. And I paid $85 for the excenel! OUCH!

Also, has anyone had any luck using good old LA200 with this? Just thought I'd attempt to save some $ if you thought it would be worth a try.

Thanks again,
Amy

 

[nycowgirl]

The calves are in the barn full time now that the weather is colder, but the rest run in and out. We've gone to great lenghts to make sure none of them are in a draft.

 

[got_cows?]

We have had excellent results with Excenel. Our vet too recommended it for pneumonia. We also used it when we had Rota/Carona virus run through our calves (before we started vaccinating for it) and we didn't lose one after we started treatment.
If your first calf seemed to recover with that treatment that is what I would stick with it.
Good luck.

 

[dun]

If you have confidence in the your vet and that was what was recommended and you've already go it on hand, there's no reason to change.
Drafts stagnant air and damp are the main problems that will cause a calf to get sick fast.
The calf that's well but still has a cough may have scarred it's lungs from waiting to long to get started on treatment.

dun

dun

 

[milkmaid]

Also, has anyone had any luck using good old LA200 with this? Just thought I'd attempt to save some $ if you thought it would be worth a try.

I had/have a 4 month old holstein calf come down with pnemonia yesterday. I stopped by my vet's to see if he had some Baytril...nope. No Nuflor at the clinic either, and I used the last of the Nuflor I had on another calf.

He suggested I go with LA200 + sulfa boluses and see if that wouldn't do the trick. Says he can usually get that to clear up about 70% of cases, and then he only has to use the more expensive stuff (Baytril, etc) on those few calves that don't respond to LA200/sulfas.

So I gave the calf oxytetracycline and sulfa last night...wasn't impressed with how she looked this morning. Still alive, up, and eating, but I could hear her breathing across the barn and I really didn't like that cough. I hadn't really thought the oxytet/sulfa would work for her, as it was more than just "mild" pnemonia last night. Stopped by the other vet's this morning for Baytril and loaded her up...will see how that works.