COUGHING CALF

[starlink]

I AM RAISING 4 CALVES ON A BOTTLE, ONE COUGHS A LOT, ESPECIALLY AFTER EATING, OTHERS RANDOMLY. I AM IN CERECENTLY AFTER PENNICILLIN? I DID NOT NOTICE AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE, BUT DID NOT SPECIFICALLY CHECK IT. SHE EATSNTRAL TEXAS, WHERE THEY HAD A NIGHT OR TWO IN A STORM TWO WEEKS AGO. IT IS RATHER WARM, 70s AND 80s MOSTLY. RECENT NIGHTS 50s. NOW THEY HAVE A BARN TO GO INTO. AGES ARE ABOUT THE SAME 1 1/2 MOs,(SHE'S THE SMALLEST) 100-135 LBS. I READ A YEAR-OLD FORUM, SIMILAR TO MY PLIGHT, WHERE NUFLOR OR BAYTRIL WAS RECOMMENDED OVER MYCOTIL AND LA200. I ALREADY GAVE HER (AND THE OTHERS) 1cc PEN-AQUEOS 3 DAYS IN A ROW, ENDING 05/14/06. SHOULD ANY OF THESE BE GIVEN, SO , IS ACTIVE, LOOKS HEALTHY, OTHERWISE. SHOULD ALL OF THE CALVES GET A DOSE OF SOME RESPIRATORY MEDICINE?

 

[msscamp]

I AM RAISING 4 CALVES ON A BOTTLE, ONE COUGHS A LOT, ESPECIALLY AFTER EATING, OTHERS RANDOMLY.

Calves cough occasionally, particularly when they are nursing a bottle and get greedy. How old are these calves? Are their eyes clear and bright or cloudy and dull? Are their ears drooping, are they alert? Do they run, buck, kick and play or lay around and seem listless or apathetic? Are they eating and drinking their bottles or are they not interested? You haven't provided enough information to be able to even hazard a guess, much less a possible diagnoses. 1 cc of penicillin is an extreme sub-dose and won't do anything except make the bacteria (assuming they are ill and it is of bacterial origin) resistant to penicillin. All the antibiotics in the world won't touch a viral infection, though, and the biggest respiratory disorder - especially with wide temperature fluctuations from day to night - is pnemonia which can be bacterial or viral. That having been said, I like Baytril for respiratory disorders, but try to make sure that is what you're dealing with (as opposed to drinking too fast and choking) before you treat and follow the dosing recommendations as listed on the pamphlet that comes with the medicine!

 

[QuickDraw]

we have always almost automatically given a shot of LA200 to our calves when we notice any ailment...about 90% of the time it works and they get better...the 10% it doesnt we move on to more serious measures..id say give them all a dose of LA and see what happens in a couple days...also it could just be the pen they are in...i used to work in a dairy facility where we had upto 50 calves in the same area but in small seperate pens...youd walk in and theyd all stand up and stir up the straw and pretty soon you could hear some coughing...thats all it really was...dust...maybe her beeing the smallest she is affected by it worse cause she is pushed around and behind the others right where the dust is...either way...try the LA and see what happens....best of luck..

Alex

 

[ctlbaron]

I've got one on the bottle now that does the same thing. Keep that bottle low, I mean low. Make him put his head way down to drink. It seems like some calves aren't able to shut off their windpipe tight enough to keep milk out. Just keep the bottle low and see if it doesn't help.

 

[Alice]

If a nipple hole is so big that the milk runs out of it any larger than the size of an 18 guage needle, I quit using it. I don't have the time or patience to try to figure out if calf is coughing because the nipple hole is too big or if the calf is coughing because it has a respiratory problem.

When I had 80 baby holsteins in hutches at one time, if one coughed more than once...like a whole string of "cough, cough, cough," it got a shot, whether it was after eating or not. I'd give the nuflor every other day for 3 days. If that didn't help, I'd switch to a different antibiotic. Sometimes nuflor works...sometimes exenel...sometimes even tylosin. And with that I'd also give it a shot of banamine.

And push the microbials after every single shot.

Alice

 

[starlink]

FIRST, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED! I LOST SOME INFO WHEN I CUT AND PASTED. I AM IN CENTRAL TEXAS. THE CALVES EAT WELL, EXTREMELY WELL, EAGERLY! THEY ARE ACTIVE, A BIT TEARY-EYED, BUT THIS COMES AND GOES AS I TREAT WITH TETRACYCLINE SALVE. BUT IN THE EYES ARE CLEAN AND BRIGHT. THE COATS LOOK WELL, SHINY, HEALTHY. THE CALVES RUN AND PLAY, ESP. WHEN WE HAD COOL WEATHER BLOW IN... THEY ARE IN A SMALL CORRAL-30X60 FEET, DIRT-FLOOR (DUSTY) BARN. THEY EAT GRASS AND PURINA STARTENA SWEET FEED. THEY ARE 125-150 LBS (125 COUGHS MOST). SO THAT IS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THEM. AGAIN, THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY FOR YOUR ANSWERS. I'LL KEEP TREATING THEM...

 

[starlink]

(QUOTE)...1 cc of penicillin is an extreme sub-dose ...
I WAS TOLD AT THE FEED STORE THAT 1CC WAS THE DOSE, EVEN THE INSTRUCTION SHEET FROM THE PEN-AQUEOUS SAID 1CC PER 100 POUNDS BODY WEIGHT; AND TO STOP AT 4 DAYS. WELL, MY WIFE WROTE TO SEVERAL RUSSIAN VETERINARIAN SITES, THE DOCTORS RIDICULED THE SMALL DOSE, ALSO. SOME SAID EVERY 4-6 HOURS; ONE SAID IT WAS "LAST-CENTURY"! YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, IF VIRAL, ANTIBIOTICS ARE NOTHING. A LOCAL VET SAID I SHOULD TRY LA200 FOR A SPELL (AS OPPOSED TO $$$ BRINGING IT TO HER!) THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER.

 

[starlink]

And push the microbials after every single shot.

Alice

PARDON MY IGNORANCE! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?? THANKS!

 

[milkmaid]

Microbials = Probiotic. Good bacteria for the gut - antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria indiscriminately and you have to replenish the good.

As to the dose of penicillin - it's not the AMOUNT as in # of cc's that makes it a high dose or a low dose. You need to look at the CONCENTRATION of antibiotic per mL and take into account the STRENGTH of the individual drug. For example, 5mLs/100lbs of oxytet100 (100mg/mL) is perfect. 5mLs/100lbs of Draxxin (also 100mg/mL) is way too much.

Penicillin is classified as "units", and if I remember correctly, the standard short-acting Penn G procaine is 150,000 units per mL. The long acting Penn G procaine-benzathine is 150,000 units of penn-procaine plus 150,000 units of penn-benzathine per mL. So the long acting penn would require about half the dose and about half as frequently as the short acting penn.

Clear as mud? LOL.

You are actually correct, because the standard "Twin Pen" - long lasting penn - IS listed as 2mLs per 150lbs. So if you're using the short acting and it says 1mL per 100lbs, then you're right. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

 

[msscamp]

Milkmaid, you're absolutely correct to point out the different kinds of penicillin and I was irresponsible in not stating what kind of penicillin I was talking about. My apologies, Starlink, that should not have happened. I should have also stated that it has been suggested by several vets we trust to slightly overdose when using short-acting penicillin for respiratory illnesses - I did not do that either. I apologize for my oversights.