Cow with diarrhea

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Lone Elm

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Meno, Oklahoma
Of the 10 new cows that have been turned out on pasture for the last several weeks, one seems to have a problem with chronic diarrhea. She is maintaining weight, but not really gaining like the others. Should I be more concerned than I am at this point? I'm new to the discussion boards, so please have some patience as I learn how to use them correctly. Thanks.
 
:welcome: from Virginia.
Get a sample and have a vet check it. Yes, you should be concerned. Catch it before it effects the rest of the cows or the one that has it gets worse. Could be a lot of things including hardware but the only way to know is to get a sample.
 
Is the determination of not gaining based on scale weight or eyeball weight? Is the pasture very lush or have much legume content? Some animals just always have the squirts when on fresh green grass.
 
I'm just guessing the weight by looking. The pasture has a variety of grasses - native, bermuda, crab and there's plenty of it. There are no legumes available. They also have adequate mineral, salt, and fresh water. It just seems unusual that her digestive system would respond so differently than the other cows, but I guess people are different so why couldn't cows be different too?
 
Lone Elm":1j3ny5sk said:
I'm just guessing the weight by looking. The pasture has a variety of grasses - native, bermuda, crab and there's plenty of it. There are no legumes available. They also have adequate mineral, salt, and fresh water. It just seems unusual that her digestive system would respond so differently than the other cows, but I guess people are different so why couldn't cows be different too?
With no other signs I wouldn;t be concernced. If it really bothers you, you could move her to another area and feed dry grass hay for a cople of days and see if it goes away. We have one cow that if she's on pasture you better not get behind her just in case case coughs/farts/sneezes,whatever. Since she weans gnerally the heaviest calf and breeds back first service I just ignore it.
 
dun":22f9ahpz said:
With no other signs I wouldn;t be concernced. If it really bothers you, you could move her to another area and feed dry grass hay for a cople of days and see if it goes away. We have one cow that if she's on pasture you better not get behind her just in case case coughs/farts/sneezes,whatever. Since she weans gnerally the heaviest calf and breeds back first service I just ignore it.

Same here. I've got a couple that can't walk without squirting a little with each step. They are absolute pigs when getting put on the grass, and always look like if they take one more bite, they will explode.
 
Most of mine do that on new pasture or on a high protein grass. It is a good thing in my opinion. Old timers would tell you the quality of grass based on cow pie height.
 
if it's real watery it could be johns disease. if she starts losing weight i would get a vet quickly as johns is contagious. some guys have it in their herd & still sell cows to unsuspecting people. where did you buy these cows from.
 
The cows were purchased individually at a production auction in Kansas. They all came with health papers. The cow in question is not losing weight, as far as I can tell, by looking at her. I'm keeping a close eye on her, at this point. Her manure is not watery, just loose - kind of like the cows get when put on wheat pasture. :)
 
After many observations of this cow ( she is about 1 month from calving) I noticed that when she was lying down something was protruding from her. It was her rectum. After consulting with a vet friend, it has been concluded that she has a prolapsed rectum. The continual diarrhea occurs because she has lost the muscle tone needed to shut off the flow of digested material. This has been a problem since we bought her and I'm sure that's the reason she was sold in the first place. Anyway, has anyone had a cow with this problem, and what are the alternatives (if any) and further complications that can be expected? Thanks for the input.
 
If the rectum protrudes while standing, you could band it. If its only lying down, I dont know what to tell you. We have had the same problem with pigs, but those were prolapsed all the time.
I would let her calve, and see if she improves. Could just be the added pressure of the unborn calf causing the prolapse
 
jerry27150":fztd61pm said:
if it's real watery it could be johns disease. if she starts losing weight i would get a vet quickly as johns is contagious. some guys have it in their herd & still sell cows to unsuspecting people. where did you buy these cows from.


Heard of Johnes but never johns. Is that the same thing?
 
A light, mild, temporary case of scours is typical when cattle are moved to fresh green pasture for grazing. Especially is there is high moisture content in the grass and other plants they are eatting. However, there are several warning signs that you want to watch out for, to make sure the scours does not become more severe- which can lead to other additional problems.

1. What is the constistancy of their feces? Is it watery, meaning more water than feces and VERY liquidy? Is there SOME consistancy to it, meaning its the normal color just more liquid than firm? Is there mucous or blood in the feces? If its the second of what I mentioned, this is normal during the first few days or couple of weeks as their bodies and digestive systems because more adjusted to the newer diet. If its the first or or third of what I mentioned, then the scours are more severe and you will need to take measures to prevent it from getting worse. I will mention what to do further in this post.

2. Are they becoming more emaciated (thin)? Meaning are they starting to lose their body fat and muscle content in their body. If this is the case, you will need to take measure to prevent it from getting worse.

3. Is their coat (fur) becoming more dull and rough in texture? If so, measures will need to be taken to prevent further illness.

4. Are they becoming dehydrated? Are they drinking their normal amount of water?

5. Are you supplementing their grazing with other feed such as grain, or hay? If so, stop feeding the grain, and do not feed them hay such as alfalfa, timothy, or orchard grass hay. Just feed them regular grass hay.

6. Are they standing humped up with legs close under the belly and back partially arched? If so, this means they are suffering abdominal pain.

Treatments:
Depending on the severity of scours, add water soluable oxytetracyline. This antibiotic is targeted towards treating scours. Do not add sulpha antibiotics if the cattle have severe scours, as this can damage the kidneys and can kill the animals if the animal is severely dehydrated or has a low temperature (regular temp is 101.5 degress F), anything below 100 degrees F is serious and means the animal has hypothermia (which can be caused by stress from moving the animal, or severe weather changes). Also add electolites to the water, such as "Bounce Back" to add the vitamins, minerals, and other needed things such as microbials for the digestive system which severe scours can kill off within the digestive tract. Severe dehydration may mean you will also have to supplement with subcutanious IV injections. If the body temperature gets too low, you may have to move the cow(s) into a barn where you can get their body temperatures up. Heat lamps are the easiest way to do this, if its a calf- you will probably have to cover with a blanket, possible give a hot water bath to raise the body temperature. You can also give the animal kaopectate or pepto-bismol to help stop the diahrea.

Severe scours can lower the body's immune system and leave the cattle open to secondary infections, which is another good reason to place the animal on electrolites and antibiotics. In some cases, the animal can become so ill it can contract pnuemonia and die within hours or several days. This is why keeping a close eye on the animal when they start showing signs of scours to help prevent secondary problems, illness, and possibly death. If you can afford it, it is advised that at first signs you call a vet.

Hope this helps.
 
QueenSidhe":338ggfm8 said:
A light, mild, temporary case of scours is typical when cattle are moved to fresh green pasture for grazing. Especially is there is high moisture content in the grass and other plants they are eatting. However, there are several warning signs that you want to watch out for, to make sure the scours does not become more severe- which can lead to other additional problems.

1. What is the constistancy of their feces? Is it watery, meaning more water than feces and VERY liquidy? Is there SOME consistancy to it, meaning its the normal color just more liquid than firm? Is there mucous or blood in the feces? If its the second of what I mentioned, this is normal during the first few days or couple of weeks as their bodies and digestive systems because more adjusted to the newer diet. If its the first or or third of what I mentioned, then the scours are more severe and you will need to take measures to prevent it from getting worse. I will mention what to do further in this post.

2. Are they becoming more emaciated (thin)? Meaning are they starting to lose their body fat and muscle content in their body. If this is the case, you will need to take measure to prevent it from getting worse.

3. Is their coat (fur) becoming more dull and rough in texture? If so, measures will need to be taken to prevent further illness.

4. Are they becoming dehydrated? Are they drinking their normal amount of water?

5. Are you supplementing their grazing with other feed such as grain, or hay? If so, stop feeding the grain, and do not feed them hay such as alfalfa, timothy, or orchard grass hay. Just feed them regular grass hay.

6. Are they standing humped up with legs close under the belly and back partially arched? If so, this means they are suffering abdominal pain.

Treatments:
Depending on the severity of scours, add water soluable oxytetracyline. This antibiotic is targeted towards treating scours. Do not add sulpha antibiotics if the cattle have severe scours, as this can damage the kidneys and can kill the animals if the animal is severely dehydrated or has a low temperature (regular temp is 101.5 degress F), anything below 100 degrees F is serious and means the animal has hypothermia (which can be caused by stress from moving the animal, or severe weather changes). Also add electolites to the water, such as "Bounce Back" to add the vitamins, minerals, and other needed things such as microbials for the digestive system which severe scours can kill off within the digestive tract. Severe dehydration may mean you will also have to supplement with subcutanious IV injections. If the body temperature gets too low, you may have to move the cow(s) into a barn where you can get their body temperatures up. Heat lamps are the easiest way to do this, if its a calf- you will probably have to cover with a blanket, possible give a hot water bath to raise the body temperature. You can also give the animal kaopectate or pepto-bismol to help stop the diahrea.

Severe scours can lower the body's immune system and leave the cattle open to secondary infections, which is another good reason to place the animal on electrolites and antibiotics. In some cases, the animal can become so ill it can contract pnuemonia and die within hours or several days. This is why keeping a close eye on the animal when they start showing signs of scours to help prevent secondary problems, illness, and possibly death. If you can afford it, it is advised that at first signs you call a vet.

Hope this helps.

That would not help if it is johnes one iota as nothing you do will help and you will have to give them a lead innoculation.
 

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