Cows losing weight

[jcissell]

I have 2 cows that have lost weight pretty drastically. They seemed ok and after having calves their ribs and hip bones started showing pretty bad and they had bad diareha. I also had another cow that died about a week ago with these same symptoms but when she walked it sounded like her stomach was rolling. We have wormed these cows recently but not before we started noticing the weight loss. I read a message saying that only IvomecPlus and Valbazen take care of liver flukes. Could this be the problem? I am not for sure the brand wormer we used. It was a generic brand that tractor supply had. I asked a guy there about it and he said they run about 800 head and they use the generic brand with no problems.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[Ryan]

We had a cow with similar symptoms, immediately after calving. Found out it was Acorn Toxicity. She got it from eating too many acorns. We gave her some LA200, and kept her in on grain for a few week and she and calf were okay...

I dont know anything about Liver Flukes, though...

Hope this helps some,
Ryan

 

[jcissell]

I don't think any of these cows come in contact with any acorns. Thanks.


Josh

 

[pd]

Do you live in a copper defficient area?

There is a special pour on for liver fluke.

If it was me I would get a faeces sample and send it off for a FEC particularly asking to test for fluke. Also talk to vet to get a blood sample done to test for mineral deficiency.

You have to be very careful with copper as if it is not deficient you can create toxicity and kill the animal - so don't give copper without doing a blood test first.

 

[TheBullLady]

Unfortunately it sounds like Johnes. Check a recent thread that has the subject :" Need some help with this one"

 

[jcissell]

I just talked to my dad and he said he doesn't think it is something that serious. He thinks it is b/c of worms. He said there were about 2 or 3 cows that died last year with the same exact symptoms. The stomach of the cow that died sounded like it was rolling really bad when she walked. Kinda like a noise like when your stomach growls except alot worse. Is that a symptom of Johnes?

Josh

 

[Dee]

I am unsure if the growling stomach is a sign of Johnes, but the diarrea and weight loss especially after stress like calving are symptoms. http://www.johnes.com has all the info you'll need.

 

[jcissell]

I just finished looking at that page. It looks like johnes is a possibility. We don't keep many calves but I do know for sure that one cow I am talking about is one my grandfather decided to keep several years ago and her mother is dead.

Josh

 

[txshowmom]

I think that Johnes is a bigger threat to the cattle industry than people think. Seems to be a lot of cattle just on this board with possible Johnes in their herd. Kinda scary!

 

[TheBullLady]

Johnes is much more widespread than people think. I'd be willing to bet anyone that has been in the cattle business has had it in their herd at one time or another. Since the symptoms are "bad doing" cattle, the cows would probably have been culled. Nonetheless, they have passed through the herd.