dark stools in cattle

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Weird observation here. We just rotated our group of cows Sunday morning before church to a new plot that is loaded with buckhorn plantain (about 80%). We rotate about every two to three days, from one plot right next to another. Anyway, I noticed this morning while heat checking that one of the heifers in the group, just confirmed bred on Friday, had what looked like dark, dried blood all over her rump. Imagine a typical rump of cows on fresh grass, but the color was a dark red. I was in my work clothes, and minutes from leaving, so I decided to check it when I got home. So, tonight, we were heat checking and noted that several cows had the same colored stool on their rumps, and the piles in the pasture were a dark color, not light green. Can plantain cause this? I am at a loss as to why the cow pies would be so dark. When plantain is baled, you see it as a very dark color in the bale (not green like the grass), so that is what made me think plantain caused it. The cows are eating it just fine, no refusal of it. We just planted this field last fall, with orchard and clover. So, of course, it has a ton of clover, very little orchard and all of this plantain that just popped up from no where....
:help:

 

[regolith]

Call your vet.

Did I read that right - your cows normally produce light green poop?

 

[Nite Hawk]

Feeding beet root might cause a "funny" color, but other than that I think I might have some concerns...

 

[M.Magis]

I don't know anything about plantain. But I have noticed something very similar in the past when I put the cows on a pasture with a lot of maturing broom sedge. The manure itself had a faint, dark red tint to it. Broom sedge has that orange color to it when it's mature, so I'm assuming that's what caused the manure color, but I can't say for sure. I know that there's no buckleaf plantain in the pasture, so that wasn't it. There was a difference however, in that the manure was very dry. Similar to when feeding hay. I don't know if this is in any way related to what you're seeing, but I thought I'd mention it. If it's anything like what I saw, it sounds much more alarming than it looks. It was just something that caused some curiosity, it wasn't something that looked concerning.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Call your vet.

Did I read that right - your cows normally produce light green poop?

Well, certainly a lighter green that what we are currently seeing now. They are on a fescue/rye mix, with a lot of red clover. Their stools are typically lose and a lighter green color. Like the color of the grass. But they have switched to the darker green, almost dark red color. I have since talked to the extension and they have informed me that it can happen. They were more amazed that the cattle were actually eating buckhorn plantain, but my cattle seem to not mind! I just love poopology, it is amazing what it can tell you! They will be off this pasture by the end of the week, so we will see what happens with the stool. I will try to remember my good camera when I go out tonight to heat check and take some photos for you all :tiphat:
Oh, and I talked with our vet, he said to watch but if they have no other symptoms not to worry. This has been an amazing year with tons of the buckhorn in everyone's pasture. When you see it baled, it is a solid black color amongst the green and yellow grass stems...

 

[inyati13]

Fire Sweep, did you know there is a branch of paleontology that deals with fossil poop. If I remember right the coprolites are fossil feces.

 

[ibetyamissedme]

coccidiosis?

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

coccidiosis?

Good guess, but Cocci is usually bright red, fresh blood. The stools are of normal constancy, maybe a little firmer than the previous rotation (less grass - more plantain?), and there is no fever on the few I checked. We just moved them to a new section, but this one also has a ton of plantain so it will be another 4 or 5 days before we rotate off.

 

[ibetyamissedme]

coccidiosis?

Good guess, but Cocci is usually bright red, fresh blood. The stools are of normal constancy, maybe a little firmer than the previous rotation (less grass - more plantain?), and there is no fever on the few I checked. We just moved them to a new section, but this one also has a ton of plantain so it will be another 4 or 5 days before we rotate off.

In a feedlot coccidiosis rarely if ever presents as bright red fresh blood.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

The red stools disappeared not long after rotating off the pasture with buckhorn plantain. Weird observation, I wonder how often it occurs....

 

[Chris H]

The red stools disappeared not long after rotating off the pasture with buckhorn plantain. Weird observation, I wonder how often it occurs....

Some of these 'weeds' like plantain & chicory have higher mineral content than the normal forages. A change in the mineral content could cause a change in the appearance of the stool.