Heifer With Diarrhea

[cowgirl_up_47]

A week ago Sunday, one of our yearlings was found feet up by the feeder. It was cold out, and she was shivering. She wasn't able to get up herself, but we were able to roll her downhill and she was able to get up. After letting her steady herself, we walked her down to the barn.


Since then, she has had diarrhea. We gave her a dose(2 boluses) of Albon on Sunday, and another dose last Wednesday. We also gave her some Kaopectate and Probios on those days. She still has diarrhea. She also has a slight cough. Other than that, she is alert and eating and drinking normally.

Any ideas?

 

[rockridgecattle]

1. temperature
2. vaccinations
3. call a vet
4. Ration and ration changes
5 call a vet

 

[larryshoat]

Check her temp .

Larry

 

[Onthebit]

'Call a vet'---- This kinda tics me off! Last time I called a vet, it cost me 400$, now mind you it was for a horse. Time before that was to tell me a ewe was absolutly fine and that was 100$. Treated a cow for pink eye and had 4 preg. checked: 200$.......sometimes people just want to know if its something simple they are missing. I grew up on a veal farm....my father was a vet....sometimes he didn't know what the problem was and CALLED A VET...who charged him and didn't know either....so....shup w the call a vet deal if you can't offer advice! thankyou and good day!

 

[rockridgecattle]

Miss Onthebit,
I can readily dispense advice. But I choose not to. I choose to get the producer to do it so the producer learns how to do it right, use the right drugs, and get the right drug advice. A phone call to a vet that you have taken the time to cultivate a relationship with is usually free. Or the cost of a payphone. The vet should be the first line of defense for any livestock producer when the life of an animal is at stake, and you are trying to make money. II say this because, we are shooting in the dark when replying. The owner might end up waiting a few extra days trying CT solutions and that could delay the right and prper treatment.
I'm sorry if i have offended you but that is really too bad. Calling the vet is sound advice.
Do you know the persons husbandry habits? Do you know what they feed, how they feed, the weather? Do you know the history of the animals on the farm? Probably not, but the vet should.
Call the vet is sound advice so a professional can help the person out with professional advice. The up to date knowledge on drugs, and treatments. Please notice I also suggested other info. Info that was not present and needed in making a sound judgement call.
And DO NOT single me out on this, there are many people who say call the vet. A few good and seasoned posters come to mind
And a good day to you!

PS you might want to check out some of my prevous posts, say the first 1000, majority in health and nutrition and breeding and calving, and you would see that there are many posts with details on how to do what, what to do, and when to do it.
Rock Ridge

 

[kscowboy]

Sounds like you need some meds to address the the cough , infection , rather than treating the symptoms of the intestinal issues only. Might want to call your vet to get those medications as in a severe case like yours the feed store meds aren't going to be strong / fast acting enuf. Maybe a dose of manners might help also.

 

[Onthebit]

LOL I Really didn't mean to single you out, I just got sick of the 'call a vet' advice. Wasn't necessarily yours. Don't let the cold get to you, if it does though, better run to the doctor!

Ummm, that WAS A JOKE!

Miss Onthebit,
I can readily dispense advice. But I choose not to. I choose to get the producer to do it so the producer learns how to do it right, use the right drugs, and get the right drug advice. A phone call to a vet that you have taken the time to cultivate a relationship with is usually free. Or the cost of a payphone. The vet should be the first line of defense for any livestock producer when the life of an animal is at stake, and you are trying to make money. II say this because, we are shooting in the dark when replying. The owner might end up waiting a few extra days trying CT solutions and that could delay the right and prper treatment.
I'm sorry if i have offended you but that is really too bad. Calling the vet is sound advice.
Do you know the persons husbandry habits? Do you know what they feed, how they feed, the weather? Do you know the history of the animals on the farm? Probably not, but the vet should.
Call the vet is sound advice so a professional can help the person out with professional advice. The up to date knowledge on drugs, and treatments. Please notice I also suggested other info. Info that was not present and needed in making a sound judgement call.
And DO NOT single me out on this, there are many people who say call the vet. A few good and seasoned posters come to mind
And a good day to you!

PS you might want to check out some of my prevous posts, say the first 1000, majority in health and nutrition and breeding and calving, and you would see that there are many posts with details on how to do what, what to do, and when to do it.
Rock Ridge

 

[HerefordSire]

I am afraid the vet calling days are over. Anyone pricing cattle these days knows you get three vet visits for the cost of one healthy animal in exchange for one recovering. There is no net gain. If anything, we are left with the one that recovered unless the vet waits until you liquidate the recovering animal.

 

[rockridgecattle]

phone calls are still free and if the vet knows your herd, he/she can give well founded advice

 

[Workinonit Farm]

phone calls are still free and if the vet knows your herd, he/she can give well founded advice

In my situation I have found this to be the case. Having a good working relationship with the vet is very important, IMHO.

There are some vets out there that do charge for phone consults. Mine has not done so. So, when I think about the times I have had to fork over some money for on-farm visits (which is considerably less than office visits for small animals), then add in all the phone calls (I was not charged for), then divide that by the amount I have spent over the years its not a very large sum of money in total for the services I have recieved.

Katherine

 

[cowgirl_up_47]

Well, we talked to a vet. It wasn't our normal vet, but she said the heifer may need dewormer. She also said if we could get a stool sample and take it in, they could test it for parasites. We are going to deworm her with pour on tonight.

 

[rockridgecattle]

Thanks for the update. Are you going to take a sample in? If you are it would be best to have the fresh sample pre pour on. Once the pour on is on to late to test.

 

[cowgirl_up_47]

I don't think we are going to take a sample in. We had already put the pour-on on.

 

[dun]

Depending on the pour on it may not be effective against all worms. We had a calf with tapeworms and it took a different wormer. Only way we found out was with a stool specimen.

 

[cowgirl_up_47]

I was doing a little research, could it be coccidiosis?

 

[dun]

I was doing a little research, could it be coccidiosis?

That's the other reason for a stool specimen!

 

[cowgirl_up_47]

We went to get more meds for her today, Sunday and the vet won't do anything. When we got back, she was down. We gave her 2 boluses of Sustain III and some Corid in her water. We were able to get her up, but had to lift her ourselves to get her up. Once we got her up, she stayed up. She drank more water and ate some grain and treats. We brought another bale of hay over (she has plenty), and she ate some of that, too. We planned on staying until she layed back down, but after 2 hours, she was still up.

I am not sure if she still has diarrhea, she didn't go when we were there.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Angus Cowman]

I was doing a little research, could it be coccidiosis?

is there any blood in the stool?

A stool sample will tell and the pour on won't help coccidiosis

 

[cowgirl_up_47]

There is no blood in the stool. It is almost a beige-ish color.

 

[cowgirl_up_47]

We just went out there a little while ago. We thought we had lost her, but she was still alive. She was laid out on her side. We were able to roll her up and put a bale behind her, but couldn't get her up with the two of us. She didn't really want any water, but took a few gulps. She tried to eat some grain, but ended up spilling most of it. She also ate two small apples. She didn't want any treats. (she ate a lot of them last night, she was shown and she loves them)
Her stool was a little more firm this morning.