Coccidiosis, cattle

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HI, My cow has coccidiosis. He was moved to a friend's pasture and was carefully monitored. He did great for 1 week and then started being sick. Off feed, loss of cud, diahrea. He was bad, and then after some meds and a few days, improved. Then after a few days he was sick again and his stool tested positive this time for the coccidiosis. Got him better with sulfa boluses. He did good a few days again and how has the diahrea again. He was on a dry lot here at home prior to the move. So my question is how do we affectively treat this once and for all? Thanks for your help,

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), April 23, 2001

Answers

How old is the cow ? How much green grasss in new and old pasture ? When was the last time cattle where run on the new pasure.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), April 23, 2001.

The cow is 10 months old. I got him at three days and he was raised on dry lot with my goats. My friends pasture had sheep on it in August before she moved there. Then she bought a calf, 6 mon. old, the day before I brought my cow down, which was April 1st. So I'm thinking it was already on her pasture or her calf brought it. I read cows can be asymptomatic with this as they develop an immunity of sorts to it. He definitely has coccidiosis. I read three websites on the parasite and all his symptoms match and he had his stool tested. I was thinking we need to keep him on the sulfa boluses longer or maybe try the Amprolium corid. He was kept on a padock with mowed grass to prevent bloat, but he was on oat hay and some grain, too. I had him cut back from his ration here at home, but wasn't properly advised to take him off it completely. I know this stress of over grain contributed to his problem, but he wasn't visibly bloated, however he was passing grain. The vet had us take him off the oat hay and the grain and feed grass hay only. When his appetite returned he ate that, but not well, so we let him out to eat the mowed lot an hour a day. Thanks for your help.

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), April 23, 2001.

Corid is excellent for prevention, and after you finish another round of sulfa you could use it for prevention. You could also use a grain with a cocci med in it like decox, lasalocid or rumensen. Cocci is one of those catch 22 in animals, stress causes normal levels of both cocci oxycyts and worms to be activated. You moved him, which caused stress, his oxycyt level rose causing him to get diarrhea, he went onto fresh grass pasture that probably had a parasite load on it, and ingested fresh worm eggs, which have now multiplied. With the diarrhea and change of feed/grass he now has rumen acidosis, with no cud chewing, which further causes more diarrhea and stress to the system. You need to put him on a sulfa, worm him, and reinoculate his rumen with good hay and a probiotic product. Probios is sold in tubes for cattle, in fact everything we use for goats with this problem is cattle products. I like sulfaquinoxiline 20%, you could also use the bolus or Albon (dimethox). Sulfa's kill all stages of oxycyt where Amprolium (corid) only kills certain harmful stages, allowing the animal to bolster their own immunity to this. So as a prevention it is great. The last part of the catch 22 with cocci is the damage it does to the lining of the gut. Once diarrhea has set in, scar tissue sets up in the lining, making him unable to absorb nutrients in that section of intestine. Everyone has seen the pinched scruffy looking goats/calves etc at auction barns that are wet from diarrhea on their rear legs. Here in the south we are very aggressive with prevention. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 23, 2001.

Boy Vicki saved me some typing ! Follow above directions and all will be well .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), April 23, 2001.

Wow, thanks ladies. That's way more info than I got from my vet! He's had the probios already and he continues to get that. And he's still on the boluses, just restarted that Saturday night. My friend is consulting with a new vet that has moer dealings with the big animals, but I'm sure this is what he'll say. I put a post on here prior to moving him, but I din't get this "prevention" info, so that was my down fall. I've raised 7 other cows with no problems, but I've had them here on the dry lot and used goat milk, hay & grain for their entire diet. So this was all a "big, new thing," for me. Thanks again.

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), April 23, 2001.


Corid for 5 days.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), April 24, 2001.

Well, this has all been very interesting. My research and the new vets advice has confirmed what you all recommended. However, I also learned that the CORID in powder form, at $5 to treat 50 gals. of water is no longer available. Lambriar vet supply and three local feed stores confirmed that and one also said what I suspected, too cheap for the profiteers. The vet said it was a very effective treatment for coccidiosis, too. SO, I can get the liquid amprolium corid 600ml for $23. We are doing 3 sulfa boluses every 3 days for two weeks, as per new vets advice. I plan to follow that up with a CORID water treatment and also a worming. In the mean time, he's getting a boost in calories with a small amount of grain, a honey & bran mash, and cooked barley. He really needs to gain some weight, and I understand he's unable to absorb nutrition in the damaged areas of his intestinal lining. I sure need him to turn around and get on the weight gaining track. Hope this licks the buggers once and for all! Thanks again,

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), April 24, 2001.

Nancy:

Corid 9.6% Solution is still available from Jeffer's (800-533- 3377). A bit expensive though at $63.95 per gallon. Looks like one gallon would treat 800-gallons of water for treatment, or 1,600 gallons for prevention.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), April 25, 2001.


Thanks for the info Ken. I only have the one to treat, so I think I'll go for the smaller bottle. Now, my cow is constipated. The vet said it could be the honey. This really doesn't make sense to me, but we will take that out. Not sure how to get the extra calories in him now. The vet said the bran and barley were fine to continue feeding and he really gets after it! Any more suggestions? Thanks,

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), April 25, 2001.

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