Coccidiosis question

[cowcrazy]

We had a heifer diagnosed with coccidiosis and will be treating her with amprolium.  Has anyone had any experience with amprolium?  Specifically, have you drenched, put it in the water trough or given the pelleted feed? I am just wondering what is the most effective and easiest way to tackle this problem.  Also,  she could possibly be bred.  Could this cause her to abort or present problems with her pregnancy? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[CPL]

How long has she had the symptoms and is she in with any other calves/cattle?

The good news is that if recognized fairly early enough, coccidiosis treatment is highly effective. The coccidia has an extended life cycle, and that is why you may want to treat the whole herd (or those in her pen) as well because they may be infected but not showing any visible symptoms yet.

I have always moved the calves into a separate pen and then put it in a water tank. You should start to see a difference in a few days.

 

[cowcrazy]

CPL-
Thank you for responding to my post. We noticed some mucus/blood in her stool two days ago.  She has been in with other cattle, so we will be treating all of them. If I understand it correctly, they ingest the parasite with their feed or hay.  I am guessing that with all the rain we have had, that maybe she ate some hay that could have gotten feces on it?  We run a pretty closed herd, but had sent her and another heifer off to be bred.  I am wondering if that was where she picked it up.  Thanks, again! 

 

[Show Heifer]

Easiest and effective way to treat is in the water. If I recall correctly, for 7 days. DO NOT cut it short!
She could have picked it up at another farm. Very possible.
If it were me, I would treat the entire pen (even if they didn't travel with the other heifer). Anything that is exposed to her needs to be treated.
No problem with her being pregnant.
Then keep an eye on her down the road, as I have found (at least in sheep) that once the lot is infected, coccidi can reinfect in times of stress...

Good Luck.

 

[kanshow]

Also, get her on a feed with Bovatec as I believe that is suppose to help keep it under control...  you still need to treat as they've said tho.

 

[BrechtCattleCo]

I second everything that has been said, I had a steer with it last year and I put it in the water and it worked like a charm!

 

[EWSC]

  I also agree with everything the others have posted. I would get a top dress on the feed to help prevent it from coming back.

 

[CAB]

There are different concentrations of the feed additive. You'll need to top dress on the feed for 28 days if you want to break the cycle. Ck with your feed supplier about the top dress products that they may carry to figure out your inclusion rate. I would get your infected calf in & treat with sulfa boluses. Sulfa works very well on Coccidiosis. The water works well as a treatment, but I like the feed as a preventative.

 

[KYsteer]

Corrid is the most effective treatment that we have found available.  I usually either drench the calves the recommended amount for 5 days, have never done the water, but it should work just as well.  Bovatec or Rumensin will help keep control of Coccidiosis, but will not control an outbreak.  Do not beat yourself up over getting it in your herd.  Coccidia is present in the soil and can stay there for years, all cattle have a small amount of coccidia in their system, but times of stress or sometimes for no reason they show the clinical signs of infection.  Treat as soon as symptoms occur as it can lead to a rectal prolapse from excess pushing.

 

[cowcrazy]

Thank you all for the responses.  This is the second day of treatment in the water, and I am still seeing blood in her feces.  I guess it just takes some time?

 

[wfq]

It does take time, however, I always feel better treating a single calf with sulfa pills or corid powder in gel caps so I know the calf got what he was supposed to get. While putting corid in the water or the feed works well to treat or prevent an entire bunch there can be some variation in the amount an individual calf gets.  When you put the med down the hatch you know he got it.  If the calf still has blood on day 3 after treatment you better re-assess the situation and treat in a different manner than just the water.

 

[jbw]

I had an outbreak last year on baby calves. I ran 72 of 'em in every day and drenched them. I mixed the corid and water and gave it to them with a Synanthic gun, worked great!

 

[DTW]

I have used corrid a couple times in the past with coccidiosis and always clears them up.  May have to drench them for three days but it works.

I know a guy told me years ago they had problems with baby calves and all vets say it cant happen till 21 days old but he was getting earlier than that.  So they would mix it in the cows water to get antibodies in the milk. 

 

[cowcrazy]

So that was my next question.  We are treating a cow who has a calf that is 2 weeks old.  Will the calf get what it needs in terms of treatment from her momma? Or should we be treating the calf also?

 

[HeiferShower14]

we always use corid, i think it works really good but we sometimes have trouble finding it.

 

[tdd]

If a baby calf is breaking with coccidiosis-like symptom, it could very well be cryptosporidia which is cocci's more evil, shorter life-cycle sibling.

Corrid/amprolium carry labels for treatment of an outbreak.

Bovatec and Rumensin have control labels.  This means that they control the population in the gut but do not eliminate it.  I believe Rumensin has a prevention label but there is a range of acceptable feeding levels and and at lower levels you may not get the protection you desire (for both products).  Deccox is typically available in weaning feeds and has a prevention label.  It is the most effective at halting growth of the parasite in the gut b/c it has the longest range of efficacy. 

The parasite has a 28 day lifecycle.  After it is ingested, it multiplies in the gut and as it does so it perforates the lining of the intestine.  This is why you see the tissue shedding when you have an outbreak.  Whether you have an outbreak or not or whether you use Bovatec/Rumensin/Decccox, the parasite is shed in the feces and it remains in the soil to infect another.  Preening is the most common method of transmission.  When you get a break in coccidiosis, it is generally due to a stressful situation.

Using an antibiotic like AS700 or CTC (Aureomycin) can reduce the stress cursor and help prevent as well.

 

[cowcrazy]

Thanks, again, for all the help.  We are now treating the whole herd with albon and it seems to be doing the trick. The calf has not really shown any signs of coccidiosis, so I am hoping we are okay there.

 

[CAB]

You may want to treat the calf with Sustain II calf boluses to be on the safer side.