Diarrhea....tired of it!

bheila

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We got a couple of bull calves ( Chip and Dale) back in July 2011. I dewormed and banded them when they got here. The smallest of the 2 has always had diarrhea off and on. I thought that maybe it was because of the switch in feed but his brother has had no symptoms. Dale's backside is constantly messy as well as his legs and I'm tired of hosing and combing him out. I got him some antibiotics to see if that would help and it didn't change anything. I was thinking possibly Johne's but he's not wasting away. He eats just as much as our other steers and seems to be growing well. I have noticed that he stands by himself sometimes looking down but that could be because we expanded our herd. I'd say he's had the runs 75% of the time he's been here. I plan on sending in a fecal this week. Any thoughts?
 

Cricket

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I'd definitely do a fecal. Coccidiosis (sp) can be resistant to some antibiotics and comes back. And I wonder if their immune system is already low from the first go around, they're more apt to get it again? Think Johnes affects them later in life and the ones I've seen went downhill FAST. Good luck! Cricket
 

aggieterpkatie

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bheila said:
Any thoughts?
Yes. Dale is probably tired of it too! Definitely get the fecal. You can't know what you're treating until to diagnose the problem.
 

Beekissed

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Could be he needs some probiotics to reculture his bowel so that they can adequately function. Giving antibiotics can only worsen the problem if this is the case.
 

bheila

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I gave him probios. I'm very careful when it comes to their rumens. His fecal was good. I ended up cutting back on his grain and his stool has been fine since. His rearend is another story. He doesn't lift his tail up enough so he's always poopy. Of course I'm a good mommy and wash his rear almost every day. :rolleyes: The things we're willing to do for our animals.
 

Cricket

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It will be interesting to see if once he has consistently firm stools if he begins to lift his tail! I wonder if they don't have the same sensation when they're used to having loose stools that would trigger the tail lifting. If I have a calf that is half hearted about bottle feeding, I rub at the top base if it's tail and it lifts and starts wagging and gets a lot more interested in sucking, too and will often poop. I've even rubbed their anus with a warm washcloth a few times trying to simulate mom's tongue.

Just a thought!
Cricket
 

bheila

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At one point it was literally shooting out of his rear when he first got here. So far so good now. His rear has been dry and poop free for a while. These boys weren't in the best condition when they got here so it's taken them some time to get them "right."

I've done the rubbing the rear before with kitten, goats, puppies...etc, and it always works wonders.
 

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