Bull calf coughing...need some advice

[Country Bumpkin]

One of my bull calves is/has been coughing off & on for awhile now. I say off and on because he quits for a day or two after we give him some boluses & baytril. Seems to be after it wears off he starts again.

It's a dry cough, no runny nose or anything like that. No odd smells of sorts, now he does scour. It's not a constant scour; he will be runny (not waterey) for about a day then he solids back up, since its a med-dark green in color we believe it might just be from the grass and the heat we've been having.

He's not dehydrated, no fever & for all intents and purposes acts like any other healthy holstein...except for the cough. Do ya'll think it might just be allergies of some kind? we've kept a real close eye on him thinking it was maybe the start of pneumonia, but so far no other symptoms have shown and the ones he has haven't got any worse.

Roscoe is 168lbs, 2 months & 1 week old today. Here's a couple of pictures of him...





Any advice, ideas, suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks

Melissa

[travlnusa]

Does he have a fever?

[Karin L]

How have you been treating him? Do you medicate him then stop after his cough is gone, or do you follow the instructions on the label?

[Ronney]

Has he ever been drenched? From what you say about the cough and inconsistant bowels, my first guess would be a worm burden.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[Country Bumpkin]

he don't have a fever, per the vets instruction, we've been giving him 2 boluses & 5cc of baytril then wait for 3 days. after the 3 days we re-treat since the cough comes back. i've not tried to drench him but i'm willing to try it to keep from having a vet bill thats sky high cuz the vet wants to explore.

[Ronney]

Originally Posted by Country Bumpkin

he don't have a fever, per the vets instruction, we've been giving him 2 boluses & 5cc of baytril then wait for 3 days. after the 3 days we re-treat since the cough comes back. i've not tried to drench him but i'm willing to try it to keep from having a vet bill thats sky high cuz the vet wants to explore.

So how long are you supposed to be giving the boluses and Baytril to him - forever? The vet should have asked you the same question as I did and for the same reasons. Young, weaned animals more often than not carry a high worm burden and are very susceptible to worms as they haven't yet built up any resistance to them.

My advice (and remember I am not a vet so this is only my opinion) would be to get a good drench into him and do any other calves you have. Follow up in another 4-6 weeks. If lung and stomach worms are the problem you should see an improvement within 48 hours or maybe even less. Make sure you buy a drench that will cover stomach worms and lung worm. Genesis is a good broad spectrum drench.

If that doesn't work, THENlook at other options but given that he is drinking, isn't running a temperature, eating well etc. I don't think that there is much wrong with him that good farming practice won't cure

Cheers,
Ronnie

[Country Bumpkin]

Originally Posted by Ronney

So how long are you supposed to be giving the boluses and Baytril to him - forever? The vet should have asked you the same question as I did and for the same reasons.

he should have but he didn't, we're checking out some other vets in the area. this vet will only tell you a limited amount unless you haul your critters up there so he can charge you and arm and a leg to check them and treat them, even then he seems to be in too big of a hurry.

but thank you for your opinion on this, i will try the drench. it's worth a try. quite frankly i hate to have to give him any more shots, I could understand giving more if there was more wrong with him but other than the cough and scour he's like any other healthy happy holstein. eats and drinks well, plays with the other boys too.

i do appreciate everyones opinion on this

[Madsaw]

What are the boluses he gave you?

[Country Bumpkin]

sustain lll calf boluses