help with shot info

gwithrow · #1 10/01/09, 01:12 PM

I have a new calf, well new to me..., about 500 pounds...a steer..he came from the sale barn on Tuesday night...looked really great but today he has a snotty nose and is coughing...should he get an antibiotic? .he is eating ok, not great, but ok, I have biomycin to give him, if necessary...according to the dosage, it seems he should get about 27 ml....can this be at one site or should I divide it up into two? ..I like to do shots all sq ....I am used to doing the vaccinations but they are much smaller amounts and on much bigger cows...thanks...

oneokie · #2 10/01/09, 03:24 PM

Place no more than 10cc in one site. Space sites by 6". If there is no improvement in 24 hrs, use a different antibiotic.

cowman · #3 10/01/09, 04:13 PM

Is that Biomycin 200? I would double the dose on the first day and give a regular dose the next day, skip a day and give another regular dose.

gwithrow · #4 10/01/09, 07:21 PM

yes, biomycin 200...we gave the shots well one dose divided so that he got three shots...will see how he looks in the AM...he went right into the chute..we will see if he does that again!...actually he was very cooperative...I sure hope whatever this is doesn't last long...thanks

Karin L · #5 10/01/09, 08:32 PM

GWithRow your steer has what's commonly called "Shipping Fever" or BRD, which shipping fever is a part of BRD (Bovine Respiratory Disease). I see this all the time with our steers that just came from a salebarn and had been transported for a distance. It's mostly to do with high amounts of stress, particularly being shunted around in the pens in the salebarn before purchase, then going onto the trailer to your place.

To help with these shipping fever cases, we use Nuflor, but your med should work as well.

mamahen · #6 10/02/09, 06:36 AM

I was told all antibiotics should be given IM. Is this true? I would rather give sub c, and have given enough im to not want to repeat the rodeo!

francismilker · #7 10/02/09, 12:41 PM

Give the calf 15cc's of Baytril sub-Q and be done with it if it's shipping fever.

gwithrow · #8 10/02/09, 07:28 PM

so where can I get baytril? I usually order from Jeffers...it is not in the catalog...wonder if a local feed store would have it?

gwithrow · #9 10/02/09, 07:33 PM

so where can I get baytril? I usually order from Jeffers...it is not in the catalog...wonder if a local feed store would have it? I am not sure it is shipping fever, most of these calves are local...he was weaned at the sale, about 500 pounds and healthy when he arrived...but he had to have been stressed..and he is in a new place, but I also don't want him to get into a pneumonia ... I have him isolated til I know he is healthy...then he can run with the other steer and the big cows...the vet said to repeat the biomycin every other day...but baytril would be outstanding if I can get some tomorrow...

Karin L · #10 10/02/09, 08:12 PM

You can get Baytril at your local vet. Tractor Supply or those other feed stores you got down south of the 49th may also carry it. Keep in mind there are many drugs out there to battle shipping fever: Draxxin, Excenel, Nuflor, Micotil, Baytril, etc. I'm a fan of Nuflor, but I've heard Baytril works well too...I don't like Micotil because it only hits one strain of BRD bacteria whereas the other ones hit all four.

I know for a fact that it is shipping fever. The symptoms you described in post #1 and #9 are typical of shipping fever or pneumonia. To complicate matters, shipping fever IS pneumonia, and since these are what is called Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD), both have symptoms that start up exactly how you described. And I am speaking on personal experience here! The feeder steer calves that we had got from a salebarn started out fine, but within a couple days they were getting snotty noses and coughing. This is the early signs of shipping fever/pnuemonia. The later stages are lethargicity, reduced intake, and a dull look about them. At this stage they won't get up with other herd mates when it's time to eat, and their breaths come laboured and hoarse. Third stage is worse than that, when they are unresponsive to normal stimuli such as people coming up to it. Fourth stage is death. At times, depending on the type of bacteria or virus that is infecting the animal, death comes much faster than anticipated. Usually this is caused by a viral infection, and this is the most serious cases. You however, are just dealing with a more common bacterial type of pnuemonia affecting your steer (in the early stages), so don't worry about the calf getting viral infection unless you aren't treating him at all. But even then, there are those rare cases...

Good luck.

gwithrow · #11 10/07/09, 07:41 AM

update today, calf is eating well and drinking, remember he is 500 pounds....not a tiny baby....but the nose drainage is still there...coughing pretty much gone..he has had several rounds of the bio mycin.....should I continue to give him this? switch to something else? or just wait and see how he does...??? I don't like to continue the antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, but I also need him to be better so he can get with the rest of the herd....thanks...

Karin L · #12 10/07/09, 05:55 PM

So he still has a bit of snot...how is he otherwise? Is he more perky, no laboured breathing? If he's eating and drinking, that's a good sign.

Five hundred pounds or not I still consider him a calf, regardless. Don't stop with the antibiotics right away because you could get a nasty relapse and end up loosing him. Had that happen to us before and it wasn't pretty. So keep going with the meds until he is back to normal two or three days after his symptoms are gone. With the calf we lost we did that "wait and see how he does" thing and ended up with him going down worse than before. Continue to use the Bio-mycin that sounds like is working effectively on him until a few days after his shipping fever symptoms are nil.

gwithrow · #13 10/07/09, 06:39 PM

thanks I will run him through again in the AM and shoot him up, one more time..he is eating and drinking, but still a little snotty.....not bad, but I'm with you on the relapse...we had a great sunny day today, I made him stay out and soak up the warmth....he ate hand picked clover and when I just went out he was standing at the trough eating hay....his poop is pretty good, not too loose...he eats grain and a small amount of calf manna.....I guess I would like to see a little more enthusiasm for everything...he did lick the donkey through the gate....the mule kicked at him so she is off the list...I hate giving him meds, but I am sure without them he would have gotten worse...no labored breathing at all....and not much of a cough at all anymore....supposed to be nice again tomorrow so he can sunbathe again....thank you so much for your input, I love learning and hearing others experiences..

Karin L · #14 10/09/09, 12:53 PM

Your welcome. I'd keep giving him shots not till after the snot has gone, like I mentioned.