Treatment of Coccidiosis

[harlan2442]

Just a word of advice for anyone treating bloody stool in calves. Every time I have a sick calf that I can't quite figure out how to treat it I call a rancher friend who seems to always have the answer. He's been raising feeder stock for decades and has several hundred head at a time. Every time he has one with bloody stool, which is usually coccidiosis, he gives it Neomycin orally and it cures it immediately. You can buy it over the counter for around $12. I have only had a couple with coccidiosis. One that was around 600 and I gave him 50-60cc orally. A smaller calf had a steady stream of blood coming out. I gave him about 30cc Neomycin and a shot of long lasting penicillin and the next day he was eating good. A couple days later he was running around, healthy as could be.

[G. Seddon]

harlan, I think I must disagree on this. I could be wrong, but there could be quite a few other things causing bloody stool (bacterial things which might indicate the need for antibiotics).

I think to be certain whether it's coccidia or something else, your best bet is to have a fecal test done so that you KNOW what you're treating. Coccidiosis is usually treated with amprolium (Corid) or the animal is placed on a feed regimen that has lasalocid, rumensin, or bovatec in it (these feed additives are toxic to equines).

For a calf with a steady stream of blood coming out, I'd be reaching for the phone.

[harlan2442]

The last vet I spoke to about this disagreed with me and said the same thing you did. He said that Neomycin would in no way cure coccidiosis and he sent me out the door with some stuff he wasn't sure about and said "good luck!". But, for literally decades my rancher friend has been using Neomycin in every calf that has blood in it's stool and they get well immediately unless their bowels are too close to coming out. I'm just trying to save people the trouble of testing and treating, then hoping the animal gets well when there is a cure that works immediately, every time.

[DJ in WA]

You need to have your rancher friend get hold of all the universities that have spent decades researching coccidiosis and tell them they were wrong.

He also needs to present all his data. Surely he split the sick calves into two random groups, and treated one group with Neomycin, and treated the other group with a placebo to see which one did better. Why do that?

Because with many diseases, the animal gets better even without treatment, so any treatment gets false credit. There's alot of money to be made selling bogus 'cures'.

By the time you see signs of coccidiosis, it is usually too late for any treatment, as by that stage of organism's life cycle it has done it's damage, and the body will begin to mount an immune response.

The Corid added to the water is more to prevent problems in the other animals who may have been exposed to coccidia, but it is earlier in its life cycle to where it might do some good.

As G. Seddon said, there can be many causes of bloody stool, many of which are self-resolving.

It might be good to know that the livestock industry's reputation for overuse of antibiotics is getting worse. Seems everyone loves to use antibiotics for alot of things they don't understand. Often it is a substitute for good animal husbandry. And it is leading to antibiotic resistance which threatens human health, and may lead to more bans on their use as has happened in Europe.

Need to start thinking about how to operate without them.

[linn]

We use CORID liquid. You can get it at Jeffers Livestock Supply.

http://www.jefferspet.com/corid-oral...IV/cp/0027132/

[mekasmom]

I would use whatever product you have found success with using.

[harlan2442]

I did not put this information on here to start a debate. I put it on here so people who can't afford to lose a calf can save it and it only costs a few dollars.

DJ, I'm not sure why you would be skeptical of this when you obviously have never tried it. Do you own cattle? If you do and you ever get feeder calves from the sale barn you will eventual bring one home that will show signs of coccidiosis. Do your own research next time you have one with blood in it's stool. Send off a sample and get it checked. If the calf is still alive when you get the test back then give it a shot of long-lasting penicillin injected and 30cc's (or more depending on size) of Neomycin orally. You will find out what my friend has known for decades. Maybe then you can share it with the universities so they can help people save calves. Or, are they only interested in treating them like the pharmaceutical companies are with people. There isn't much money in cures. Treating is where the real money is made.

[gone-a-milkin]

harlan,

You put up your info and it is up to everyone to make their own choices.
So in a way it really is open for debate.


Free information on the internet is worth exactly what you pay for it, right?

If it works for you then that is great!
I have never heard of it before.
Thanks for sharing.

[NeHomesteader]

If it works for you i'd keep on using it regardless of what all the 'data' says. I know around here they are using it for bloat in calves and having great success. So you just never know.....

[harlan2442]

You are welcome, gone-a-milkin. Although, I must apologize. After I posted the comment above I felt guilty for being a smart aleck. My sincere apologies to DJ. I should be more mature than that.

A few years ago I was looking for information on treating coccidiosis. That's how I found this site. I wish someone had known then what I know now. It would have been a big help. Thankfully, I found out before it was too late and I was able to save a calf that eventually brought almost $2/lb at 420lbs. It was the one that was bleeding from the bowels and was too weak to eat.

[Double H Ranch]

I haven't had experience with cocci in our cattle but we went through a really bad round of it last yr in our goats...sample tested and confirmed by a vet ($7 fee and I had results within 2 hrs). We used Corid in their drinking water but on the ones that were down we gave them sulfadimethoxine orally and improvement was noted by the next day. It could have been a coincidence, I guess, but as close as they were to dead I have a hard time writing it off. I don't believe in administering antibiotics blindly but I would give it again should test results show the same situation. just my thoughts.....=)

[BMCC]

The Neomycin and sulfa drugs are probably beneficial as an aid in treatment of coccidiosis, but I would certainly use Corid as a drench and in the drinking water also in any confirmed or suspected cases.