scours -- anything I can do?

[Doc]

Yesterday afternoon late, I noticed my pet steer (yep) lying down, which is nothing unusual until I realized he was trying to get up and couldn't. He would squirm around and lean back and then try again and again.

I checked him over and saw that he had pretty nasty diarrhea so I gave him as much water as he wanted to drink. After about an hour he was able to get up and slowly walk. I watched him occasionally during the night, and this morning he is thankfully up and walking (slowly), but the diarrhea is still there.

A friend of mine said this is known as the scours. I was all ready to call the vet last night, but my friend (who raises Angus) said to watch him, now that he is up.

But, I want to know what, if anything, I can do for him, other than provide fresh water??

[Jena]

Call your vet. I don't know how old this steer is, but scours can take an animal down quickly. There is treatment and he needs it.

Jena

[bumpus]

Feed only grass type hay and water.

[herefordman]

He needs an electrolyte quench, you can buy it in package form from any feed store, just mix it with water, you can also make your own, but I don't have my book with me to tell you how, but sure somebody here knows and will write.
Jena is correct, do not leave this, you will end up with a dead calf very fast.

[agmantoo]

Your animal will dehydrate rapidly and die if not treated. You need an electrolyte drench and an esophageal feeder to administer the drench.
If you cannot find a source for th electrolyte you can made a substitute
1 can of beef consume soup
1 package of jelly pectin (sure gel)
2 tea spoons lite salt
2 tea spoons baking soda
enough warm water to make a total of 2 quarts solutions
Grab the animals skin on the side of the neck and pull it away from the neck. If a pyramid of skin remains after releasing, the need for treatment in immediate!

[largeanivet]

Originally Posted by Doc

Yesterday afternoon late, I noticed my pet steer (yep) lying down, which is nothing unusual until I realized he was trying to get up and couldn't. He would squirm around and lean back and then try again and again.

I checked him over and saw that he had pretty nasty diarrhea so I gave him as much water as he wanted to drink. After about an hour he was able to get up and slowly walk. I watched him occasionally during the night, and this morning he is thankfully up and walking (slowly), but the diarrhea is still there.

A friend of mine said this is known as the scours. I was all ready to call the vet last night, but my friend (who raises Angus) said to watch him, now that he is up.

But, I want to know what, if anything, I can do for him, other than provide fresh water??

Things i need to know..
How old is the animal?
The Temp?
If its a calf did it have its Colostrum at birth??
Also the person that told you to just watch the animal if its up now is wrong cows don't just go down for no reason if in fact it is scours you can give kopectate for the scours to help get that stool get harder and start him on an antibiotic of OXYTETRACYCLINE that you can buy at a farm supply in Some states others need a script. one gal bottles are available for the kopectate at the farm supply. Email me with the above questions answered and i can help more. if you email me ill give you a phone no# to call me and ill walk you through the steps. Also i saw one posting that made the most sence to me this person said that SCOURS can drop an animal fast that is true. The vet should be called if your not sure. scours is not just the the "craps" it is E Coli and is NOT something to play with. It can make other animals sick and also people too. Let me know what the story is and ill see if i can help... Thanks.. Doc Scott

[Jena]

Originally Posted by largeanivet

The vet should be called if your not sure. scours is not just the the "craps" it is E Coli and is NOT something to play with. It can make other animals sick and also people too. Let me know what the story is and ill see if i can help... Thanks.. Doc Scott

I'm wondering how you can know that this case of scours is caused by e-coli?

Jena

[JeffNY]

Here is what you do, we did it with one of ours and it was told to us by an older lady who has dealt with cows for many years. I forget exactly what it was, but we used what us humans used when we have the runs. Gave her 30CC's I beleive, and it cleared up. What it does is harden the stool so its not running. She had scours, but it was mild, she had toooo much milk. But just make sure its solid foods, vs silage or haylage and avoid grain! Grain won't digest as easy as hay.

Edit: Im not 100% sure, but I think it might have been pepto bismol. I forget exactly what it was, but whatever it was, it worked.

Jeff

[largeanivet]

Originally Posted by Jena

I'm wondering how you can know that this case of scours is caused by e-coli?

Jena

And how do you know its not?? do you want to take that chance??

Well its some kind of bacteria. Most of that people can catch.

So keep the animal around others and people see if they get sick too

thats one way to find out.. Good idea.

[Jena]

Originally Posted by largeanivet

And how do you know its not?? do you want to take that chance??

Well its some kind of bacteria. Most of that people can catch.

So keep the animal around others and people see if they get sick too

thats one way to find out.. Good idea.

I don't know that it's not caused by e-coli, but I sure didn't make any definitive statement about what causes scours, since it is impossible to tell from a computer. I also think it can be misleading to people who are trying to learn about cattle care to hear that "scours is caused by e-coli" when that is simply not always the case.

You also state that "it's some kind of bacteria". Really? Where exactly did you go to vet school where they teach the only cause of scours is bacteria???? What about viral scours? Coccidosis? BVD? Poor quality milk replacer???

Why Oxytetracycline? My vet doesn't reccommend that for scours as it can cause kidney damage in dehydrated calves. She says to use a sulpha based bolus, re-hydrate (something you did not mention at all, though it is THE most important treatment for a scouring calf) and continued care.

I find your advice to be scary. Even scarier because you claim to be a vet.

Jena

[myersfarm]

wondering if anybody knows how big his pet steer is..he said he had diarrhea he also said he couldn't get up so he give him as much water as he wanted he didn't say milk why i think calf is bigger then a bottle baby ...... a friend of his says it scours so everybody give the treatment for scours......anybody ever saw a 800 lb pet steer have the scours ...i have seen them have the runs when given to much feed or more protien then they are use to ........now it his pet steer is only getting milk...i agree its probable scours and his friend is right...

[herefordman]

"I find your advice to be scary. Even scarier because you claim to be a vet."

I have to agree with this, you sure you, (LARGEANIVET) know your talking about a cow here right ?
Oxeytetracyclene ?
Not from my experience
Myersfarm makes a good point I didn't notice earlier, how old is this "steer" ?

[JeffNY]

http://www.iowabeefcenter.org/pdfs/bch/03056.pdf


Will need acrobat reader. Make it simple use Pepto Bismol. It is cheap, effective and will not harm the animal. Another option is Kaopectate. Don't get into tooo many chemicals, you can keep the animal moving without tons of chemicals.



Jeff

[jerzeygurl]

if it is youngster still on milk , give it the scour boluses. how much milk is it getting, many people think if a littlemilk is good a whole bunch is better. That is NOT true. Calves kids ect will scour from simply to much or changeing milk or replacer, also feeding more milk when they are scouring is a no no , but water and electrolytes are good.Actually cutting milk in half during this time or smaller amounts more often will be helpful but make sure to give plenty of water ect. Taking temp is a good idea cause if they get hypothermia they are just about beyond help. the recomended ammount of replacer is no more than 2 quarts 2 times a day or 1.5 quarts 3 times a day. most bottles are 2 quarts. double check

[allen8106]

Originally Posted by Doc

Yesterday afternoon late, I noticed my pet steer (yep) lying down, which is nothing unusual until I realized he was trying to get up and couldn't. He would squirm around and lean back and then try again and again.

I checked him over and saw that he had pretty nasty diarrhea so I gave him as much water as he wanted to drink. After about an hour he was able to get up and slowly walk. I watched him occasionally during the night, and this morning he is thankfully up and walking (slowly), but the diarrhea is still there.

A friend of mine said this is known as the scours. I was all ready to call the vet last night, but my friend (who raises Angus) said to watch him, now that he is up.

But, I want to know what, if anything, I can do for him, other than provide fresh water??

Doc,

If the calf is still on milk here is a guaranteed fix for the scours. An OLD friend of mine told me about 5-6 years ago and it works everytime for me. Beat up a couple of raw eggs and dump it into the milk then feed the milk. Do this at every feeding for 3-4 days and I guantee the scours will go away.