Heifer with Diarrhea

[bffarms]

Good Afternoon!!!

I am looking for some help and advice. We have a 2 year old dun heifer that we got in February. She seems to constantly have the diarrhea. It will go away for a while, but her stool never really firms back up and then she will get really runny again. We've given antibiotics, treated for dehydration...We have a call into the vet again right now. When it first happened we took her off grain per vet recommendation, and that helped. Now with the grass being green and being out to pasture she is getting bad again.

Does anybody know anything that could be causing this? Someone recommended that we give her a magnant and that may help? Any help you could give would be great!!! I've never seen a heifer do this or a cow for that matter.

Thanks,
Shannon

[ctownson]

I would check/treat her for coccidia. Simple lab test your vet can do, or you could just treat her - there are various methods of treatment. Have you seen any blood in the stool?

[ctownson]

Just to clarify, get a stool sample and have your vet run lab tests. The tests will determine what treatment is necessary. These are not expensive to do.

[kansasdexters]

Shannon,

Here is a good reference link that discusses enteric diseases and conditions commonly found in cattle and calves:

www.uwyo.edu/vetsci/courses/patb_4110/2009_lectures/9_diarrhea_cattle/html/class_notes.htm

If there is no disease, or parasite, then another probable cause may be too much protein in her diet. This can be as a result of too much grain, or too many range cube treats, or a high percentage of legumes (usually clover) in the pasture, etc.

A magnet is given (using a balling gun) to young animals in order to reduce the chance of hardware disease. If you have metal debris (fence clips, wire, broken woven wire fences, metal ties, etc.) anywhere in your cow's environment, then there is a constant hazard of the cows and calves accidentally consuming it. If bits of metal get into the wrong place in their intestines, then the damage and irritation can result in weight loss and diarrhea. If this heifer came from a place that had metal debris in its environment, then the metal pieces may already be in her.

If your vet has thoroughly examined your heifer, then he/she is in the best position to advise you if additional testing is needed to determine the cause of the heifer's digestive issues.

Patti