# Young calves with blood in manure?



## nathan104 (Nov 16, 2007)

I have two young heifer calves that have blood in their manure. The first is an angus cross heifer that is probably around 2-3 months old. Not sure as she was a sale barn calf. When we got her the manure looked completely normal, then turned a little runny with blood in in. Its red undigested blood. Other than that, she looks and acts completely healthy.

The second heifer calf was 3 days old when we got her. We bought her straight from the dairy and pulled her from her mothers side. She is being fed milk replacer. She had the yellow stool from the colostrum when we got her, then went a day and a half with no stool, then its a more normal color a little runny, now today, I got out there and there is blood in it. She has been kept in a pen in the barn the whole time. Other than the blood, she seems fine, take the bottle and goes crazy for more, and we also give her a couple pints of water in the bottle between the two daily feedings as well to make sure she is staying hydrated. She hops around when we go in there and acts very perky. 

The calves have been seperate at all times. Didnt even ride in the same trailer, or walk in the same field. The only thing which has been the same for the two calves is the hay, commercial calf grower feed, and water. The hay was bought from the feed store in small square bales. The older calf is eating a lot of the pellet feed and on a 2 acre pasture. The calf is a week old now and has only nibbled the pelletized feed and not sure if she has touched any of the hay. 

So, what am I looking at here? They dont have scours, its just a bit runny. We gave the older calf the common vaccinations for around here a week ago when we got her. The younger calf hasnt been vaccinated yet.


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## TSYORK (Mar 16, 2006)

Sounds like coccidosis, possibly. I'd treat for that.


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## nathan104 (Nov 16, 2007)

I looked that up, but since these two calves have had no interaction and have not been in the same place, it seems unlikely they both would have gotten it at the same time, one getting it from the dairy and the other from the sale barn. Is there a treatment for it? From what I just read, it says that once you see blood in the manure, there isnt anything to do other than wait it out and keep them hydrated.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

It could also be salmonella.


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## TSYORK (Mar 16, 2006)

How's things with the calves today?


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

nathan104 said:


> I looked that up, but since these two calves have had no interaction and have not been in the same place, it seems unlikely they both would have gotten it at the same time, one getting it from the dairy and the other from the sale barn. Is there a treatment for it? From what I just read, it says that once you see blood in the manure, there isnt anything to do other than wait it out and keep them hydrated.


I'm pretty sure that cocci can live in the soil for years. Certain conditions can bring it out so that you can have a sudden outbreak even if there hasn't been one in quite some time. I would treat their water with Corid.


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## Madsaw (Feb 26, 2008)

tinknal said:


> I'm pretty sure that cocci can live in the soil for years. Certain conditions can bring it out so that you can have a sudden outbreak even if there hasn't been one in quite some time. I would treat their water with Corid.


Yeap it lasts for yrs. Also would only take a bird flying from one place to another to spread it. 
Also use of a sulfa based product will help too. Bactrum(SMZ tablets) work good in young calves but need to be treated twice a day. I use Sustain III tablets.
Bob


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

It is most likely cocci, it is a parasite that normally lives in all critters (different species have different cocci) stressed or moderately ill animals can lose immunity to the parasite and they start causing problems. If you're feeding rumensin/monensin feeds you are countering cocci already but I've have problems in the past even doing that. You need to treat with a sulfa drug like sulfamethazine to get the cocci back under control. Could be you need to use something stronger in their feed like decox or a vet script rumensin mix.


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## nathan104 (Nov 16, 2007)

Thanks for the responses. So far, everything is the same, they are acting normal and seem perfectly healthy but still have blood in the manure. We went ahead and picked up some of the corid. We have it mixed in the drinking water of the calves in the pasture and are dreching the bottle calf. We just started this evening with that so we will just have to see how it goes. I guess if they still have it after the 5 day treatment we will have to consider the other potential causes of Salmonella or T2 toxin. I just found it strange they these calves which never crossed paths both came down with it. I didnt realize that it could live in the soil for years and we also could have transfered it with our shoes. I just hope this does the trick. They are all still eating good and active. We are giving the bottle calf a couple pints of water in the bottle between feeding to make sure she stays hydrated. She hated the drenching of the corid solution.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

An occasional spot of blood in otherwise normal looking manure is quite common and nothing to get overly excited about. It's the runny bloody stuff that is bad news.


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## DJ in WA (Jan 28, 2005)

I don't know if I'd worry a ton. If you spent alot of time looking at your stool you'd probably be running to the doctor every week. As long as they are active with a good appetite, they can't be too bad.

Coccidiosis can be more severe diarrhea. And usually treatment is too late for that calf - they are developing immunity by then. We often take the credit for curing them when they'd have gotten better anyway. Treatment should be for others in the herd as a preventive if there is an outbreak going on.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/21202.htm



> The most characteristic sign of clinical coccidiosis is watery feces, with little or no blood, and the animal shows only slight discomfort for a few days.
> 
> Coccidiosis is a self-limiting disease, and spontaneous recovery without specific treatment is common when the multiplication stage of the coccidia has passed. The chemotherapeutic agents in common use for clinical coccidiosis are unlikely to have any effect on the late stages of the coccidia. Most of the coccidiostats have a depressant effect on the early, first-stage schizonts and are used for control.


You could take a stool sample into the vet if you'd like. Otherwise you're just guessing. There are lots of causes of diarrhea, as this article discusses, and even if the vet cultures or sees an organism in the stool does not mean it is the cause of disease.

http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2001/March/Cattle_Today130.shtml


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