Coughing in young cattle is an alarming symptom that can never be ignored. Thus, the animal's body can signal serious diseases that can cause significant damage to the herd. Therefore, if your calf begins to cough, immediately contact your veterinarian, who will make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe an effective treatment. And general information about why calves can cough, what it shows and how to deal with it, you will read in this article.
Why does the calf cough
The following reasons may cause coughing in young cattle:
- pneumonia and bronchopneumonia;
- excommunication from the mother;
- poorly ventilated or cold room, which contains young animals;
- tuberculosis;
- bronchitis;
- dictyocaulos.
Did you know? The length of the intestine of a cow is 22 times the length of its body.
How to correctly identify the problem
The most accurate diagnostic method is x-ray. In some cases, a lung biopsy is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis. These diagnostic methods will allow you to exclude diseases that have similar symptoms. 
For example:
- lobar pneumonia;
- bronchitis;
- viral diarrhea;
- chlamydia
You can also make an accurate diagnosis by resorting to the method of differential diagnosis. This method is based on data from viral and bacteriological studies, taking into account the epizootic situation. For the diagnosis of tuberculosis, the tuberculin test is considered the most effective method. We must not forget that only a correct diagnosis allows us to prescribe the correct treatment.
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What other concomitant symptoms may be accompanied
Coughing cough may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
- rapid breathing;
- discharge of mucus from the nose and eyes;
- diarrhea;
- general depressed state of the animal;
- sharp jumps in body temperature.
If you ignore the first symptoms of the disease, it progresses: the calves gradually weaken, begin to lag behind the herd and try to lie more.Important! Increased humidity, dampness, cold and poor diet - factors that provoke the incidence of livestock.
What to do, how to cure calves
Most often, to combat the cough in calves is used drug treatment. Folk remedies can only facilitate the discharge of mucus and cough. But in treating diseases such as pneumonia or tuberculosis, they are powerless.
Pneumonia
If the disease is diagnosed in young animals under the age of 1 month, such calves are useful to drink warm soda solution, decoction of licorice root, coltsfoot, thyme. They liquefy and remove phlegm from the lungs. But folk remedies are not a panacea in the fight against pneumonia.
For the treatment of disease, veterinarians recommend using:
- Streptomycin;
- Tetracycline;
- Farmazin.
Also effectively fights pneumonia novocainic blockade. However, the treatment of pneumonia requires a whole range of measures. Therefore, calves need not only injections and decoctions, but also rubbing with turpentine, and inhalation.Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis of cows is incurable. Animals that have its pathogen detected should be sent for slaughter to avoid an epidemic.
Did you know? Cows have a developed sense of time, so it is important to follow the daily routine when caring for them.
Bronchitis
For the treatment of bronchitis decoctions of medicinal herbs can be used:
- licorice root;
- thyme;
- coltsfoot
Drug treatment consists of injections of Eufillin (for the expansion of the bronchi) and intratracheal injections of trypsin or pepsin, which dilute the sputum and contribute to its excretion.Dictyokaulez
The disease is subject to predominantly young growth from 4 to 18 weeks.
Therapy consists of the use of specific drugs that are aimed at combating the causative agent of the disease:
- Nilverm;
- Fenbendazole;
- Loxuran;
- Ivomek.
Important! Immediately after the end of the entire course of treatment, the calf cannot be released into the general herd for several days. If after such a quarantine the symptoms of the disease did not appear, then the animal does not pose a danger to other individuals.This disease is so serious that you should not experiment and try to treat it with traditional methods. If you suspect that the calf is ill with dictyocaulosis, immediately contact your veterinarian.
Prevention
To prevent the development of diseases, you can use a number of preventive measures:
- a newborn calf in the first five hours of life must receive a portion of colostrum - this will help his body develop immunity to a variety of diseases;
- in the daily ration of young stock should be at least seven liters of milk;
- the temperature in the calf house should be comfortable for the animals and good ventilation must be ensured;
- drinking bowls and working equipment must be kept clean;
- it is imperative to carry out regular floor treatment indoors with young plants with a bleach solution;
- do not feed calves with milk from other cows;
- conduct timely vaccination, which will help to avoid many inflammatory diseases.
We recommend reading about how to properly feed calves, as well as find out what vitamins they need for rapid growth.
The health of young cattle requires close attention from the owner. To preserve it, it is necessary to comply with the basic conditions for the maintenance, nutrition and care of calves.
And at the first manifestations of cough, you should immediately contact a veterinarian, since this symptom may indicate serious diseases that are dangerous not only for the animal, but also for humans.
