Causes of worms in bulls
Unfortunately, any farm animal can easily pick up the parasites. When this happens, you need to be fully aware of what to do next in order to keep the animal healthy. Worms in gobies, cows and calves are a fairly common phenomenon that any farmer should know about the specifics. Since they are serious liver pests, they can adversely affect the metabolic processes in the cow's body.
Worms in cows and calves
Aware - Armed
Often the flat helminth, which does not have a particularly large size, has an effect on the body, namely on the liver of cattle. A disease originating from a flat pest is called fascioliasis, and neglect of treatment and prevention measures leads to the blockage of the main bile ducts.
In order to protect the liver of your animals from damage by worms, you need to know not only about the main manifestations of the disease, but also about how to properly treat and remove the parasite. Every cow has a predisposition to the appearance of helminths, albeit in an individual size.
How to identify infection
The symptoms that determine the infection with worms are obvious and characteristic, therefore, having carefully studied them, everyone will be able to identify the problem in time. When determining, it is important to take into account internal and external signs. Often, the occurrence of worms in gobies, sheep and similar animals is associated with eating contaminated food and water. The main signs of infection are manifested in:
- sudden weight loss;
- termination of milking ability;
- refusal to get up;
- weakness, depressed and irritated state;
- loss of appetite;
- the appearance of dyspeptic symptoms: diarrhea, constipation, etc.;
- the development of anemia, which leads to the fact that the body of a cow or calf is completely depleted.
As the disease progresses, the cow begins to look peculiar. External signs such as pale mucous membranes appear, hair falls out. In addition, the wool becomes matte and loses its shine. Sometimes the parasite may not appear externally for a long time, then you should pay attention to milk, the quality of which decreases. A pregnant cow can be prone to miscarriages, postpartum bedding.
Worms in cows have a clear localization - the intestines, in which they can be located, occupying any department. The clearest evidence of an infection in a cow or bull is weight loss with a high and normal appetite. Mostly, the helminth is activated during the stressful state of the animal.
What to associate the appearance of parasites
Preventing disease is a difficult and almost impossible task for a number of reasons. While in the pasture, cows can easily pick up worms by eating contaminated grass or soil. In addition, some infected animals transmit parasites in the water in the barn.
Most of all, worms pose a danger to calves: their livers and lungs are infected faster and more often. Worms in calves spread throughout the lungs, breaking the capillaries, which leads to the death of the animal. If the disease is not detected in time, then death cannot be avoided. Symptoms are:
- the appearance of a runny nose and frequent coughing;
- an increase in temperature;
- significant loss of kg.
Calves can be protected from infection by providing them with separate feeding and animal watering. It is important to monitor the purity of the water. Under no circumstances should you give babies regular fresh river water. It is also necessary to ensure that adult sheep and cows do not go to the feed. It is best to send the calves to a separate pasture whenever possible. Lung parasites are often found in sheep, so it is best to limit their contact with animals. When defecating, the cattle leave all the larvae on the grass and ground, where the cows can later come.
The main danger of parasites is in the toxins they release, which destroy the mucous membrane. With a large number of worms, you can get volvulus. Signs of a chronic form of the disease in cattle are often not marked by acute manifestations, but it is imperative to monitor the timely removal of manure. It is also necessary to prevent manure from entering the feed, which will be helped by the construction of special bowls above the floor level.
Having identified an animal that was struck by a hepatic worm, immediately send it to a separate room, not forgetting to give all other individuals medications.
What to do to protect cows from worms?
You are convinced that worms in cows are a complex and dangerous phenomenon, therefore it is imperative to take measures to protect animals. The main methods of protecting calves and cows from parasites are simple actions, which we will discuss below.
- Selecting a pasture with low moisture content, away from the swamp. Wet fields and swamps are shelters for the main carriers of worms - snails.
- A ban on the use of milk in the case of treatment with drugs for prophylaxis. You can give milk to drink only when the medicine is removed.
- Periodic change of the place of the pasture, in particular, if worms were seen there once.
If you notice the symptoms of the disease in any of the animals, it is imperative to immediately determine what the treatment will be. Only a veterinarian who knows how to properly worm animals is able to remove parasites once and for all, therefore it is better to entrust him with this difficult task. The veterinarian will identify the signs of the appearance of worms, select the necessary treatment methods, and prescribe the necessary drugs in the correct dosage. Self-determination is difficult because the symptoms encountered with worms can be signs of a completely different disease.
Symptoms and treatment are closely interrelated, because choosing the wrong drugs, there is a risk of poisoning, which subsequently leads to death.
Getting rid of parasites
When the worms are found, and all the necessary drugs have been purchased, you can begin to fix the problem. In addition to giving the animals the medicine by mouth, you should constantly monitor the cleanliness of the barn and the safety of the pasture in order to prevent further infection. Choosing independent treatment, you need to follow 5 recommendations.
- If you are sure that you have chosen the really necessary drug, you should not be lazy to read the instructions for it.
- It is important that treatment begins with weighing the animal in order to prevent an overdose of the medication.
- It is almost impossible to administer the medicine alone, so you need to ask anyone for help. It is important to fix the animal's head in order to deliver the required dose of medication to the body.
- Disinfection must not be neglected. Treating all cows with the same tools is prohibited.
- It is necessary to keep a special notebook in which to write down all the drugs injected in order to exclude overdose and start the next treatment on time.
Traditional methods of treatment are not 100% effective, however, some of them can and can be useful to follow. Firstly, the cow, calf and goby need to constantly be given food filled with all the necessary vitamins and minerals, and secondly, it is important to keep the animal clean.
Medicines to eliminate worms
Only a doctor can study the symptoms and choose the right medicine, since the list of possible medicines is wide. Special effective drugs will help to eliminate worms.
- Alvet. The medicine is aimed at reducing the growth activity of parasites, at disrupting the feeding process of helminths, at their further death. Treatment takes place orally through "absorption" and is well tolerated. You cannot drink milk from a cow that has used the drug for another 3 days, but it is suitable for other animals after preliminary boiling. It is prohibited to administer the medicine without special uniforms.
- Flubendazole. The treatment has the same mechanism as in the previous case, and helps to quickly cleanse the animal's body.
- Albendazole. An effective and popular suspension that destroys parasites, disrupting their metabolic process and inhibiting activity. Due to its low toxicity, the drug is not at all harmful to the animal, therefore it can be used in the recommended doses without risk.
- Tetramisole. Moderately toxic drug, absorption of which occurs from the intestine. Worms disappear in a day. The presence of a therapeutic effect is observed to the highest degree within an hour after administration.
For preventive measures, it is necessary to wait for spring or autumn, when the animal is transferred to another place of residence, you also need to monitor the regular treatment of the barn with special antiseptics and drugs prescribed by the veterinarian. It should be remembered about the possibility of the appearance of various side effects, which many drugs are famous for, therefore, when carrying out prevention for the first time, one should not forget about the preliminary consultation with a doctor.
The presence of such a careful and scrupulous approach to the treatment of parasites is necessary, because the first stages of the disease often pass without a trace, but after the onset of advanced phases, they can inflict such a big blow on the cattle body that it will be difficult and sometimes impossible to cure it.
The handling of sick animals by a person should also be carried out as carefully and in a minimum amount as possible, because some parasites are easily transmitted to people. It is better to pour out all the milk that was obtained from an infected cow; drinking it will only harm your health. In general, with the timely detection of the problem, it is not difficult to get rid of worms. The health of cows and calves is exclusively in the hands of the owner.