We were blessed with two beautiful newborn crias this past winter. Excitement and fear rushed through us as we welcomed the little furry faces. We felt ready to take care of them, but overall hoping that there would be no need for our preparedness. Unfortunately, both crias put our newly acquired skills to the test. We learned that diarrhea needs to be taken seriously, especially in crias who can go downhill quickly by dehydrating and losing precious electrolytes.
At two weeks of age and just brought home to our ranch, DMAR Athena, was quiet. Her activity level was not quite adequate for a cria her age. Instead of producing beans at the community pile she created a blob of thick pudding. She was also losing weight slowly.
We consulted with our vet who advised to give some yogurt to help the microorganisms in her stomach. At 1cc per pound we began giving Athena 14cc of yogurt three times a day. Amazingly that night she was very active running around the stall and paddock. By the next morning we were expecting to see progress, but horrified to see that her waste was now a liquidy black mess that just seemed to get all over the back of legs every time she went to the bathroom. Yuck! We immediately called the vet out to the ranch who prescribed Pepto Bismol at 1cc three times a day, more yogurt, and a probiotic paste at 5cc once per day. The vet left with a fecal sample of the cria and dam to test for possible parasites. Athena was not thrilled with all the handling and dosages, but we managed to pump it in her at least three times daily rotating one day for yogurt and the other with the probiotic paste.
The next few days we saw little progress. The black liquid turned to a pea green/black pudding. Since this was an improvement the vet recommended that we continue with the same treatment. Although Athena was gaining weight slowly she still had the diarrhea for another week. When the results of the fecal came back we learned the dam had coccidia, but that the fecal for Athena was clean. We went ahead and started a five-day treatment of Albon for both dam and cria. This did the trick. Although her fecal came back clean her diarrhea started to dissipate with the Albon treatment. It took almost the full five days to clear, but she continued to gain weight and her activity level increased daily.
At three weeks of age, DMAR Apollo, came down with diarrhea. The difference between him and Athena is that Apollo never really lost any weight, but never gained any either. His activity level always was good, which meant that the diarrhea was not really affecting him. However, all other symptoms were the same as Athena.
We quickly got Apollo on the same regimen we had Athena of Pepto Bismol, yogurt, and probiotic paste. It took almost two weeks to clear, but with daily monitoring of weight gain and activity level we knew we were on the right track. The treatment only stopped when normal beans were produced.
Due to our constant observation of our crias we were able to diagnose and begin treatment on the diarrhea quickly. As in the case of Athena we learned that even though her fecal came back clean it was still coccidia that was making her ill. I do not know if I will ever know why Apollo got sick, but I do know that our fast reaction to clearing it up made the difference between life and death. The diarrhea never returned for either of them and they are healthy and growing. Remember to always have on hand some Pepto Bismol, yogurt, Albon, and probiotic paste.
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