Looks like my cocci are resistant to Di-Methox...

[Ariel301]

I started treating my kids this year with Di-Methox (the powdered one, mixed with water and drenched) because I had been having cocci problems in the past. Well, it looks like the Di-Methox isn't doing anything...

I started at 3 weeks old, dosing them for five days then three weeks off, then five days on, as recommended. But my kids (2 wethers and a buck at 3 months old, 1 10 week old doeling) are still having problems. The buckling isn't too bad, but the others are getting worse--dropping weight, rough looking coats, slow growth, as of yesterday they were very, very lethargic with WHITE eyelids, not wanting to eat much, and they've started to cough too. The last couple of rounds of treatment, I've given them a higher dose to see if that would help, but no.

I've been seeing some severe mineral deficiency the last couple of years, and I'm sure being so deficient in everything is making my goats targets for parasites. I'm working on getting this corrected, I've had a really hard time getting a good mineral around here, and finally talked a feed store into ordering some for me.

So...can anyone recommend a different treatment? I do my own fecals, so I can see that they are loaded with the nasty little things. No vet around here will even look at livestock that isn't a horse, so they don't even know what coccidiosis is, much less how to treat it.

 

[helmstead]

I would get some SMZ-TMP from a vet, and give fenbendazole (Safe Guard) at the full dose for 5 days WITH the sulfa. The fenbendazole actually kills the protozoan, and will clear it out...a good treatment to go to when the others aren't getting it.

OR you can do a big cocktail with Dimethox, CoRid AND fenbendazole. The corid MUST be dosed at 2.5 cc per 10 lbs, undiluted, to be effective as a treatment.

 

[elevan]

I think it should be stated for new goat owners on the forum that just because Ariel301 has developed a di-methox resistant cocci strain on her farm does not mean that all cocci are resistant.

 

[ksalvagno]

You could always try Golden Seal. A former goat breeder that I know had a resistance to coccidia and was losing goats right and left. As a last ditch effort, she used the Golden Seal and it worked. She used the tincture at 1/2 cc for a Nigerian Dwarf. Give it for 7 days but can't give it for more than 7 days in a row.

I'm not suggesting to not try the SMZ & Safeguard but I wanted to give you another option. If you use Safeguard Liquid, dose it at 1cc per 10 pounds.

 

[Ariel301]

Interesting on the Golden Seal. I think right now these kids are feeling bad enough I've got to be pretty drastic. I won't be able to get the SMZ if it's prescription, vets here won't do that without an exam, which would be $300 and a waste of an hour while they maybe take a temperature and then say there's nothing they can do and if it dies, "it's not too expensive to get another goat." I'll try the safeguard and Corid cocktail, I should be able to pick those up tomorrow. I'm a little scared watching my Alpine doeling drop weight, I just finished paying for her!

I agree that this doesn't mean Di-Methox is worthless, I know lots of people are using it just fine. It seems I have a particularly nasty strain of bugs that I brought in from somewhere, yuck. My original does also came with lice that resist ivermectin and permethrin, so I suspect the dairy I started my herd from was mismanaging their medications and passed their resistant bugs on to me. And then the mineral deficiency on top of that...:/

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

There is also Fir Meadow's herbal formula made just for cocci, GI Sooth. I haven't run any fecals yet, but my kids were born in the wettest nastiest part of the year here and neither of them have had any problems yet. They are now 5 wks old, and I haven't even been giving it to them as much as I should.

As for minerals... Can you get Thorvin kelp? It's great for when you can't find another or good mineral.

 

[Ariel301]

A friend of mine who is friends with the feed store owner got them to order Purina Goat Mineral for me. Before that, all they carried was salt blocks. I had been ordering an organic mineral from Redmond's, and it seemed to work nicely at first, but then I had to feed really yucky hay all winter and it wasn't powerful enough to deal with that. The goats are eating the Purina like it's candy, so hopefully that will be cleared up soon. If not, kelp is my next thing to try.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I would get some SMZ-TMP from a vet, and give fenbendazole (Safe Guard) at the full dose for 5 days WITH the sulfa. The fenbendazole actually kills the protozoan, and will clear it out...a good treatment to go to when the others aren't getting it.

OR you can do a big cocktail with Dimethox, CoRid AND fenbendazole. The corid MUST be dosed at 2.5 cc per 10 lbs, undiluted, to be effective as a treatment.

Good info, I didn't know that about Safegaurd.

 

[20kidsonhill]

My Cocci mixture, is
Corid 9.6% 1/2cc per 10 lbs of kid, twice a day, for 5 days. I always overcalculate weight and round up.

Spectam scour halt the first two days one time a Day, twice if scouring is really bad.

Pen G twice a day for the first couple of days then one time a day for 5 days. 1cc per 15lbs.


If scouring really really bad the first day we also drench with one oz of Kaopectin. I know this is questionable, but need to get the scours to slow down some. It wont stop it all together if the real problem isn't being adressed.

 

[Ariel301]

I've never gotten scouring at all with this cocci. I didn't even know I had a problem for a long time, all that was happening was that my goats were not growing very fast or very big, and when I learned about using the FAMACHA chart to check for parasite problems, I noticed that my kids were all anemic.

They've had two doses now of Di-Methox mixed a little stronger than usual, and Safeguard. Eyelids are bright pink again, and they seem to be feeling better, they are back to gobbling their feed. I'll do another fecal at the end of the medication course and see how things are looking. They're going crazy over the new mineral, I think they know that they need it.