Antibiotics for respiratory issues

[NHR]

What is everybody's favorite antibiotic for cattle respiratory issues? Why?

I was thinking of getting a bottle Draxxin to keep on hand.

 

[chambero]

I'm not that far from you and I've been really pleased with Draxxin.  I've heard of it for a little while, but decided to make the switch when one of the big ranches near us that runs lots of yearlings told me they had switched completely to it. A couple of recent examples:

A lazy kid we sold a very good steer to didn't bother to dry him good before bringing him home from Fort Worth last January.  It was extremely cold and ofcourse he got pretty sick over it.  I needed something with a quick withdrawal time so we could get him over it quick and ready to go before Houston.  Worked perfectly.  Calf went on to place in the 100+ hd AOB class at Houston.

We had a heifer come down with respiratory ailment back in June in the pasture.  By the time we found her, she was in the "half-dead" category.  By the time we got her up and doctored it was about noon.  By the next morning she didn't look like the same animal.

It isn't cheap but it appears to work at least as well if not better than Micotil or Nuflor has for us in the past.  So, our standard routine is now Draxxin for respiratory, Micotil for foot rot.  I don't even mess with La200 anymore.  Never seems to work with one dose.  I'm still a fan of trisulfa boluses for mild colds on animals I don't want to take a chance on a knot with.  The Draxxin hasn't been a problem though.

 

[Jill]

We are absolutely sold on Draxxin, I choked at the price originally, but it is well worth it.  The Draxxin gives the quickest results of anything we have used and covers them for 21 days.  The only thing we have seen is every once in a while you will have one it just doesn't work on and we keep a bottle of Nuflor for those.

 

[afhm]

I love Draxin, but had a few that didn't respond to it even with a couple of doses.  In addition to Draxin, I like Baytril then Nuflor and on rare occasions Micotil.  I try to keep a little of each on hand just because some animals won't respond with some drugs and will with others.

 

[DL]

Draxxin is an excellent drug for respiratory disease in cattle - the low volume and long action make up for the price (IMHO)! It like Micotil concentrates in the lungs and has a half life of almost 3 days (half life in lungs is almost 9 days). The slaughter withhold is 18 days from the last dose. It has just recently been approved for use against M bovis which is a growing cause of pneumonia. Extra label use of Draxxin is permitted under the ELDU and AMDUCA provisions.

Nuflor is also an excellent drug for pneumonia - has a slightly broader spectrum than Draxxin and is related to an excellent human drug (Chloramphenicol) which is no longer used except in extreme cases of severe infectious disease because it causes fatal aplastic anemia in humans. Nuflor has a fluorine where the human drug has a chlorine - incredible what a little change can do! Extra label use of Nuflor is permitted under the ELDU and AMDUCA provisions.

Baytril is not approved for use for any condition other than pneumonia in cattle and extralebel use is against the law and not permitted under ELDU and AMDUCA.  Although a good drug because of the limited legal use I no longer carry it or use it.

Another drug that has proved useful for pneumonia (and metritis) is Excenel (which is the same drug but a different formulation as Exceede and Naxcel) - it is broad sprectum and useful for anaerobes (bugs that don't require oxygen for life)

 

[chambero]

DL - do you know if Draxxin works on footrot similar to how Micotil and Nuflor will?  Our vet doesn't know the answer and we haven't expiramented to find out.

 

[shorthorns r us]

DL - do you know if Draxxin works on footrot similar to how Micotil and Nuflor will?  Our vet doesn't know the answer and we haven't expiramented to find out.

are you still having foot rot problems?

 

[DL]

chambero - as you know Draxxin is currently approved for use only in the treatment of bovine respiratory disease - that said I am unaware of any studies using Draxxin for foot rot, however it is a very similar drug to Micotil (but as we have said safer) and has a very similar spectrum of activity......I'll skulk around a bit and see what else I can find out...

 

[CAB]

  Chambero, We always treat foot rot here with LA200 with Sustain 3 boluses @ the same time & can't remember ever having one that didn't respond well & quickly. Brent

 

[chambero]

DL - do you know if Draxxin works on footrot similar to how Micotil and Nuflor will?  Our vet doesn't know the answer and we haven't expiramented to find out.

are you still having foot rot problems?

We are at the tail end of our troubles.  We got our calves shipped a week ago last Saturday, but we've had a couple of weaned heifer calves and about three cows come down with it since we finished working everything.  It has really hit our whole area hard.  We probably had nearly 10% of our calves come down with it at some point during the last 60 days, but lots of people are in worse shape than we are.  Our collective theory on what has happened to us is the our animal's feet and the area between their toes are just really soft from being so wet for about four months without a break.  We run on native pastures.  Even though we don't overgraze and try to take very good care of our pastures, weeds have just exploded.  We have some kind of really big stemmed weeds in many of the pastures in the area that we think are just rubbing their feet raw between their toes and allowing infection to take hold.  We wean our heifers in a 10-acre trap.  The weeds are so tough in it that many of our heifers eyes have sores around them from the weeds poking them in the eye.  

It's always something.  Next year we'll be spending money spraying for weeds.

We've never had to retreat one with Micotil, but I'd love to find a substitute.  I don't mind using the Micotil when time is an issue on getting them well and with the animal in a head chute, but now we are just getting them up and barring them in an alley and doctoring them.  I just have not had luck with LA200 working on foot rot in the past, but I know lots of people do use it.  However, we picked up a bottle of Tetradure which is just a more concentrated version of LA200 to give it a try.  We do use Sustain boluses on show calves most of the time.

 

[NHR]

On minor cases of foot rot with show animals we have been using Albon Boluses. This has worked real good for us. We also squirt some foot rot spray on their hooves that our hoof trimmer gave us.

 

[DL]

Excenel is approved for foot rot and is safe for humans, relatively low dose - not as inexpensive as the various tetracyclines. Pfizer is also working on getting approval for Exceed for footrot - that is the same product (ceftiofur) with a different vehicle given in the ear below the skin and apparently because of the vehicle maintains plasma levels higher longer - thus requiring fewer treatments - ask your vet about it. Chances are if one tetracycline didn't work the other won't either. From what I was able to learn there has been (to date) no research on Draxxin and footrot, but like I said it is a broad spectrum antibiotic. If you use Exceed or Draxxin remember it is extralabel  ;D and get a withdrawal time (and all the other stuff) from your vet  ;D ;D