Chronic Disease
Cows & Buffaloes
Johne's Disease — The Thin Cow With Watery Dung That Never Stops
Updated 13 Oct 2026 • By Falah Nutrition Desk, Animal Nutrition Advisor
A cow in her prime, eating well, bright-eyed, and yet losing weight month after month with diarrhoea that comes back no matter what is tried: that pattern should make every farmer think of Johne's disease. It is a slow bacterial infection of the gut, picked up as a calf, that shows itself years later and has no cure.
Common Signs
- Adult animal, usually 3-6 years old, losing condition over months
- Appetite normal, sometimes even good
- Watery, bubbly diarrhoea without blood, often described as a pipe-stream
- No fever
- Soft swelling under the jaw (bottle jaw) in late stages
- Milk falling with the weight
Possible Causes
- Infection as a young calf from dung of an infected adult: dirty teats, contaminated colostrum, dung in feed and water
- Buying in an animal that is infected but not yet showing signs
- Years of silent incubation before the gut wall thickens and stops absorbing
- No link to feeding — but weak nutrition brings the signs on sooner
What the Farmer Should Check
- Has she been wasting for months with diarrhoea that returns after every treatment?
- Is she still eating normally, with no fever?
- Are worms and liver fluke ruled out with a dung test?
- Where did she come from — bought in, or from a cow that wasted the same way?
- Are calves kept away from adult dung, and is colostrum from healthy cows only?
Feed Guidance
Feed cannot treat Johne's disease, and no tonic will. Where the vet suspects it, the sensible decision is early culling before she sheds more bacteria to calves and loses all value. The real feeding role is prevention of the next case: calves raised clean, colostrum from healthy cows, calf starter and water kept off the floor and away from adult dung. Good nutrition — GOKA Calf Starter, then GOKA Heifer — builds strong young stock, and a well-grown heifer resists many diseases better, though not this one once infected.
Relevant GOKA Products
Calves (Cow & Buffalo)
Rapid growth - up to 200 kg by 5 months
Heifers (Growing Young Cows)
Early breeding readiness & strong growth
When to Contact a Veterinary Doctor
Only a veterinary doctor can distinguish Johne's disease from worms, fluke, kidney disease or other causes of wasting, using blood and dung tests. Discuss culling and herd testing with the vet rather than treating blindly.
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