Healthy Calves

With approach of the busiest and muddiest calving time, are you ready to prevent and treat scours and save more calves?

Jon E. Higgins VMD Acorn Embryo

With March just weeks away, many spring calving herds are beginning to be very close to the busiest and most important time of year – calving. It also coincides, particularly in March, with rain and mud, with increase chances of disease transmission to young newborne calves. Acquisition of disease is a function of two variables. 1) The burden or amount of pathogens in the environment, and 2) The disease resistance or immunity status of the young calf. The first item is best minimized by conscientious farm management, to allow cows to calve in a clean area (green pasture best, but a well-bedded pen second) and ensuring that calf’s navels are dipped at birth(twice!)so the bacteria in environment can’t get a foothold.

Treating cows so they protect their calves:

Scouring calves quickly can succumb to the effects of dehydration and acidosis that occur with a bacterial or viral infection. Often the first thought is to stop the scouring, but in fact scouring serves the important purpose of eliminating pathogens and toxins from the gut. But consider instead the approach of giving the calf all it needs for both fluid maintenance AND to overcome losses. This approach is dependent on an accurate assessment of the calves’ losses and how to supplement the fluid, either through an oral, subcutaneous, or IV approach.

Picking the appropriate therapy can be done by an initial examination of the calf's responses and ability to stand. A calf that is standing but somewhat depressed will usually respond to oral fluid therapy. What is preferred is allowing the calf to nurse the cow throughout the day, BUT, in addition supplementing them with electrolyte solution midday. Include probiotic treatment with Enterocin-C, and check temperature to assess need for antibiotics and antipyretics.

A calf that is down, but sitting on it's chest and will stand with assistance is more severely dehydrated, but usually will do well with the above mentioned oral therapy PLUS subcutaneous fluid therapy. Contact your veterinarian to determine the recommended fluid, often an IV bag of MultiSol-R or Norm-R is ideal, and provides the best buffering capacity to fight the acidosis that often combines with dehydration to kill these calves. 1-2 liters of warmed fluids given in 4 spots in front of and behind the shoulder subcutaneously will help these animals tremendously by providing them a source of fluid and buffer that will not be rapidly expelled out the back end. Include probiotic treatment with Enterocin-C, and check temperature to assess need for antibiotics and antipyretics. A calf that is down, often on it's side, and will not stand, must receive IV fluids for any reasonable chance of survival. This can be a technically difficult procedure, and in addition, the blood vessels are smaller because of the accompanying dehydration. It is a situation where the veterinarian's help is most indicated and she/he will likely provide the calf with 1-3 liters of warmed IV fluids plus necessary medication to combat fever and bloodborne/systemic infection.

Best of all, avoid most of these problems, and the loss of valuable calves by providing adequate and quality (vaccinate dams with ScourGard3K+C) colostrum, dip navels twice, use BoSe and Enterocin-C at birth when recommended, and monitor calves closely and treat any scours aggressively and quickly. You'll save many more calves and have more weaned off animals to sell and have as herd additions in the fall.