Scours in Young Calves
“Scours” is the
name given to diarrhea in newborn calves, and can have many causes
including nutrition (too much milk or improperly mixed mild replacer),
viruses (such as Rotavirus and Coronavirus), and bacteria (such as E.
coli and Salmonella).
Prevention:
A. Calves should be born in as clean an environment as possible, i.e. unused pasture or a stall cleaned and prepared between cows.
B. Feed at least 2 quarts of colostrum within 2 hours of birth, and 2 more quarts in about 12 hours.
a. Colostrum should be pooled from at least 5 animals and should be from the first milking after calving. Levels of antibodies decrease dramatically as time passes between calving and harvesting of colostrum.
b. As a rule of thumb, calves should receive 10% of their body weight in colostrum split between the first 2 feedings.
c. There is a commercial supplement available called Colostrix that can be used to increase antibodies in the newborn.
C. Navels should be dipped with Nolvasan solution (diluted 1:4 with water) immediately after birth. They should be redipped twice daily for an additional 2-3 days or until the umbilical cord is dry.
D. All pens and feeding equipment should be sterilized between use by different calves, and direct contact between calves should be prevented. Utensils used for feeding and treating calves should be disinfected between each use.
The use of calf hutches can greatly reduce illness in calves. They are easily cleaned and can be moved to an unused area of soil with each new calf. A roof over the hutches to protect calves from severe winter weather may be necessary.
Treatment:
Scours is usually a self-limiting disease, and discontinuing milk feeding and treatment with oral electrolyte solutions will clear up the problem in most cases. Prevention of dehydration is the most important factor in saving scouring calves, therefore it is crucial to start treatment as soon as the diarrhea begins. If the diarrhea is severe, it may be necessary to give oral electrolytes 3 or 4 times a day in order to prevent dehydration. Once the diarrhea is under control, the calf can be started back on milk gradually over the next few days by mixing milk with electrolytes in varying proportions until back to straight milk again.
In most cases, treatment of diarrhea with antibiotics is ineffective. In fact, feeding young calves milk containing antibiotics can actually cause scours. This is because the antibiotics fed to calves as a preventative measure destroy some of the normal protective bacterial population and make the intestinal tract more susceptible to colonization by pathogenic bacteria. Using milk contaminated with antibiotics in newborn calves is very detrimental, and milk from cows undergoing treatment for mastitis should be discarded or fed to calves over one month of age. Although they do have a place in control of disease outbreaks, antibiotics are not a substitute for good management and health practices.
Diagnostic Testing:
With the above preventative and treatment protocols in effect, the problem of diarrhea in newborn calves will generally be eliminated. However, if the problem persists, it may be beneficial to culture the feces or euthanize and necropsy a sick calf to determine the cause of the problem.
Prevention:
A. Calves should be born in as clean an environment as possible, i.e. unused pasture or a stall cleaned and prepared between cows.
B. Feed at least 2 quarts of colostrum within 2 hours of birth, and 2 more quarts in about 12 hours.
a. Colostrum should be pooled from at least 5 animals and should be from the first milking after calving. Levels of antibodies decrease dramatically as time passes between calving and harvesting of colostrum.
b. As a rule of thumb, calves should receive 10% of their body weight in colostrum split between the first 2 feedings.
c. There is a commercial supplement available called Colostrix that can be used to increase antibodies in the newborn.
C. Navels should be dipped with Nolvasan solution (diluted 1:4 with water) immediately after birth. They should be redipped twice daily for an additional 2-3 days or until the umbilical cord is dry.
D. All pens and feeding equipment should be sterilized between use by different calves, and direct contact between calves should be prevented. Utensils used for feeding and treating calves should be disinfected between each use.
The use of calf hutches can greatly reduce illness in calves. They are easily cleaned and can be moved to an unused area of soil with each new calf. A roof over the hutches to protect calves from severe winter weather may be necessary.
Treatment:
Scours is usually a self-limiting disease, and discontinuing milk feeding and treatment with oral electrolyte solutions will clear up the problem in most cases. Prevention of dehydration is the most important factor in saving scouring calves, therefore it is crucial to start treatment as soon as the diarrhea begins. If the diarrhea is severe, it may be necessary to give oral electrolytes 3 or 4 times a day in order to prevent dehydration. Once the diarrhea is under control, the calf can be started back on milk gradually over the next few days by mixing milk with electrolytes in varying proportions until back to straight milk again.
In most cases, treatment of diarrhea with antibiotics is ineffective. In fact, feeding young calves milk containing antibiotics can actually cause scours. This is because the antibiotics fed to calves as a preventative measure destroy some of the normal protective bacterial population and make the intestinal tract more susceptible to colonization by pathogenic bacteria. Using milk contaminated with antibiotics in newborn calves is very detrimental, and milk from cows undergoing treatment for mastitis should be discarded or fed to calves over one month of age. Although they do have a place in control of disease outbreaks, antibiotics are not a substitute for good management and health practices.
Diagnostic Testing:
With the above preventative and treatment protocols in effect, the problem of diarrhea in newborn calves will generally be eliminated. However, if the problem persists, it may be beneficial to culture the feces or euthanize and necropsy a sick calf to determine the cause of the problem.
