After getting through the birth of your calves, now we need to look at disease and the baby calf. Normally this means scours. We all hate to see them with diarrhea and loose them. The first protection against scours is colostrum intake at birth and the cow having the immunity to pass on to the calf. This means having the cow vaccinated for the common causes: Blackleg, BVD, and maybe E.coli and the viruses.
Most common causes of scours in calves are E. coli, rotavirus, coronavirus, cryptosporidium, gut-form Blackleg (enterotoxemia), coccidia and salmonella. We now have tests that can be ran right here in the clinic that can tell you which one of these bugs is causing the scours in your calves. By knowing what is causing the scours, you can treat appropriately with the right drug of choice. Each one takes a different treatment. For example, gut-form Blackleg is treated with penicillin. Who would have thought penicillin would treat calf scours, but for this form it is number one. And normally, the next day it is like you flipped the light switch off and they are better.
Now with rota and corona viruses, we treat these totally different. These are viruses and until we have the cure for HIV, AIDS and the common cold, we do not have a totally effective treatment. So, most of it is aimed at keeping the calf supported until its own immune system clears the virus. This means keeping secondary bacterial invaders out and hydration with electrolytes.
Cryptosporida is an awful bug. We have to treat like a virus and use a special antibiotic that only sometimes works but it is all we have that is legal. Normally, we will have a 6-month slaughter withdrawal on these calves.
Now, the famed E. coli. This bug can be resistant to everything we have. And only so many drugs are legal in food animal medicine. Sometimes we have to treat like a virus and support them until we get a culture and sensitivity back to know what antibiotic will work.
Basically, what I am saying is it is better to test and know what you are dealing with than just taking a stab in the dark. I no longer give out scour pills; I like having a little more on my side and know what I am dealing with. So, don’t be afraid to run some tests, the cost of the tests may give you better results in the end.
