Calf scours

[cpsf]

Just on the offchance that anyone may know the best solution, but what do any of you use as a preventative for calf scours? We have had some trouble with it...probably somewhat of an environmental factor (Crypto?) but just wandering if anyone has had some luck with preventing scours. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Wee Willy]

Halocur for first week if crypto is the problem. Most important thing is get scour tested to see what your dealing with. No point giving halocur(approx£5/calf) if you have perhaps got rota virus.
I think @lazy farmer steam cleaned everything and had complete trouble-free season.

 

[pappuller]

Just on the offchance that anyone may know the best solution, but what do any of you use as a preventative for calf scours? We have had some trouble with it...probably somewhat of an environmental factor (Crypto?) but just wandering if anyone has had some luck with preventing scours. Thanks in advance for any advice.

First thing test, second thing test, third thing test. You need to know what you are fighting before you can put into place preventative or curative treatments. Dung samples will give you a broad picture, speak to your vet about on farm snap test kits.

 

[lazy farmer]

Halocur for first week if crypto is the problem. Most important thing is get scour tested to see what your dealing with. No point giving halocur(approx£5/calf) if you have perhaps got rota virus.
I think @lazy farmer steam cleaned everything and had complete trouble-free season.

We did our best!
we reared 220 calves trouble free. But the third and final groups through the beef Calf shed began to show crypto symptoms so we halcoured (not called that and much cheaper) the last40 mainly as a preventive. Also we only steamed cleaned before the season began. We were told not to steam clean whilst other pens were occupied as the “ Aerosol“ created could spread disease within the shed.
so we would clean out then wash the floor and walls wait till dry and then spray with a killco product.
As an idea depending on the shed we would have between 15 and 24 in a pen at any one time. Which makes cleaning much easier and time efficient.

 

[happycows]

3 years ago i had a nightmare!! Rotavirus and then they’d get crypto after their immune system was weak. Drove me to dispair!
Following spring vaccinated everything at dry off with bovigen scour vaccine and never looked back. I wouldn’t drop it just for my mental health. £700 a year for my 100 is money well spent. They stay on fresh calved milk for 10/14 days.

 

[lazy farmer]

3 years ago i had a nightmare!! Rotavirus and then they’d get crypto after their immune system was weak. Drove me to dispair!
Following spring vaccinated everything at dry off with bovigen scour vaccine and never looked back. I wouldn’t drop it just for my mental health. £700 a year for my 100 is money well spent. They stay on fresh calved milk for 10/14 days.

We vaccinate too started 3 yrs ago after a similar situation to @happycows. Ours dairy heifers would only get colostrum for 36hrs then onto powder.seems to work well.

 

[jimmer]

Depends if your battling with a disease or nutritional scours
I've by no means got it right , and lost too many this year for one reason and another , but one overriding conclusion is , well fed calves , as in plenty of milk, and ad lib if possible and economical , are trouble free calves
More issues with calves fed 2l twice a day for 6 weeks than any other

 

[Spudley]

More issues with calves fed 2l twice a day for 6 weeks than any other

I'd agree with this! When I took over the calves here, they were having 2 litres of milk powder and weaned at six weeks and scours were a constant problem. I made lots of changes but probably the most beneficial were that we now milk every cow in the calving pen and feed colostrum immediately after birth, I use a lot more straw, and calves are on 10 litres of yogurt for a minimum of 10 weeks.

 

[Princess Pooper]

Just on the offchance that anyone may know the best solution, but what do any of you use as a preventative for calf scours? We have had some trouble with it...probably somewhat of an environmental factor (Crypto?) but just wandering if anyone has had some luck with preventing scours. Thanks in advance for any advice.

As others have said, you need to know what sort of scours. But the starting point always has to be colostrum intake and quality within 6 hours of birth.

 

[Farmer_1994]

We were having trouble with scours 2 winters ago. We were using halocur as well but switched to a one time treatment at birth of baycox. Set a protocol up with the vet for new born calves and dropped our scours drastically.

-scourguard to the dam at dry off
-4L of high quality pasteurized colostrum ASAP after birth
-15cc baycox
-dose of enforce 3
-first Defense bolus

Now only have an odd occasion of nutritional scours once in a blue moon.

 

[Sparkymark]

I have been adding a powder called Parafor to the milk of calves up to 10 days old, before they go onto the machine.
Cheaper than Halocur and solved my crypto issues.
Not sure all vets will stock it as i think its only licenced for pigs.

 

[som farmer]

we vaccinate for rota virus, and bvd, cows at drying off, wormed, fluked and mineral bonus.
We got hit with crypto 3 years back, its an awful thing to have, but halocur sorts out new calves.
we feed acidified colostrum, right through, hardly used any calf scour electrolyte's, this spring, we put some of the calf vitality down to, bvd and rota vaccines, and outwintered the cows, calves have been really lively this year.

 

[Samherd]

Just on the offchance that anyone may know the best solution, but what do any of you use as a preventative for calf scours? We have had some trouble with it...probably somewhat of an environmental factor (Crypto?) but just wandering if anyone has had some luck with preventing scours. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Yes yes yes! We had issues with scours here for a bit..... So here's what we did.....

Air flow through building... Consistent but not gale force 10
Dry straw daily
And the rest is down to cleaning in between calves and being religious about it....
We have an industrial steam cleaner like this one.... We use it weekly after calves vacate a pen it is cleaned out thoroughly
We haven't had scours for over 3 years now....